Why do the masses gravitate to blandness?

badabing106

The drinks industry. The most bland and tasteless products are the best sellers

The music industry. Adeles music is absolutely dreadful, but it is manufactured in such away to appeal world wide. Bland, mid tempo, inoffensive supermarket music. Her last album sold 50, 000, 000 times

galtsdrift

just look at the beers available in most pubs, I couldn't agree more

tdf7187

U2 are the biggest band in the world, and if you think the likes of Running to Stand Still and Bullet the Blue Sky, and Acrobat are bland, then you have no ears. Granted they've churned out some mediocre stuff also.

wonderboysam

Everyone I know just drinks lyons or barrys. Lol try some ginzeng like

dxhound2005

badabing106 wrote: »

The drinks industry. The most bland and tasteless products are the best sellers

The music industry. Adeles music is absolutely dreadful, but it is manufactured in such away to appeal world wide. Bland, mid tempo, inoffensive supermarket music. Her last album sold 50, 000, 000 times

All those new beers are just Carlsberg or Smithwicks with a different label.

gandalf

Well with regard to the beers its probably because a lot of people drink alcohol just to get bladdered and not just for enjoyment. Therefore it's bland and cheaper (for Ireland!) than the tastier stuff.

Ficheall

If everyone liked something, it would by definition become bland, no?


Why do you want to be a hipster so badly?

badabing106

dxhound2005 wrote: »

All those new beers are just Carlsberg or Smithwicks with a different label.

Exactly. If you want to break into this market you have to make an equally bland and inoffensively tasteless product. But with good advertising

galtsdrift

badabing106 wrote: »

Exactly. If you want to break into this market you have to make an equally bland and inoffensively tasteless product. But with good advertising

Punk IPA...massive product and very different taste.

cj maxx

dxhound2005 wrote: »

All those new beers are just Carlsberg or Smithwicks with a different label.

A good pint of carlsberg is very very hard to match !!!

elperello

Most of the beers on the market are pretty drinkable.
If they were not they would not sell.

Most popular music is tuneful and well produced.
If it wasn't nobody would bother with it.

If somebody wants to drink IPA and listen to Japanese monk chants that's ok too.

badabing106

tdf7187 wrote: »

U2 are the biggest band in the world, and if you think the likes of Running to Stand Still and Bullet the Blue Sky, and Acrobat are bland, then you have no ears. Granted they've churned out some mediocre stuff also.

But were those tracks played in supermarkets, dentist waiting rooms, as background music on soap operas, In elevators. There was a time for about 6 months you could not go anywhere without hearing this stuff constantly

You can buy Adeles entire discography in dealz now

BDI

dxhound2005 wrote: »

All those new beers are just Carlsberg or Smithwicks with a different label.

Carlsberg or swithwicks with chocolate added.

ILoveYourVibes

Its inoffensive. Its not niche enough to exclude the individual.

Bread is pretty bland. Its a best seller. Goth bread would only sell to goths other individuals would not feel it was for them.

Spicey bread would sell to spices people.

There are 'healthy' breads etc but well it will never outsell plain white bread.

What has no identity can be sold to anyone. What has an identity can only be sold to people who identify with it.

Allinall

95% of boards posters are outliers.

Strumms

I was a Guinness guy but the lagers such as Budweiser (ABSOLUTE PISS) Heineken, Coors and Carlsberg while drinkable were kinda bland tasting to me when compared to say Becks, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (DELICIOUS).... Sierra Nevada mmmm

Bland for many people = safe

Is Adele that bad?.. People like simplicity in music..And it's a means of conveying emotion, which she probably does well..

And the industry pushing her..

Allinall

Allinall wrote: »

95% of boards posters are outliers.

Not me..I'm definitely within the normal distribution..

dxhound2005

Allinall wrote: »

95% of boards posters are outliers.

I'd say it's an average of 60% to 80%.

Your Face

Scratch the surface of most peoples lives and you'll scratch off the veneer of blandness.

Strumms

Deleted User wrote: »

Is Adele that bad?.. People like simplicity in music..And it's a means of conveying emotion, which she probably does well..

And the industry pushing her..

When people who are intelligent and view music as an art form more then simply entertainment they see Adele and get a bit offended, if they don’t they should. Most people who are into music want to be challenged, entertained, excited to discover the new and the brilliant.

ILoveYourVibes

Allinall wrote: »

95% of boards posters are outliers.

I'm not. I am very bland.

Strumms

Strumms wrote: »

When people who are intelligent and view music as an art form more then simply entertainment they see Adele and get a bit offended, if they don’t they should. Most people who are into music want to be challenged, entertained, excited to discover the new and the brilliant.

Music is a means of conveying and manipulating emotions..What is the point of art if not to give voice to heartache and love?..These people you speak of who want to be challenged are just hipsters with notions..

seamus

"Bland" typically means, "What the mainstream enjoys". Therefore by defintion, whatever is bland is going to be the most popular. And if you're a super cool hipster who doesn't conform, then you're going to think that the mainstream stuff is bland.

If it didn't sell massively, it wouldn't sell. It wouldn't sell if people didn't enjoy it.

