On Sat, 28 Jan 2006, Yoshie Furuhashi wrote:
>> This hostility towards rap - what artists you all talking about? There's
>> some really great stuff around - why get all cranky about the crap?
>>
>> Doug
>
>
> It's simple: the average age of regular posters is too high for any informed
> discussion on rap. Contrast an absence of concrete references to rap songs
> and groups to elaborate, well-referenced discussion on Mozart, Dylan, etc.
>
Not age exactly: you can be any age and know a lot about a particular genre or know squat (e.g., I know nothing about contemporary country music, but the kids in my classes are amazed when I use NIN as an example in a lecture. "Boring old bald headed fogies actually listen to _With Teeth_?") It's more about group identification and the relative isolation of subcultures in the U. S. Sure, age is part of that, but age is not the crucial factor that determines enthusiasm for rap (or industrial or country western or any type of music).
That said, I agree that critiques of a music genre based on superficial exposure to and knowledge of the work are pretty tiresome.
Miles