music Your Musical Pet Peeves?

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,809]

We all have pet peeves whether it be someone using too much slang or people just being overly snarky, they all bug us...but...there are also pet peeves when it comes to listening to music. Here are some of mine

1. The use of "baby ooh" (and other similar expressions) as filler space
Ok, as a budding songwriter, we all come to a point where we can't think of what to write in a song...but simply filling it with "baby ooh" or any other similar phrase is considered just downright lazy (I'm looking at you Justin Bieber). Yes, the Temptations and other artists of the genre used "baby ooh" and other variants, but they used it in a tasteful manner, either a big climax or addressing the girl they are writing about. Here's an example: 

 

2. Overdoing adlibs
Singers adlib to flex their voice and please the crowd. But there is a time and place for everything and there is such thing as too much adlibbing. Artists may also adlib to try and force emotion, which is also on my list of musical pet peeves. It's the worst when they do it while singing the National Anthem. Yes, there are quite a few places were adlib is possible in The Star Spangled Banner, but for the love of Pete, you don't have to do it on every long note of the piece...it ruins the whole thing.

3. Forcing Emotions
Music fills us with many different emotions and singers are always trying to make us feel a certain way. However, the biggest pet peeve of mine when it comes to singers is when they deliberately try to push out a certain emotion. It just nags me because they are just trying to hard and it's all a fake, and what's worse is that in smaller scale local talent shows, some judges fall for the faked emotion. It makes me cringe so hard because this often leads to a voice crack, which is a singer's worst nightmare, aside from getting any disease that affects the throat.

4. Amatuer Rappers trying to be like someone else
Rapping is the new thing in music these days. There are so many budding rappers out there. Nonetheless, one of the most common things I hear when I listen to budding rappers trying to make a name for themselves on soundcloud, they try to be like the mainstream, especially with their topics and lyrics. They're using the n-word quite a bit, and using many more explicative words. Rappers can be young as 12 years old and that's pretty sad. I like rap that tells a story, not these rappers that think they are all that by trying to be as explicit and as dirty as possible to try and top the charts...
 

What are some of your musical pet peeves?

[Misty Shadow 7,087]

Even as someone who couldn't care less for the majority of mainstream music these days, I am sick to death of hearing songs with terrible messages. We've always had songs about sex and drugs on the radio, I even have a guilty pleasure for a few songs with terrible messages. The problem is that today's music is oversaturated with generic ego stroking and glorification of what should be considered vile. That's why I can't stand to listen to "I'M THE BEST GIRL!" pop music and rap about "LIVING DAT GANGSTA LIFE". Please no. 

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,809]

3 minutes ago, CloudMistDragon said:

Even as someone who couldn't care less for the majority of mainstream music these days, I am sick to death of hearing songs with terrible messages. We've always had songs about sex and drugs on the radio, I even have a guilty pleasure for a few songs with terrible messages. The problem is that today's music is oversaturated with generic ego stroking and glorification of what should be considered vile. That's why I can't stand to listen to "I'M THE BEST GIRL!" pop music and rap about "LIVING DAT GANGSTA LIFE". Please no. 

Tell me about it...just about every amatuer rapper I hear on twitch music feedback streams does that...it's such a shame...wasted talent honestly. 

[Snow 5,305]

Mispronunciation to make a near rhyme scrape by, a common example would be saying drank instead of drink, and ending a line with a quick "uh" when the writer couldn't make anything rhyme at all.

[Dark Horse 12,799]

Personally, I can't stand the use of auto-tune, especially when when they're not even trying to hide it. Mechanically altering your voice does not make you sound any better, it just tells me you're trying to cut corners. I really, really hated how Emma Watson had to use it in the live-action Beauty and the Beast.

