I like modernist and postmodern art a lot. Realism essentially reached a creative dead end and the next logical step was to use abstract expressionism to communicate feelings and concepts that were subjective but weren't linear. That goes into places like
fauvism or
cubism, and then total abstraction feels kind of inevitable. I know this'll sound like pretentious bollocks but a basic grasp of art history really helps because you can see the progression step by step, and it all feels a lot more natural and meaningful. That and the fact it helps to see a lot of it in a gallery - one of my favourite artists is
Lucio Fontana, whose work looks ridiculous if you see it online but is mesmerising in person because you can see the texture.
I actually think hip hop is quite similar. Once you really get into the mechanics of sampling and how it can be used creatively it really draws you into the structure of each track, and when you get a run down of a top lyricist's work and the different allusions they slip in there it gives you a real appreciation for high quality work.
As for me, there's plenty of stuff I don't like or even think is loathsome, but I can understand the appeal. I've never been able to understand why people like the Stereophonics. They don't rock, their lyrics are dull, the vocals are awful and their music is dirgelike. Why them and not, say, China Drum or Idlewild?
