Hey everyone!
So, unlike my last post, this one's probably not going to be very long (I thought it was not going to be long. I tried to keep it short. I failed.) particularly earth-shattering. But I just needed to get this off my chest
real quick and I figured, why not do that here? So this post is going to be me venting
about some people's need to make others feel bad for the music they listen to.
I apologise in advance for any expletives I might use, any confusing turns I
might take while rambling my way through this, and any toes I might step on -
sorry, I mean no harm! Let's get this party started then, shall we?
Call me naive, but I do actually believe that
it's possible to go through life without labelling things based on personal
opinions all the time. Hearing people say things like "Wow, that song is
complete shit!" - BIG pet peeve of mine. And I try not to get too annoyed,
because I KNOW that sentences like that slip sometimes and I KNOW that I've
said stuff like that before, too, but... It really does rub me the wrong way.
Like, why do you have to say that so negatively? What if the person you're
talking to actually really likes this song? The amount of times I've heard
people chuckle uncomfortably and mutter quiet "Yeah!"s, because they
feel stupid for liking a song their counterpart has just declared utter crap,
makes me mad. Can't you just phrase it a bit differently? I don't know, maybe
say "I don't like this" instead of "this is shit"!
Basically conveys the same message, but isn't as offensive.
 |
| Dara O'Briain, Irish comedian https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaQlQjLDsvI at ~1h 4min |
Another phrase that I really don't like to hear:
"You listen to that?! That's so mainstream!" in an incredulous tone,
paired with a condescending look. Luckily, I haven't been on the receiving end
of said tone and look all that often, because I can't guarantee my response would
have been all that nice...
I don't really understand when and why
"mainstream" has become some sort of slur. Correct me if I'm wrong,
but to me, mainstream refers to something that a lot of people do or like. Why
is that a bad thing? I mean, yeah, don't limit yourself to the stuff you hear
on the radio, broaden your horizon, yadda, yadda, yadda... I get that part. I
understand that people get fed up with hearing the same ten currently immensely
popular songs over and over again. But a song being popular doesn't immediately
make it bad. Using the word "mainstream" as a synonym for "not
good" or even "shit" has become rather popular and I fail to see
why! If enough people like a song for it to be successful, to be played on the
radio, to sell a decent amount of copies, it can't be all that shit, now, can
it?
What even classifies a "good" song? If
a song is really catchy and you can listen to it a lot without it getting old,
but it's just not all that musically complex, does that instantly make it a bad
song? And is a song, that has the most carefully thought out, poetical lyrics
and is near impossible to play live, because it was written by some musical
prodigy, really that much superior, if you just can't listen to it, because it
gets annoying after a while? Of course you might be able to appreciate that
song more on an artistic level, but will artistry alone make you enjoy
listening to it?
Now, I am not trying to belittle anything here.
I'm not trying to say any one type of song is better than the other, no, that's
exactly the opposite of what I'm trying to do. My point is that different
people like different things and I don't think anyone should be put down for
the things they like just because others might prefer something else. Of
course, that doesn't only go for music, but also for movies, books, hobbies,
clothes and mostly everything else in life as well. Think about it, does it
really concern you, if someone chooses to exclusively listen to top 40 music, if
someone prefers metal over alternative rock, or if they've got Beethoven
sonatas on repeat? I don't believe it does. To each their own, right? So just
go ahead, like the stuff you like and leave others be. And most importantly,
don't tell other people their taste in music or whatever is shit, just because
you might not like the same things. It only makes people feel bad and I don't
think people feeling bad because of something they enjoy should be a thing. So
your friend likes folk music and you don't - big fucking deal! You might not
agree, everybody is entitled to their own opinion after all, but that doesn't
give you the right to tell said friend there's something wrong with their taste
in music. What good is that going to do anyway? You won't make them stop liking
folk music. The only thing that you might achieve is them not talking to you
about the music they listen to anymore.
So, long story short: don't be a dick about other
people's taste in music. Actually, no, let me rephrase that! Don't be a dick.
Full stop! Repeat that after me, slowly and clearly: Don't. Be. A. Dick. Not
going to make you any better, just makes others feel bad. And we don't want
people to feel bad, do we? Good. Rant over, class dismissed!
Good night everyone! :)