The complaint that something is "bland" is merely that it has a wide appeal and is enjoyable to a majority of people. Your Hairy Anus IPA and Emilio Kalashnikov's 3-hour Didgeridoo concertos, do not have a wide appeal. Just because something is niche and not bland, doesn't mean it's good.

Omelettes are bland when compared to dogsh1t. I know which I'd prefer to eat.

nkl12xtw5goz70

Many people, busily juggling multiple responsibilities in life, don't have time to endlessly research craft beers or listen to obscure music. I daresay all of us have a particular passion, something we've devoted 10,000 hours to or know more about than 99% of people. It could be gardening, cooking, gaming, abstract art, nineteeth-century French poetry, etc. But most of us don't have time for more than one or two such passions in our lives, and so we have to be mainstream about everything else.

In another thread, a poster talked about the appreciation he developed for the experimental, avant-garde music of Autechre over years of deep, attentive listening. To put this in perspective, their latest release is 8 hours of dense, abstract electronica.

That is all very well for some — and I appreciate his dedication to the band and the genre — but it's just a reality that most people don't have the time. That doesn't mean they should be disparaged for humming along to pop songs in the car or drinking a pint of Carlsberg in a pub.

Bobblehats

Deleted User wrote: »

Music is a means of conveying and manipulating emotions..What is the point of art if not to give voice to heartache and love?..These people you speak of who want to be challenged are just hipsters with notions..

The point is craft. True craft, so many people don’t recognise or understand in order to appreciate craft. If something is bitter on the palate they dismiss it as rubbish and duly tested it down they just want the sweet stuff; the pretty stuff that sugar rush. I might to be in it for a rush myself but not of that variety more an adrenaline surge when craft is truly awe inspiring that’s the real sweet spot...

If more people appreciated true construct in all its guises we wouldn’t be marginalised. We should not suffer, or pay over the odds for boring mediocrity. This is our message and our fight will continue!

One eyed Jack

badabing106 wrote: »

The drinks industry. The most bland and tasteless products are the best sellers

The music industry. Adeles music is absolutely dreadful, but it is manufactured in such away to appeal world wide. Bland, mid tempo, inoffensive supermarket music. Her last album sold 50, 000, 000 times

It’s not that people gravitate to blandness, it’s just that people gravitate towards what appeals to them.

There’s a very niche market for an electric powered pick-up truck for example. It’s bland in my opinion, but it’s popular among EV enthusiasts. It remains to be seen whether it’s popular with people who actually drive bland pick-up trucks.

blueshade

I think a lot of the new beers are aimed at the newly legal drinkers. So many are in soft drink style cans that look like they are being aimed at teenagers who are now legal but don't know what booze to buy. Retro music is so popular because a lot of youngsters don't like the bland music or drill or whatever else is out there. No skin of my nose, there was a time where people wanted to be different, there seems to be a fear of individuality now though.

Bobblehats

The lack of appreciation astounds me to this day. You can still get great mass take yesterday; some buzz I left in high spirits. He really knows how to work the altar

Strumms

Deleted User wrote: »

Music is a means of conveying and manipulating emotions..What is the point of art if not to give voice to heartache and love?..These people you speak of who want to be challenged are just hipsters with notions..

You can give voice to heartache and love amongst other emotions without having to play a fûckin Adele record.

Strumms

Strumms wrote: »

You can give voice to heartache and love amongst other emotions without having to play a fûckin Adele record.

I dunno..Have you ever listened to an Adele record?..A couple of her songs I heard on the radio were grand like..inoffensive..I just wouldn't knock her like..

And anyway, you were going on about a fancy beer above, so you're definitely one of those 'hipsters with notions' I was referring to..

Do you have a beard yeah?

Strumms

Deleted User wrote: »

I dunno..Have you ever listened to an Adele record?..A couple of her songs I heard on the radio were grand like..inoffensive..I just wouldn't knock her like..

And anyway, you were going on about a fancy beer above, so you're definitely one of those 'hipsters with notions' I was referring to..

Do you have a beard yeah?

No beard, no hipster just anti bland, interesting to talk to somebody who enjoys grand and inoffensive music... that’s... great

Bobblehats

Deleted User wrote: »

I dunno..Have you ever listened to an Adele record?..A couple of her songs I heard on the radio were grand like..inoffensive..I just wouldn't knock her like..

I believe it’s between songs she goes on the offensive. Foul mouth on her; contrary to popular belief

HamSarris

People are constantly trying to increase their social status. One way to do this is to try and be original and stand out from the crowd.

By stating, why is X so bland?, why do people find Y funny?, the person is trying to communicate that they have refined tastes, are more intelligent or are more cultured than the next person.

So if U2 weren’t popular, they’d be threads on boards eulogising them

mfceiling

Aliza Greasy Codfish wrote: »

Many people, busily juggling multiple responsibilities in life, don't have time to endlessly research craft beers or listen to obscure music. I daresay all of us have a particular passion, something we've devoted 10,000 hours to or know more about than 99% of people. It could be gardening, cooking, gaming, abstract art, nineteeth-century French poetry, etc. But most of us don't have time for more than one or two such passions in our lives, and so we have to be mainstream about everything else.