[Megas 27,069]

5 hours ago, Courageous Thunder Dash said:

We all have pet peeves whether it be someone using too much slang or people just being overly snarky, they all bug us...but...there are also pet peeves when it comes to listening to music. Here are some of mine

1. The use of "baby ooh" (and other similar expressions) as filler space
Ok, as a budding songwriter, we all come to a point where we can't think of what to write in a song...but simply filling it with "baby ooh" or any other similar phrase is considered just downright lazy (I'm looking at you Justin Bieber). Yes, the Temptations and other artists of the genre used "baby ooh" and other variants, but they used it in a tasteful manner, either a big climax or addressing the girl they are writing about. Here's an example: 

 

 

Oh god definitely this. Pretty much the death sentence of modern day, corporate pop songs(that fucking Rhianna song)

Also, Christian Rock songs, especially when they're singing about how Jesus loves you but it sounds like something that came out of Metallica or Nirvana, and it just sounds dumb

[Sparklefan1234 161,891]

My musical pet peeve is not being able to understand lyrics because of the music being too loud, the singer having a "unique" voice etc. 

[ExplosionMare 18,007]

I can’t stand songs that repeat the same line over and over again. Surely the artists can come up with at least a couple more phrases 

[Sparklefan1234 161,891]

3 minutes ago, ExplosionMare said:

I can’t stand songs that repeat the same line over and over again. Surely the artists can come up with at least a couple more phrases 

 

"I love you...I think you're cool...You're alright, I guess. Everybody sing!" See? They can't help it. 

---

I'm also not a fan of that "autotune" sound when people sing where they add effects to it. 

[SharpWit 2,472]

I'm going to go for pacing that's just a tad too slow, so the song feels like it's dragging on or is just on the verge of being catchy.

[Miss 6,211]

Songs with too many choruses. 

Or repetitive/boring song structures: 

Intro (pretty much same as the verse), verse, chorus, verse 2, chorus, bridge (pretty much same as verse), extended chorus 

Or if the song starts with the chorus and the rest of the song is filled with choruses.

Choruses with repetitive lyrics 

Hate when songs leave the instrumental running, after the lyrics or instrumentation are done, too long. Generally happens in rap songs where it's the same beat you've been hearing the whole time and they just let it play. 

I hate talking in songs or breaks with talking. Like the instrumentation stops completely and they're just talking or if there's a lot of talking over the music (professional rapper by lil dicky or love shack (also annoying voices for love shack))

I hate when songs do "na na na na" or have bridges that don't have not much substance but just need to fill up space till next chorus like "shallow" from a star is born. Great song but that stupid "whoooa Whoa whooOohhhh" I hate. 

Annoying noises that are constant in the beat/instrumentation of the songs that if you focus on too much then it ruins the song. Famous examples are in sorry Ms. Jackson's beat "woooooAhhhhh" and the Triangle in Usher's "Yeah"

In heavy metal songs, typically thrash, when it's just the same 3 different drumming rhythms for most of the songs on the album boooooring af. 

Singers with styles that sound so uninterested in their music: Kurt Cobain. 

I'm sure there are more but I stick with those. 

[Tom Gallagher 33,521]

Autotune, appalling lyrics, sex, arrogance, inability to sing a note, lack of talent, noise rather than music, deluded fanbases. Modern music drives me insane, no one even tries. How anyone can think they’re talented is beyond me.

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,809]

4 minutes ago, TomDaBombMLP said:

Autotune, appalling lyrics, sex, arrogance, inability to sing a note, lack of talent, noise rather than music, deluded fanbases. Modern music drives me insane, no one even tries. How anyone can think they’re talented is beyond me.

It's just sad how the music industry is falling apart. It's the same thing over and over again. I just don't get it, and then when they hear the truth...well...that's a different story. Go learn an instrument or at least learn to sing and write lyrics well. 

[Venomous 18,813]

I don’t like it when artists blatantly put lyrics into the song that directly have to do with their personal life. An example of this would be a line from the song Destiny by NEFFEX: “…And oh, this journey I've been on since thirteen, working hard and learning Never stopping searching, yeah It's burning, all this passion hurts me I took action working, writing down these words”.

I can’t really explain why this bothers me but it does. I understand that music is a form of self expression but I feel like it takes away from my enjoyment of the song.

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,809]

1 minute ago, The Wife of Adaman said:

I don’t like it when artists blatantly put lyrics into the song that directly have to do with their personal life. An example of this would be a line from the song Destiny by NEFFEX: “…And oh, this journey I've been on since thirteen, working hard and learning Never stopping searching, yeah It's burning, all this passion hurts me I took action working, writing down these words”.

