I wonder what the forum's thoughts are on what attracts more intelligent people to rock and general 'proper' music?

I'm basing this thread on my sixth form days, going back 9 or so years now.

My little group of chums wound up getting good A Levels, going to uni and generally doing alright. We all listened to rock, metal, punk, hardcore etc. but nothing approaching mainstream pop or dance.

In the common room, the kids that struggled with GCSEs and were doing GNVQs etc. would dominate the CD player with drum 'n' bass and dance music.

Anyone have any theories?

It's pretty stereotypical what you are saying, but I do hold the same assumptions; just from experience. What I would have called the 'chavs' when I was at school, were the rnb/pop/rap kids, whereas I was, and still am, into rock bands, and I guess, what I would call 'proper music' such as The Smiths, Radiohead, Bowie, The Cure, Muse, The Who etc etc you know the type of stuff I mean.

I sound pretty snobby, and I know music is subjective, but most of the pop/rap stuff isn't what I would call 'proper music'....

Im digging myself a whole.

I mainly like pop and R&B. I am not a chav and I am clever.

Exactly. Im generalising which I know I shouldn't do; it's just from experience I found it to be that way. Obviously it's not universal that less intelligent people like rnb/pop and clever people like rock.

Wow... For someone so "clever", your little theory is hardly scientific.

I'm mixed in my musical tastes. I don't think rock is, in general, intelligent. But then music in general isn't very "intelligent", its a form of entertainment. For me, "proper music" (oh I do hate that term- its such a lazy meaningless term) is any song that has a crazy, brilliant hook and beat.

Saying only rock is proper music is laughable. That excludes world music, African, raggae, Soca, Sega and Asian-Pacific and traditional Indian music. Typical of us western folks to think their music is the only form of music that is "proper". Hip Hop can be extremely intelligent, NAS springs to mind, especially his earlier stuff.

sparkle - That's alright then

It takes more to execute and can make people think a bit.

When was the last time you saw a rocker destroy a bus shelter for example?

or throw a television out of a window?

The plural of anecdata is not data. Musical taste is not indicative of intelligence.

Your name is neighbours_fan. It hardly screams intelligence.

I often go to rock/metal clubnights and I've seen plenty of fights break out. I can distinctly remember one night where a couple were having an argument, and the guy eventually started dragging his girlfriend by her hair (he had long hair and a band t-shirt - clearly a rocker).

On the other hand, I've been to electronic music clubnights (although these are genres like industrial, EBM and psytrance) and I've never seen any trouble at all.

I don't think rock music is any more 'proper' or 'intelligent' than electronica or hip-hop (for example), and I've heard music from all three genres that has made me think. If anything, the most successful people I know listen to classical or jazz, not rock.

There's little intelligence in blatant music snobbery. Anyone who thinks that their own taste is more valid or 'proper' than another lacks a certain sense of objectivity for one.

Stereotyping also doesn't require much intelligence, so much as it appeals to laziness.

Nice. Real cheap shot there. Nice.

I like mostly pop/dance/electronic stuff and I'm a university student whose doing quite alright.

Natalie Portman is a Harvard graduate, she's had 2 of her research papers published and she claims she's into Dirty Rap and really obscene hip/hop!!!

my initial thoughts were 'what a load of rubbish'... but there is some validity in the overall premis. whilst id suggest that those 'clever' chums from school all liked rock, id also suggest that they were possibly all from similar backgrounds...white, middle class, well off... id suggest that environment had more to do with their taste in music then intelligence. but stereotypes aside, theres no written law.

but are stereotypes based on truth?..

maybe

ive never seen a chav at the ballet
ive never seen a black person at a folk gig
ive never seen a biker/rocker at a girls aloud gig
ive never seen a raver at a classical concert
ive never seen an overtly gay man at a motorhead gig

ok there may be exceptions, granted, but stereotypes exist for a reason, the reason being they ARE based on fact.

i do think that ones upbringing and environment would suggest a propencity towards certain types of music but id also suggest that this isnt a given law, just an openess towards certain styles, styles that they can connect to in their life.

For many years, it has been a common perception, rightly or wrongly, that the most intelligent people listen to classical music. Hence the old joke about judges who had never heard of the Beatles.

If what you say is true, I think it goes to prove that rock has actually become a conservative form of music. That's because it's now long-established. People have been making a noise with electric guitars now for over 50 years.

I remember Tony Blair saying that as an Oxford-educated barrister, he had always been expected by people just a few years older than him to listen to classical music because that was supposed to be the music that intellectual people would listen to. But in fact he always preferred rock music. To many people just a few years older than him, all rock music was regarded as a noise and the end of civilisation as they knew it. But now Blair's generation, the generation who bought records by the Stones, the Who, Hendrix, Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, are the establishment themselves, in the same way the establishment back in the '50s and '60s listened mainly to classical music and thought that all the young, hairy hippies listening to rock music were just listening to a complete racket.

Good point about upbringing but I must say the kids I referred to in the initial post were far from scumbag 'broken Britain' types you see on the news shooting people in Liverpool.

They were essentially middle class as well, and good people... just struggled academically and listened to shit music and played football.

All the things I like are for smart people!