Thursday, December 29, 2005
Popular Music
I'm going through a bit of a dilemma here. My general theory on whether or not I should like a band is whether the general populace, whom I'll call "Joe Everyman", likes it. If Joe Everyman does like it, then I don't. For example, Joe Everyman likes Britney Spears. Me? As long as she's wearing clothes, I have no interest in Britney.
This presents me with a few dilemmas. One of them is on my turntable as I right this, the Killers. I got their debut album, Hot Fuss, awhile ago. I gave it a few listens and it was okay, but nothing great. Then I saw that they were going to be on Saturday Night Live. That was enough to make me think they hit the mainstream. Thus, therefore, (three dots), I could not like them. But after listening to the album a few more times recently, I realize they're not that terrible. (If that isn't a ringing endorsement, I don't know what is.)
I think this all started in high school when I started listening to Pearl Jam. Believe it or not, they actually used to be a relatively unknown band. I loved Ten and started listening to the tape in my mom's beat-up old station wagon. I was the very epitome of "alternative." As it happened, I was dating a girl who listened to crap music. (That seems to be a running theme throughout my life, actually.) So, I turned her on to Pearl Jam. Within weeks, she was wearing Pearl Jam shirts to school. Ick. That alone put me off of Pearl Jam for about 5 years.
Another dilemma I have is with bands that I love that aren't very popular, like Sleater-Kinney. They're a punk-rock girl-band out of Seattle who flat-out rock the house. They rock so much that they don't even need a bass guitar. But the lead singer's voice can be a bit, um, annoying, to put it nicely.
This brings me to my dilemma. I love their music so much, I feel compelled to tell other people about them. But if word spreads and my ex-girlfriends start wearing S-K shirts to high school, I'll have to stop listening to them. So what do I do? I know. I think I'll start a blog that nobody reads. Then I can proselytize all about bands like Sleater-Kinney or Journey and not worry about anybody finding out.
This presents me with a few dilemmas. One of them is on my turntable as I right this, the Killers. I got their debut album, Hot Fuss, awhile ago. I gave it a few listens and it was okay, but nothing great. Then I saw that they were going to be on Saturday Night Live. That was enough to make me think they hit the mainstream. Thus, therefore, (three dots), I could not like them. But after listening to the album a few more times recently, I realize they're not that terrible. (If that isn't a ringing endorsement, I don't know what is.)
I think this all started in high school when I started listening to Pearl Jam. Believe it or not, they actually used to be a relatively unknown band. I loved Ten and started listening to the tape in my mom's beat-up old station wagon. I was the very epitome of "alternative." As it happened, I was dating a girl who listened to crap music. (That seems to be a running theme throughout my life, actually.) So, I turned her on to Pearl Jam. Within weeks, she was wearing Pearl Jam shirts to school. Ick. That alone put me off of Pearl Jam for about 5 years.
Another dilemma I have is with bands that I love that aren't very popular, like Sleater-Kinney. They're a punk-rock girl-band out of Seattle who flat-out rock the house. They rock so much that they don't even need a bass guitar. But the lead singer's voice can be a bit, um, annoying, to put it nicely.
This brings me to my dilemma. I love their music so much, I feel compelled to tell other people about them. But if word spreads and my ex-girlfriends start wearing S-K shirts to high school, I'll have to stop listening to them. So what do I do? I know. I think I'll start a blog that nobody reads. Then I can proselytize all about bands like Sleater-Kinney or Journey and not worry about anybody finding out.