In another thread, a poster talked about the appreciation he developed for the experimental, avant-garde music of Autechre over years of deep, attentive listening. To put this in perspective, their latest release is 8 hours of dense, abstract electronica.

That is all very well for some — and I appreciate his dedication to the band and the genre — but it's just a reality that most people don't have the time. That doesn't mean they should be disparaged for humming along to pop songs in the car or drinking a pint of Carlsberg in a pub.

Respectfully I disagree.

I've a very busy life with work and kids but you don't need endless time to try something new and different.

I will try a new craft beer just to see what it's like. Most mainstream lager tastes exactly the same. Why not lift a can or bottle of something that's not sold in every pub in the land.

Music is the same. Go on to Spotify and listen to a different genre. Shazam is great for getting the names of music you might never know. I've found some seriously random music recently that is very good. My mate also sends me songs which are likely to never get close to the charts. We had friends over recently for drinks and I had a Spotify playlist on. One of the lads told me I had a brilliant taste in music and he admitted he really only listens to kodaline when he's driving. I shared the mix with him and told him to keep searching and listening to anything random. He has since messaged me back with some really good stuff I'd never heard of!!

There is a huge amount of everything from food to clothing to music that 90% of people will never venture towards be it through laziness or that they are content with what they know.

Strumms

Strumms wrote: »

No beard, no hipster just anti bland, interesting to talk to somebody who enjoys grand and inoffensive music... that’s... great

Ha..I never said I enjoyed Adele..I said I wouldn't knock it..let people like what they like..

Maybe I'm just not sophisticated enough..

jackboy

I think if everyone tried out different non mainstream beers for a few weeks, 90% would never return to bud, carlsberg or Heineken again.

jackboy

jackboy wrote: »

I think if everyone tried out different non mainstream beers for a few weeks, 90% would never return to bud, carlsberg or Heineken again.

Didn't everyone do that in 2016?

jackboy

Deleted User wrote: »

Didn't everyone do that in 2016?

I’ll prob regret asking but what happened in 2016.

is_that_so

badabing106 wrote: »

The drinks industry. The most bland and tasteless products are the best sellers

The music industry. Adeles music is absolutely dreadful, but it is manufactured in such away to appeal world wide. Bland, mid tempo, inoffensive supermarket music. Her last album sold 50, 000, 000 times

Ooh , this sounds like a rant by a fanboi cos his band has "sold out"! Sure let them at it. Live and let live, man!

Greyfox

jackboy wrote: »

I think if everyone tried out different non mainstream beers for a few weeks, 90% would never return to bud, carlsberg or Heineken again.

Not true, craft beer is too beery for some people's tastes and some people can't be bothered with something been an acquired taste. I love Erdinger but sometimes you can't beat a light beer like Heiniken, it depends on my mood.

Jinglejangle69

Craft beer is piss.

Raspberry flavored beer produced in some piss ridden shed in Wicklow called some quirky name.

You’re grand mate I’ll stick with Heineken.

Ipso

Jinglejangle69 wrote: »

Craft beer is piss.

Raspberry flavored beer produced in some piss ridden shed in Wicklow called some quirky name.

You’re grand mate I’ll stick with Heineken.

There’s no start to your depth of knowledge on the topic

jackboy

Greyfox wrote: »

Not true, craft beer is too beery for some people's tastes and some people can't be bothered with something been an acquired taste. I love Erdinger but sometimes you can't beat a light beer like Heiniken, it depends on my mood.

There are so many different beers out there though you will find something you like no matter your tastes. There are lots of lovely light beers that are way nicer than heiniken.

I suppose the issue is that these are not widely available in pubs whereas Heineken is.

Jinglejangle69

jackboy wrote: »

There are so many different beers out there though you will find something you like no matter your tastes. There are lots of lovely light beers that are way nicer than heiniken.

I suppose the issue is that these are not widely available in pubs whereas Heineken is.

Thanks Christ for that.

elperello

jackboy wrote: »

There are so many different beers out there though you will find something you like no matter your tastes. There are lots of lovely light beers that are way nicer than heiniken.

I suppose the issue is that these are not widely available in pubs whereas Heineken is.

Yes, park your angst it's party time.
There might even be a band

Feisar

wonderboysam wrote: »

Everyone I know just drinks lyons or barrys. Lol try some ginzeng like

Was with a wan years ago and she offered me a cuppa, lemon or peach she said. No just a drop of milk please I replied. We knew in that moment it wasn't going to last, that I was her bit of rough.

Popular things are popular because they’re popular.

ILoveYourVibes

The exception is water. Its bland and its not something we gravitate towards.

Widdershins

If anyone can have it, I don't want it No, I think it's because mild beer and mild music is palatable without taxing your mind or evoking any tricky or complex emotions. Wind-down products.

Reminds me of someone who said he hates anything, as soon as it gets popular, which is illogical and could rule out something very good. And plenty of popular things were once obscure and only appreciated by those who would consider themselves to be discerning connoisseurs!