I can’t really explain why this bothers me but it does. I understand that music is a form of self expression but I feel like it takes away from my enjoyment of the song.

Songs are just another form of a story if you really look at it...it's fun to hear the life story of the artist through the song, just makes it more satisfying to listen to really. 

[Venomous 18,813]

Moments ago, Courageous Thunder Dash said:

Songs are just another form of a story if you really look at it...it's fun to hear the life story of the artist through the song, just makes it more satisfying to listen to really. 

It is definitely a form of story telling. I would argue that most songs tell a story. I just feel like that can be done without placing personal details into the final piece. I don’t want to know the artist’s age, names of their relatives, etc.

[Miss 6,211]

Oh big one here! 

Homophobic or transphobic lyrics 

Will stop listening to song completely if I hear them. 

[Steve Piranha 28,782]

I suppose most of modern music is a pet peeve. They are all corporate, specially rap where I hear “hoes” and “bitches” all the time 

 

Anyway, I I mostly hear videogame music nowadays. One thing I really despise, is an epic and spectacular soundtrack, being played on an excuse of a boss battle. Right Mario Galaxy 2 ?

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,809]

25 minutes ago, Steve Piranha said:

 

I suppose most of modern music is a pet peeve. They are all corporate, specially rap where I hear “hoes” and “bitches” all the time 

 

This. 

It's sad, because these so-called artists think they have talent, when they rap about the same thing through all their "songs" covered by variations of the same beat over and over again. 

[Steve Piranha 28,782]

1 hour ago, Courageous Thunder Dash said:

This. 

It's sad, because these so-called artists think they have talent, when they rap about the same thing through all their "songs" covered by variations of the same beat over and over again. 

Can’t stop thinking about the famous Snoop Dogg’s take on it 

 

[Splashee 28,537]

On 2022-03-13 at 9:19 AM, Courageous Thunder Dash said:

What are some of your musical pet peeves?

Rap

 

 

I could end there, but the truth is, for me, I like the fact that music can do (very) cheap tricks to play with emotions. If someone is trying, and failing, then they are not doing it correctly. Bad music is like bad art, you have a choice to listen, and a choice to look.
Even the worst kind of music to me, songs, and other media, actually gets to me badly, but it gets to me. And that is a very powerful thing.

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,809]

1 hour ago, Splashee said:

Rap

 

 

I could end there, but the truth is, for me, I like the fact that music can do (very) cheap tricks to play with emotions. If someone is trying, and failing, then they are not doing it correctly. Bad music is like bad art, you have a choice to listen, and a choice to look.
Even the worst kind of music to me, songs, and other media, actually gets to me badly, but it gets to me. And that is a very powerful thing.

Do realize that not all rap is bad. Sadly, you have to work a little harder to find the good stuff within the genre of rap. Rap that tells stories about the struggles in life is actually really satisfying to hear, because it's raw emotion that the artist shares with the listener. Unfortunately a lot a young rappers today would rather spew negativity just to be "cool", which is totally uncool and a waste of talent. 

[ExplosionMare 18,007]

Songs with excessive cussing or racial slurs really bother me. It’s not even singing at that point, it’s just spewing hateful words

[Envy 6,000]

Obnoxious noises/sound effects. This is very common in the modern electronic pop. It's so annoying. (I wish I had a direct example, but I actually don't, because I'm speaking from what I've heard on overhead radios at my former workplace when I worked there).

Autotune is a pet peeve all in of itself. lol

The usage of MIDI synths in place of the real instruments they are imitating. This is most common in video games. It was completely understandable back when technology was limited, or for like indie studios who have low budgets (and yet, I know for a fact that quite a few do hire real musicians to play their music)... But yet there are triple A games out there using MIDIs, like Pokemon. It's really ridiculous at this point.

Oh god, and I have another one, which is not unexpected from me, I'm sure. The bias toward string instruments. Like when a song has both strings and winds, people always mention the strings and not the winds, even if they're both equally prominent. I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with string instruments, I just think we should be fair!

[Splashee 28,537]

Oh, I remember now..... Auto-Tune songs!
Even if you can sing, it is a sign that you can't. It's a style that promotes bad singing, sounds awfully fake when applied. I rather have songs with a few vocal mistakes, than patched up with Auto-Tune.