IonHodx

1y

Almost every popular platform is filled with stan wars, baiting, and hot takes, particularly in pop and hip-hop. It's always "X artist hasn't had a number one in years, they're finished," "X artist fell off because they dropped Y album," or "YB better” it’s mainly inflammatory and engagement driven.

I'm wondering why, though. I don't really see people posting this sort of stuff in reference to rock, metal, or EDM when they rarely crop up in these circles. The discourse is a bit more nuanced on average and isn't as hot-takey or outright disrespectful.

Even on here the threads that mostly get traction are the gossip/drama threads, or some thread with obvious bait in it to get people arguing or make fun of the OP etc. more thoughtful threads rarely get too much traction. There’s also a lot of sales talk/chart talk like on Twitter versus anything to do with the actual music half the time.

One other thing I noticed, particularly in metal/rock (from what I've read in other online music circles), is that they usually speak about older bands or legacy acts with reverence.

Metallica, for example, has been releasing questionable stuff later in their career, yet they're still largely considered one of the best ever. In contrast, with someone like Eminem, there are people saying his later albums are tarnishing his legacy/discography, or kick him off of an all-time list. Hip-hop fans don’t really show the same respect to older artists and call it “dust” or whatever else.

I'm just sort of confused as to where this mindset and difference stems from.