Electronic: A real genre? Or just a bunch of annoying sounds?

I've had a lot of debates over this topic. A lot of people look down on the electronic music genre. This includes dubstep, house, D&B, electro-pop, dance, chillstep, and all that fun stuff. It really irritates me that they call my favorite music genre "trash" while they listen to their own "music" (I won't say what artists they listen to because I don't want to get into a fight with someone over a particular artist -_- Too many fights I had to go through).

I want your opinion. As a whole, would you consider Electronic music a real genre or a bunch of annoying sounds mixed together?

 

Pretty much any genre is "a bunch of sounds mixed together." Music is in general. But it's ridiculous to say any one type of music is inherently superior to another, that's just bias. Your friends may not like electronic and that's cool for them, they should feel free to say "I don't like electronic music, to me it sounds like just a bunch of annoying sounds mixed together," and you should likewise be cool about them saying that--I'm sure you don't love all of their music, either. But writing off an entire genre, or claiming another genre is superior, is plain elitism.

People get elitist about music, I know I can be, but if you like it then that's all that matters.

 

I'm not particularly fond of electronic music, but it's still a valid part of our musical culture I suppose.

I won't pretend like I've never thrown the "that's not real music" insult, but someone somewhere likes it, and to them it's real music.
Not everyone has the same tastes, you can hate something as vehemently as you want, but saying it's "not real" is just incorrect.

 

I absolutely believe that Electronic music is a valid, good, and respectable genre. While I would never place it (in it's current stage of development, perhaps in the future?) on par with certain other genres (mainly Classical) I find it to be valuable, musical, and most important, a pleasure to listen to. I'm just as happy listening to Deadmau5 (or Trentmoller, or Nujabes, or TNGHT) as I am listening to Vivaldi, Coldplay, and Joe Hisaishi (the mastermind behind almost all the Ghibli soundtracks).

P.S. if the above sounds like a personal opinion, that's because it is. Music is purely subjective, as has already been stated in this thread. This is how I feel. And while I stand by it, I cannot claim it to be fact. As with most things, there is no clear "best". There will always be someone who disagrees ;3

 

Look at Aphex Twin's music sheets and tell me its not considered music.
Daft Punk has also certainly proved that electronic music can be great.
Electronic music is more than throwing random sounds together (ok maybe dubstep but who knows).

Personally, I would call Electronic music more valid of a title than rap. But I can understand that rap music actually can have very good and well developed lyrics and only have a simple beat in the background, just as a lot of electronic music can lack vocals, but can create a very beautiful sound.
Don't listen to whoever tells you its not music, the term is different to everyone.

 

Yeah this. I hate country music but I'll never refuse to call it music as terrible and generic as it is

 

Well, it' s not real music in the sense that it was made through a program rather than by performing something live. Same difference as between CG animation and classic animation really. The dangers are also the same : if you rely on the program too much people can tell, the result is soulless. The goal is to manage to breath life into it in spite of the mechanic algorithms you' re using.

Electronic music is rather hit or miss for me. A friend of mine listens loads of it, on the minimalist side, and it often comes off as a bunch of loopy annoying weird sounds to me. Too loopy. I think I' m more on the progressive side, I don' t mind those looped samples as much when they' re mixed with live and/or full length performances. When electronics are a means rather than an end.

That being said, being purposefully soullles has its uses. Enhancing pictures comes to mind.