You might not get it but someone does

Yesterday I was sharing the following video with a friend and got an interesting reaction.

It came up in the context of double bass pedals. He asked me when I would get one---I'm a beginner/intermediate drummer---and I said I probably wouldn't for a while. I don't want to get distracted by endless possibilities while I still have so much to learn about the very basics. Anyways, he basically said double bass drumming is silly. I find that surprising given how much rhythmic interest one can create using double bass pedals. I showed him that video of Matt Halpern from Periphery as an example.

While listening to it for about a minute he made a few comments of which I retained three, paraphrased as follows: (1) [I would probably have a lot of fun playing that, but it doesn't really speak to me.] (2) [That looks to me as if he's trying to say something like "Hey, look at me! I got to level 14 on this videogame!"] (3) [His cymbals must have so many nice tones I will never hear...]

Why don't WE normally stop at (1)? You acknowledge there is something about it which you don't really get. Excellent. For me it doesn't really matter whether what he is doing is really hard or not, whether he's trying to show off or not. Of course the technical aspects of it interest me as a drummer and that's part of what I value there. But when I'm listening, or appreciating it synesthetically while watching a video, it really comes down to how I react emotionally and physiologically to the rhythmic patters (or lack thereof) in the sonic input.

In summary, I feel like there is a lot being said there, whether or not he is also getting the most he could out of his cymbals. Things can indeed turn out to be pretty bad if we're approaching them looking for something they're not.

Matt Halpern instantly became one of my favorite drummers after I saw him on DrumChannel

His full performance goes well beyond what they show in this short clip, which you can see if you're a subscriber. If you like polyrhythms, his and associated acts are strongly recommended. If you don't like polyrhythms, growling vocals, severely distorted/low pitch guitars and rhythmic mayhem, I'm sure there is a lot out there you can still appreciate without having to be demeaning of what you don't.