underground vs. mainstream

Ok i know im going to get alot of shit for this but i dont care this section is opinion orriented so fuck it. But me and a few friends have been talking about this for about a week now and i want some outside opinions. Yeah i know manson is supposed to be the most hardcore metal artist after like 98 but how in the hell can people go around saying that his band is underground music. I grew up in school listening to dimmu bogir, COF, slayer,FF, napalm death even some punk and harcore punk bands like glassjaw and deftones. Yeah there not all underground or mainstream but ive seen people who claim to hate mainstream musicbut they swear there lives to manson. Am i the only one who thinks that he is one of the worst artists i meen hes only on mtv just as much or more than eminem his music isnt even that good. yeah its everyones own taste but going around claiming to be goth and listening to taking back sunday and manson just makes me want to laugh at them. Any feedback would be great.

Manson is mainstream.

As far as it goes to what I listen to, prolly both but more mainstream than anything. There are quite a few bands that I listen to frequently though that none of my friends know about, and I've never seen or heard on tv or radio. One of those bands is Scars of Life, and they absolutley kick ass. Plus, two friends that are girls, both their brothers are in bands, and my cousin is in a band up by the Twin cities and these bands are fairly popular where they are at, and all have some good music and I could see them all become mainstream stuff. I'll post up websites to two of them if wanted.

Lables are overrated. Who cares what catergory music fits in. People should listen with their ears, not their eyes or perception of what is hip.

Lables are overrated. Who cares what catergory music fits in. People should listen with their ears, not their eyes or perception of what is hip.


:1:

Lables are overrated. Who cares what catergory music fits in. People should listen with their ears, not their eyes or perception of what is hip.

Couldn't agree more.

il agree with you on that music is music if it sounds good then hey who the fuck cares what everyone else says its just these punk kids who keep going around saying how mainstream sucks and they make manson sound like hes the best.

taking back sunday is not goth.

just a correction.

but Phil is absolutely right. if you're spending all your time worrying about "oh no, this band is way too mainsteam now. i'm going to stop liking them because too many other people like them"...then you're not really a music fan at all are you? you're a trend follower.

i'm not saying you yourself are, just in general.

"No music is any good if everyone else likes it" :lol:

but Phil is absolutely right. if you're spending all your time worrying about "oh no, this band is way too mainsteam now. i'm going to stop liking them because too many other people like them"...then you're not really a music fan at all are you? you're a trend follower.

i'm not saying you yourself are, just in general.
I agree.

Lables are overrated. Who cares what catergory music fits in. People should listen with their ears, not their eyes or perception of what is hip.
:1: :1:

Brian and Phil had it right the first time.


The worst conformists are those who hate mainstream because it's "cool" to hate on mainstream bands, they call people who listen to mainstream bands "sheep", but at the same time are doing the same things themselves. It gets seriously annoying, but I do my damn best to ignore them.

Yah i hate it when people say "mainstream sucks" or call bands sellouts. They're still the same band when they get popular. I mean honestly would you want your band to be playing in smokey bars for 100$ a gig, or playing in front of thosands making millions?

I agree with everything there is no way for anyone to determine whats mainstream and whats underground or what sucks. I listen to everything i really dont care what band it is or waht music it is. Jimster pretty muched put it how i wanted to say it that these people classify themselves by the bands they listen to and as he put it "it gets annoying". I know damn well that taking back sunday isnt goth or in any case metal/rock or whatever genre its considered but apparantly the kids in school now have never even heard of most of the good bands that made metal what it is today. But il agree its stupid to label music and its even more fucked when people stop listening to shit cause its the cool thing to do thats how bands sell out and disapear.

I'm gonna have to go out on a limb and say most mainstream music does suck. Just about anything on the popular radio stations in Minneapolis is watered down shit (50 cent, Simple Plan, Good Charlotte, etc...). I can't stand listening to the stuff, it has absolutely no musical or lyrical value. If they can play good music I don't care if they're mainstream or not. Most people who listen to the pop radio stations aren't hardcore music fans anyways

Yeah i know what you meen about the radio sucking ass as far as good music. We used to have 99.1 and they would play nothing but modest mouse, good charlote and occasionaly some decent shit. It took me 3 months for them to play some pantera and considering it was a dc station they never even jumped on nothingface. Now there a spanish music station sucks since 101 sucks ass. Like thrasher said if its good music then who the fuck cares.

Being a devote black-metaller myself, this is where I stand.

I don't neccesarily hate all "main stream". I pretty much never listen to it, and I can't stand most of it - I am extremely musically interolerant. But I don't profess myself as "hating the mainstream". My friends are pretty much the only ones that know I am into nothing but black metal and death metal.

This brings me into my next point - poseurs. If someone where to take a look at me, they would never have any idea what I listen too. I don't "dress like blackmetal". I don't walk around with 80 pounds of chains and corpsepaint on. I just dress the way I want. I don't need to people to "think I'm heavy". What really gets me going is when some douche nozzle is all like "Ohhh I listen to slipknot and I think they're the heaviest band ever so that makes me the son of satan so I beter start dressing like i'm some badass goth". And so you see these dudes walking down the halls with all their goth garb, and you ask most of them, and about 9/10 haven't even heard of black metal. It's like WTF. For some reason, they need people to think that they're "heavy" by looking at them - which is retarded. I listen to my music for me, and I wish these dipshits would do the same. People just need to listen to their music for themselves, be it mainstream or not. It's a fact that most black metal bands are not "mainstream" over here - however if you were to go to Scandanavia, black metal is the norm - it's rediculously popular / mainstream over there. So it actually kind of depends where you are for what is mainstream / underground. But as far I'm concerned, I love black metal, which happens to be moreso considered "underground" over here, and dont like most "mainstream" american music. My obsession with my music isn't based on underground or mainstream though - it's just what I like happens to fall into the "underground" category. I agree with you guys that people deffinately should not pick their music choices based on underground vs. mainstream. Just listen to what the hell you want to - and for pete's sake don't feel like you have to dress like some damn badass because you listen to a band that you think is heavy! :) LoL - had to vent

I'm gonna have to go out on a limb and say most mainstream music does suck. Just about anything on the popular radio stations in Minneapolis is watered down shit (50 cent, Simple Plan, Good Charlotte, etc...). I can't stand listening to the stuff, it has absolutely no musical or lyrical value. If they can play good music I don't care if they're mainstream or not. Most people who listen to the pop radio stations aren't hardcore music fans anyways

but that's different. those bands/artists that you listed just suck. not because they're mainstream, but simply because they cannot write music.

there's some mainsteam stuff that is very good. such as Nas. he gets played alot on the radio, and yet he's still amazing. there's quite a few rock groups like that too, they get played alot but they're still good. why? because they make good music! if they make good music, it doesn't matter how popular they are or how much they get played, it's still good music!

but sometimes, a good act will turn sour once it hits the spotlight. they make good music until they become popular, and then start to suck. i've seen that happen before too.

Good music is good music..

From Atari Teenage Riot to Bob Dylan to Enya.

Listen to what makes you feel good.