The Sound of Snobbery“The Dandy Warhols are amazing.”
(Superior, smudged-mascara stare.)
“Um, what I meant was that they, um, used to be cool … I liked them when I was, like, ten …”
Oh, I’m sorry. Did I say something to offend you? I didn’t realize that you were the All-Knowing Arbiter of Musical Taste. The Dandy Warhols are, like, so over? Oh my god, does this mean I’m not allowed to like the Strokes anymore either? They sold out? I didn’t realize! Hold on, let me get out a pen. Per your instruction, I will no longer be listening to the Strokes, the Arcade Fire or Sleater-Kinney. (Although I’m permitted to be nostalgic for this last group, now that they’re no longer touring. But it was way lame that they played Lollapalooza.)
You’ve been on one side of this situation: you’re either the poor person with absolutely no musical taste whatsoever, or you’re the music snob. You can always see one coming if you watch for the tell-tale sign: the slightly curled lip. Those people who, every time you mention liking a band or a song, even one that they themselves used to like, say, “Yeah, I was into them for like, a minute, but then they got so … whatever.”
I don’t know anything about music. I can’t tell you about composition, or what key anything is in or if something has a 5/12 time signature, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t figure out what I like. I’m not saying at all that you have to like everything, or that you can’t have an opinion. There are a few bands that I absolutely can’t stand. Just don’t dismiss everything you don’t personally enjoy as “lame.”
I don’t know how music became the most important factor in judging a person. No one, at least no one I know, judges people by what they read. Even movies, which can sometimes lead to snobbery, don’t carry the same sort of weight that music seems to.
So I’m sorry if it offends your delicate ears when I play my passé music. I know it makes you cringe when you’re forced to listen to my unbearably pathetic selections as you walk past my room. I sincerely hope that one day, I can be bohemian, like you.
(Note: The bands in this piece do not necessarily represent my personal taste. Rather, they are bands that I have either been berated for liking, or have heard others be similarly lectured for the same reason. Don’t try and be a smartass and e-mail me about my horrible musical taste. It’s too easy.)
3 comments:
Ain't a single damn person on earth could make me ashamed of loving Sleater-Kinney, that's for sure.
The calling-out of music snobs is highly appropriate for Grinnell. Good work. ;)
Jeez, bud. Did we need to fire back with superiority over snobs? Some people, music is all they know about. Just let them be experts. If you like pop music, then live it up kid. Why can't you just like what you like? You need other people to tell you its ok and that whatever you like is good?
Good ole S&B, never misses a chance to counter pretention with pretention.
More pretentious than referring to someone you don't even know as "bud" and "kid"? The point isn't that you should walk around telling everyone how wonderful their music is, it's just that if someone happens to disagree with you, leave them alone instead of jumping down their throat.
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