This will be a short entry, but it is entry that must be shared. As most of my friends and family know, I can be a bit a music snob. I try in vain to conceal this underlying condition when meeting new people, but the snobbery inevitably rears its obnoxious head. I suppose it goes back to some sort of social acceptance that I've always felt a specific taste in music could guarantee. Junior high era brainwashing, we've all been there.
Nevertheless, the peer pressure aspect of liking music passed around 10th grade, and I like to think now I listen to what I listen to because I believe it is enjoyable and well crafted. However, the judgmental, holier than thou attitude is more difficult to shake than one would suspect. In spite of being a 21 year old adult on the verge of graduating college, I can't help but judge people based on their taste in music. I always felt that your favorite artist was a clean cut reflection of your intelligence, or more specifically, your personality. For instance, if your all time favorite band is the Beatles, I am lead to believe that, though the band is respectable, you are too lazy to indulge in the contemporary music that spawned from this monumental band. Or, if you LOVE Taylor Swift, you are probably satisfied and complacent with simplistic pop songs and lack the ability to appreciate complexity. And if you like metal, I have nothing to say because I have yet to successfully establish the psychopathy behind it. No offense. It's just such a strange genre.
BUT, this is all crap spewing from the gutter of my closed mind. I had a revelation via a DJ on the Sirius/XM radio station called XMU, a station that plays underground and indie music that most people haven't heard of. They claim it's supposed to keep people updated on what the "next big thing" will be before they become that big thing, but I know it's just a hipster station where people go and listen and then feel high and mighty for listening to music no one's heard of, or simply being the first person to hear about it. But that's the beauty of it. If no one's heard of a band, they can't formulate a stereotype to place you in based on that particular musical preference. I can't say I haven't felt this same way when wandering the abyss of bizarre music that this station plays. It's weird, sometimes I don't like it, but sometimes I love it. And I love even more that it is something that belongs, to some extent, only to me.
I guess what I'm trying to convey is that when viewing music tastes as a measure of intelligence, you can get really offended. I get pissed when a band I value and who's intricacies I understand and appreciate becomes loved by people who I feel are not capable of comprehending the art, or who are simply not worthy. It drives me up the wall. This contradiction--this anomaly--gets me all hot and bothered every single time I witness it. It makes me feel like one of those crazy radical Christians spouting hate and violence in service of the loving Jesus Christ. I love my music, but just like these bible-toting maniacs, I find myself only choosing those who are worthy to enjoy specific music, and just bash on those who I feel are not.
Back to the DJ. It was one of the most peculiar experiences of my life. I was sitting in my car and a song by a band called Phoenix was playing. Just a background on Phoenix: they used to be little known, and now they are very, very popular. Just as the song ends, a DJ begins speaking. At first he talks normal DJ talk, speaking of the song and the band, but then he took a very unexpected turn. I cannot recall exactly what was said, but it was something to the tune of this:
"Yes Phoenix, that was an old song we just played for you. Before they transitioned into a more mainstream pop sound. Are you one of those people who get upset by their booming popularity? Do you get mad when you see more and more people like the bands you like? Are you angry when a band you love becomes wildly famous?"
All of which, I reluctantly answered yes to. I wish I could say no, but I was just listening to him waiting anxiously to see what he would say next:
"Or are you one of those people that is able to transcend that? Are you able to see that music is there for everyone to enjoy, and not just you? Are you aware it is an art form for the masses and can be appreciated and interpreted by anyone in the world?"
At this point, I am truly contemplating his words. They are actually affecting me. It was incredible. And lastly comes the most baffling part:
"And you are ok with all of this. Because you know, that you yourself, have THE BEST taste in music in the entire world"
After which I conceitedly, and confidently, said to myself "I really do." Upon which the DJ spoke his last words:
"YOU REALLY DO."
I think this odd, twilight zone-esque encounter has opened my mind. I feel revitalized
On and unrelated note, I CANNOT STAND the fact that Miley Cyrus has the balls to say she likes Bon Iver and Modest Mouse.
Damn, that girl is such an idiot...
