> All very interesting, but, as I was explaining to a classical-fan friend
> mine, it doesn't matter a whit if you don't perceive music through
> melody and harmony. To illustrate, my favourite genre of music is
> industrial - things like Ministry and Nine Inch Nails, or the South
> African band Battery 9. To my classically trained friend, this sounds
> just like noise, largely because all sounds are being used pretty
> primarily as rhythm. That's all there is to it - a range of
> interlocking rhythms. (For an example, try Ministry's 'New World
> Order' off their Psalm 69 album)
I suggest introducing your friend to the music of John Zorn, and if he's already heard it, suggest Painkiller and Naked City. Both of those Zorn groups are heavily influenced by the heavier forms of pop music, like industrial and death metal.
Good punk and metal that often appeals to classical and jazz trained people are Sonic Youth and the Melvins. They are definitely punk and metal, respectively, but they often use complex harmonic relationships that classical and jazz fans can appreciate. They also both kick serious ass.
Matt
-- Matt Cramer <cramer at voicenet.com> http://www.voicenet.com/~cramer/ For all that faire is, is by nature good; That is a signe to know the gentle blood.
-Edmund Spenser