RateItAll: The Opinion Network

I'm not sure what this really is, because I've heard it applied to some excellent neo-classical and modern celtic music at one end, and sleep inducing elevator music at the other, with a big range in between including whale noises and rainfall recordings.

If you really like music its hard to say you totally like or dislike one genre of music. I tend to gravitate towards Blues and Jazz, but for every Hound Dog Taylor or Gerry Mulligan, there are some talentless hacks. The same is true of new age.

I found some New Age stuff in a batch of cd's I bought one time. One was rain falling on the roof for an hour; another was wolves howling to fill the disk; whales booming and more. Music would join in from time to time. Interesting.

First of all, I listen to all types of music. I'm not so anal that I submit myself to but one genre of music and mouth off about every other kind. I listen to heavy metal, country, funk, pop, and yes, when I'm in the mood I listen to New Age, particularly Windham Hill and Narada. It's a mood music, a filler music, that sets an ambience when in those special ocassions. I've found that the artists are extremely talented at what they do.

REAL tough one. I think this one is virtually impossible to rate since it's virtually impossible to define. What is it? The nebulous "New Age" title is often applied to ALL of the following:

• Recordings of sounds of nature

• Piano instrumentals (i.e. David Lanz and George Winston)

• Utterly beautiful, dramatic Neo Classical stuff (Ray Lynch and Roger Eno)

• Utterly mind-numbing, sappy "elevator" type music

• Minimalist composers (Phillip Glass and Steve Reich)

• Ambient music (Brian Eno)

• Celtic (Enya, Maire Brennan and Loreena Mckennitt, though all three denounce the title "New Age")

• Hypnotic self-help and meditation recordings

• "Space" Music

• Many forms of "World music" (Dead Can Dance, Anoushka Shankar, Etc.)

• ANYTHING instrumental and electronic

• Some generic adult contemporary

Adding a whole new layer of confusion to the subject is the existence of the entire "New Age movement". This movement in itself is a huge ball of wax. There seems to be considerable confusion as to how or if the music and the movement are related. Though many followers of new age philosophies seem to listen to some kind of "New Age" music, most musicians considered "New Age" distance themselves from the title. I dare say, I've NEVER heard any musician claim to be a New Age musician.

I have to believe anyone who strongly rates "New Age" as a genre is very biased in one direction or another and/or is basing his/her opinion on a very limited sampling of this so-called genre. How is it possible to LOVE or HATE it all?

With that said, I'll just have to give it three stars for an attempt at an average. This seems odd to me since some of my favorite music is categorized here, as is a LOT of stuff I wouldn't listen to twice. I say kill the silly term-- it means nothing. Let every song stand for itself and not be forced into the media industry's prefab categories.

New Age music is like any other type of music in that it has its lows and it has its highs. If all you've listened to is bland, derivative, sleep-inducing pap then of course you'll think the whole genre is a waste of time. If you listen to the good stuff, however (e.g. Mike Oldfield, Jean-Luc Ponty, Andreas Wollenweider), you might think differently.

If New Age music was a paint colour it would be beige or magnolia. The only place it belongs is in those hippy stores where women in dreads and tie-dye dresses sell joss sticks and tacky wood nymph figurines and drink camomile and turnip tea. For something so seemingly bland and inoffensive it dont 'arf get on me t*ts.

Music for people who don't want to think. I have found that most people who listen to this enjoy riding in elevators.

I think those who hate new age must have mush for brains and prolly can't think their way out of a damn paper brown bag, judging that the music they listen to is probably filled with mass stupidity to the highest level.
So that is why some of you said New Age sucks in so many ways. Y'all's brains probably can't handle all that music-it's too high for ya! What is the world coming to these days? Seems like it's getting more insane and stupid each day.

Almost all of it is horrendous,pretentious puke.

Music for total pussies!

GET DOWN!!!! and stay down

Come on people lets rate this garbage out of existence

unfortunatly new age can not be rated as the top music genre ,although thewageriseth does make some interesting comments .I must give it a low rating just to bring this genre back to reality & place it back in context

Okay, I would like to say (like the name NewAgeRiseth says) that New Age rocks hard! It is basically medicine for the soul. It lifts your spirits, and heigtens your imagination and with the beautiful arrangements and instrumental tones, it doesn't let you down with all the stereotypes of a society and doesn't leave you feeling alienated from the group of people. I friggin LOVE IT! Viva le musique d' New Age!