Name droppers
Independent bands are just like high end fashion.
Some people need to make sure you realize their purse is Chanel and their dress is Oscar de la Renta and these heels? Just one of the 5 Christian Louboutins that they own. It's all about name dropping. Like, "I own this and you don't. I'm better than you".
Some people need to make sure you realize that you liked band XYZ before they got big. Oh and they totally like band 123 and band ABC and band 3000. You haven't heard of any of those? Yeah, well, "I know cool music and you don't. I'm better than you".
It's TOTALLY COMPARABLE.
And people who say they like Indie music? Yeah, too bad indie isn't so much a genre as it is a lack of a major label. It's short for independent, asshat.
In a recent conversation, I mentioned that I'm not a huge concert goer. I've only been to 3 concerts in my life. And the person with whom I was engaged in conversation replied "I bet you're not a music person". Later, I was accused of liking "shit music like Britney Spears, right?"
Yeah, I do like Britney. I love me some Brit Brit.
I like a lot of top of the charts music. Kanye? Fergie? Jack Johnson? Mika? Gwen? I LOVE THEM ALL. If lots of people like it... it's probably because it's good. It really, really, really, bothers me when people refuse to a song just because it's by a popular artist.
OR WORSE: when they used to like a band, but stop liking them once they become popular. ITS THE SAME SONG YOU ONCE LOVED.
My last.fm shows my favourite bands. A mix of Lily Allen, Coldplay, Justin Timberlake, Alanis, etc, and less popular bands like Tilly and the Wall, The Mountain Goats, and The Moldy Peaches. And a healthy amount of Broadway tunes. I love musicals.
I don't know why it bothers me so much. If people want to talk about bands clearly nobody has ever heard about, that should be okay. It's just that if somebody, in the middle of a pleasant dinner conversation, starting talking about baseball stats and nobody else at the table cared about baseball... we'd all be like "shut up, don't you have anything better to memorize?". Or if somebody was talking about their terribly difficult calculus project, we'd be like "okay we get it- you're smart. Now let's talk about something that interests us all".
But when people talk music, I find everybody else at the table tries to fake it till they make it- and then we all start dropping band names nobody else cares about. (And not in a "I suggest you try this band! They're totally your style!" way). It's so lame.
Anyway, to satisfy your curiosity: my itunes top 25!
25 comments:
Moldy Peaches? That's not even catchy or different...it's just...ewww! Couldn't they think of anything that doesn't conjure of images of bad smells and fruit flies?
I am not a music snob either. In fact, I admit to loving country music, and then you make fun of me, so I am less snobby than you. ha!
I'm right there with you. I love all music and hate when people don't like people just because "they're so mainstream and popular now." Gah. Ridiculous. I basically love all music and don't care how much I get made fun of for blaring Brit or Craig David at work :)
I am SO not cool enough to like "cool" music. Whatever, Justin Timberlake is popular because HE IS AWESOME. If you don't have the balls to admit that, forget you!
I'll admit it. I like Justin Timberlake. But only because if I wasn't already taken, I'd totally be begging to have his babies. ;-)
So I totally thought I'd be like the only person on the planet with Alanis, Britney, Chili Peppers, AND Andrew Lloyd Webber in my library.
Yet another reason to heart you. Which I do. A lot.
xoxo
oh and yes, I also find this kind of crap REALLY annoying
Ooo I feel EXACTLY the same way. I love pop music (heck, I treat Eurovision night like it's a national holiday) and my iPod is full of Britney, Ace of Base, Billie Piper, Lily Allen...and, of course, the musicals :)
I also hate it when people say, 'Have you heard of [insert obscure band name here] because they're SO amazing!' quite frankly knowing that I HAVEN'T heard of them, and thus thinking that they sound more knowledgeable and cool.
Um, no?
Agreed! Why do people use music for snobbery? If you know about a good band that I'd genuinely like, by all means let me know! But don't name drop.
