Tuesday, February 8, 2011

they all will have exquisite taste but everyone will look the same

In discussion of musical taste and such, I don't think I'm terribly ashamed of my guilty pleasures. As Randal has astutely observed, any sense of guilt has been imparted by the society of either corporate entities or scenester elitism. We like what we like, whatever that is and however that is perceived.

Some sense of sonic pretentiousness has probably always existed, at least according to my dad, who said that back in his day the people who listened to the MC5 weren't the people who listened to Yes weren't the people who listened to Gram Parsons. He has all of those in the record collection that I'll probably end up with since neither of my siblings own a turntable.

I saw a lot of bands live that I didn't care about, but I enjoyed the company of my friends who did. I went through some unfortunate musical phases just like most people, and have found that I haven't bothered with Nine Inch Nails or Stabbing Westward and the like since my teens, and haven't listened to Pavement since leaving Kent.

Guilty pleasures? Hmmm... I don't feel guilty, especially as I get older and there's less social pressure to be cool. I was never cool anyway. I guess the closest thing would be that I've got a soft spot for old-school hardcore and certain dancehall cuts. A lot of people my age pretend like they never listened to the Goo Goo Dolls or Staind, and gave me a hard time for still admitting that I love Alice in Chains and Pearl Jam.

Being in College Radio Land, I know that while certain parts of my musical palate run towards the obscure and esoteric (pre Pol-Pot Cambodian garage rock, Ethiopian jazz, New Zealand post-punk, Turkish psychedelia, Colombian hip-hop), my mainstays are profoundly pedestrian. I love my way uncool grunge bands and boomerific classic rock and pretty much any band that rips off Neil Young and Crazy Horse. I own 90% of U2's recorded output. I'll take the Red Hot Chili Peppers over Can any day.

And unlike my younger self, I'm less likely to judge you based on what you like, unless you're really into the Insane Clown Posse or something. And I might find it funny if you still rock a House of Pain jersey unironically. I've been around enough really awesome people with questionable taste and enough really nasty people with "good taste" to know that I infinitely prefer the former.



Besides, oh hipsters of the Internet, to paraphrase a Less Than Jake song title, "Some of My Best Friends are Metalheads."

6 comments:

Cookbook said...

You know, we really need to hang out and just talk about music sometime.

Chef Cthulhu said...

"As Randal has astutely observed, any sense of guilty has been imparted by the society of either corporate entities or scenester elitism."

Well-said. I could talk about how I came to like what I like but in the end the fact that I like it is all that's important. As my dad says, "You might as well ask me why I like spaghetti."

Agent Orange's "Bloodstains" is just a fantastic tune.

First time I've ever been here, and I should have come sooner.

that girl said...

@Cookbook,
Yes! That would be awesome.

@Chef Cthulu,
Welcome! Your corner of the world looks interesting as well.

Randal Graves said...

You just made Baby Violent J cry. I'm taking my Faygo and going home.

Erick Trickey said...

Where can I find pre-Pol Pot Cambodian garage rock? Fascinating.

MattW said...

You should give Pavement another try...I drop the needle on Terror Twilight every few months and it's still a great record. :-)