fair enough, i see what you guys are getting at, but it's entirely possible to completely "get" a certain piece of music, and STILL vehemently dislike it. now i don't for one minute claim to have any sort of all-encompassing knowledge on their works, but i've heard several pieces of music by Stockhausen and similarly, John Cage, and i've read about their approaches to composition and the theories and ideas they were using. i find it, for the most part, fascinating. i understand what they were trying to do. however, for me, music is about enjoyment of the sound, and emotional impact. this is why i don't like Stockhausen's music (or at least what i've heard so far) - taken purely as a piece of music, i do not find it enjoyable to listen to, and the fact that it's the result of an experiment makes it seem a little clinical and thus not very emotionally affecting. i'd happily sit and watch a documentary on how Stockhausen or similar experimental composers composed their pieces, but the music alone is just unpleasant.
that said, i apologise for being a little aggressive back there, i just felt that what pwhodges said came off as kinda pretentious. as i mentioned though, i haven't heard ALL of Stockhausen's stuff, and when i've got the time to spare to properly give it a listen, i'll download those albums from the mediaf!re thread.
and just so i'm not COMPLETELY off-topic here.... "The Fall of Math" by 65daysofstatic is currently recieving listenage.