Lin- The Moldy Peaches are actually pretty good. Although I have no doubt that actual moldy peaches are disgusting. AND I like country! It gets annoying after a while, and some country doesn't sit terrifically well with me, but I went to a country music festival one year on Canada day!
Katelin- the term mainstream makes me laugh. Because in avoidance of mainstream, people just act like everybody else who is avoiding the mainstream.
L Sass and Queen Bee- I <4 JT. I am very proud to admit that.
CPD- Andy Webber... isn't he great? I could talk about musicals FOREVER
BB- hear hear! Next time somebody is like "uh, you haven't heard of _____" I'm going to be like "no, and you haven't heard of _____" and talk about something that they have little to no interest or knowledge base in. And then they can see how unfun that is! The second law of thermodynamics? You don't want to chat about it? Why not? YOU DON'T KNOW IT????
Virginia- whoops missed you. Yeah- feel free to share and pass on good music... but in a nice way!
I'm scared to admit here that I go to a lot a concerts. But I do. And I like some pretty random bands.
However, I try not to name drop, to the point where I don't even want to tell people what concerts I go to because I know they haven't heard of them... so why bother?
I will admit to trying to convert friends to great bands... but more because the bands are great that because I want to remind them of how indie I am.
I am intrigued by your #1 song... I adore Damien Rice, but I haven't heard that one! It looks like a B-side...?
(oops, if I were cool, I would tell you I only listen to B-sides)
People are like this about everything, ugh. It all has to be "I knew about this before you did and therefore I'm superior." But if they stop being a fan because the band/actress/movie producer they liked is now popular, what kind of fan is that? I want the people I like to succeed!
did someone mention the weakerthans? <3333333
While I have never claimed to like or dislike "indie" music, I never knew that it was short for independent. So I guess that makes me part-asshat?
i think i have a mix of mainstream music that i love and a few bands that i listen to that "haven't made it yet". but i don't really make it a point to bring it up and conversation. i know what you mean though, it is annoying.
oooh you struck a cord with this one...because i can so identify with people like that. i actually took an interesting course in uni about the sociology of consumption...it touched on what you mentioned about name dropping and what not!! very interesting stuff!
I loved this post. You made some excellent points. For me, I don't really care about names or Top 20 or whatever. If I like it, I like it. And its got nothing to do with what is popular or what is not. Or what is cool or what is not.
And I hate people who try making me feel like I am a loser for liking Mandy Moore. She's awesome. Now, piss off ;)
I love this post because it's SO TRUE!
PS - thank you for enlightening me as to what 'indie' really meant!
i agree. 100%
talking about unknown bands does not make a person cool.
As a general rule, I don't like self-proclaimed "Indies". I listen to indie music occasionally but like you said, "It's short for independent, asshat." I don't like it when they claim it as a lifestyle.
I don't go to concerts, but I do mention names of bands in conversations but it's with people who I know like the ones I'm talking about.
As for pop, I like Ashlee Simpson. So what if she lip-syncs. Lol.
i hear ya. definitely.
OMG the stuff with the "indie" music drives me nuts too. ESPECIALLY when they stop listening to them just because the band got popular all of a sudden. WTF?! It doesn't make any sense. Whatever, I love Top 40 too, so keep on rocking girl!
I don't like people who are snobs about their music... it's annoying. I love when people suggest new music to me and I love sharing new music with friends. I liked Top 40 primarily until I went to college. My musical tastes branched out in college like most people. I still listen to Top 40 stations... their Top 40 songs for a reason, right?
I've gone to a lot of concerts in recent years. Since I live in a smaller city, big names don't come by that often. Smaller bands that are making a name for themselves do. When I try to get friends to come to the shows with me, they usually decline saying that they don't know the artist. I've gone to many concerts alone. What sucks is when one of those artists gets popular and my friends suddenly want to go see their show. Their music was just as cool when I asked them to go a year before!
Whoops. "They're"... not "their." :-D
i love one great city.
Post a Comment