My editor wanted a regular album review from me this week but I’m a little annoyed by something at the time. Before I begin my semester of destroying Coldplay albums and such etcetera, I want to share an important principle about music taste: It doesn’t matter.
I have a social life. My friends often have a radio playing in their car or background music engulfing their apartment. This summer, I spent a lot of time listening to modern pop and country music. I think I heard Dierks Bentley’s “Dunk on a Plane” more than I actually listened to anything out of my own choice. To be brief, modern popular country music is terrible. Yet in these social situations I never complained about the music. It’s not worth it, especially when someone else in the room is probably emotionally connected with the music being played. You can’t make people feel what you feel or think what you think.
I’ve met plenty of people who tell me they prefer underground music. The majority of them are hypocrites who match musical superiority with human superiority. Perhaps they’ll wear a Vampire Weekend t-shirt and think they’re hot stuff or something like that. Most people who listen to truly underground music don’t make a big deal about it. They understand that it doesn’t matter.
There are plenty of bands out there I’ve never heard of or listened to. I’m okay with this because you should never listen to more music than you are comfortable with. I can stick with my Arthur Russell, the false hipsters can stick with their Vampire Weekend and my friends can stick with their Luke Bryan.
I almost got into an argument this summer with a friend of mine about whether Michael Jackson was over-or-underrated. I realize I disagree with people on most pop music topics but this friend of mine used the abominable phrase, “I don’t think you understand.” In angst, I could have poured out my array of 80s music and pop songwriting wisdom but it wouldn’t have been worth it. I totally understand who Michael Jackson and his music. What I obviously didn’t understand is how my friend feels when he listens to MJ. Arguing against that is a waste of time.
Even if Michael Jackson is totally overrated...
I suppose I have strong music opinions because I myself am a musician and I work on my own material. I want to create something with a personality. This is hard to do if you aren’t aware of all the cool stuff other artists are doing right now or have done in the past. Because I listen to a broad spectrum of music, I hear new sounds and voices all the time. It’s intriguing; it’s enjoyable. You shouldn’t get into a music argument with me. Not because I’m right but because I’m happy.
I often listen to bands based off of positive reviews from music critics. It bugged me a little when I realized people were into the same artists as me because they heard them in a movie. I never watch movies. I could go on my rant about how American pop culture is totally ruined and it’s all Zooey Deschanel’s fault, but today’s message is that good music is still good no matter what medium it comes from. Even if it produces people like the high-and-mighty Vampire Weekend shirt guy I mentioned earlier. I’ve learned to rise above the annoying hipster stereotypes and Deschanel-worshippers by simply enjoying the music and never considering myself as superior or inferior to other people.
So go ahead. Bust out your “Juno” soundtrack. Listen to those five Radiohead tracks you downloaded to your iPod. Buy that new Wiz Khalifa album at Wal-Mart. Tell yourself Michael Jackson is as good as The Beatles. Listen to “Drunk on a Plane” for the tenth time today. It’s totally allowed and nobody ought to judge you. Before I write reviews for The Statesman this semester, I want it known that my articles are merely my opinion.
That new Coldplay album was pretty crappy.
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