DS Forums

 
 

Mercury Music Awards


Reply
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old 26-09-2016, 17:00
mgvsmith
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Belfast
Posts: 7,274
My point was that, as Scratchy7929 pointed out, the remit for the Mercury Music Prize has now become very narrow now, basically Radio 1Xtra and 6 Music, and isn't reflective of the originality and talent of musicians outside of the narrow band of genres they cover. As others have said, it didn't used to be like that.

To be honest I struggle to find anything more pretentious than the idea of "a few cultivators of taste to say don't just listen to that , listen to this".

I've listened to 6 Music for years and find myself listening to it less and less these days. Before it was suggested it was closed it was an incredibly diverse radio station where all genres of music sat happily beside each other so there might be a thrash metal track followed by a dance thrak, a folk song, then a classic, etc,. Since it was saved from closure it has become "indie lite" with a bit of 1Xtra thrown in.

It is a pale shadow of the music station it once was, and that is reflected in the Mercury Music Prize.
I don't think the remit has changed, Frith simply says the prize is based on picking the strongest album around. The process which provides the available contenders may have changed/narrowed, been unduly influenced by 'indies' but the work of the judges is the same.

I'm not sure how saying to someone listen to this rather than that is being pretentious, it's what people do everyday.
mgvsmith is offline Follow this poster on Twitter   Reply With Quote
Please sign in or register to remove this advertisement.
Old 27-09-2016, 09:19
Glawster2002
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Nailsworth, Gloucestershire
Posts: 10,402
I don't think the remit has changed, Frith simply says the prize is based on picking the strongest album around. The process which provides the available contenders may have changed/narrowed, been unduly influenced by 'indies' but the work of the judges is the same.
The remit of the Mercury Music Prize and the work of the judges may well have stayed the same, but the range of work they judge gets narrower and narrower each year, despite that going against the founding principles of the Mercury Music Prize, that is my point.

I'm not sure how saying to someone listen to this rather than that is being pretentious, it's what people do everyday.
I think the whole concept of "cultivators of taste" and "tastemakers" pretentious.

Since when have people needed to be told what to listen to before they can be considered to have a good "taste" in music?

Taste in music, or anything else for that matter, is purely subjective
Glawster2002 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 27-09-2016, 11:56
mgvsmith
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Belfast
Posts: 7,274
The remit of the Mercury Music Prize and the work of the judges may well have stayed the same, but the range of work they judge gets narrower and narrower each year, despite that going against the founding principles of the Mercury Music Prize, that is my point.



I think the whole concept of "cultivators of taste" and "tastemakers" pretentious.

Since when have people needed to be told what to listen to before they can be considered to have a good "taste" in music?

Taste in music, or anything else for that matter, is purely subjective
If there was such a thing as being purely subjective, that would mean something. Our personal tastes, our subjectivity is determined by our experiences and our interactions with others, if you could exist in complete isolation then you might be completely subjective. But you don't and you are influenced by others and your interactions with them.

Otherwise why spend time telling people about the music you like if you don't think they might like it too? And there's lots of that on here. And don't tell me if you haven't done that. Then you might say it will be people you respect or people whom you know have similar interests and then you will tell me that you are being purely subjective!

I have no problem in saying I have been influenced/directed towards music I wouldn't have listened to, even liked, and recognised its importance..Talk Talk, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Miles Davis, Julia Holter, Cold, Cold Heart, Devin Townsend, DIIV, Skylar Spence, Kendrick Lamar...
mgvsmith is offline Follow this poster on Twitter   Reply With Quote
 
Reply




 
Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 08:45.