[REPLY] I find that I am embarrassed of liking bands that are widely liked by other people
xoxs:
10 Bands I Like That Other People Tend To Like:
Nirvana
Radiohead
Weezer
The Beatles
The Rolling Stones
The Who
Bob Dylan
Regina Spektor
Death Cab For Cutie
Johnny Cash….actually “like” is an understatement. I fucking love those bands. these bands are important to me. but I rarely speak of them to any but my closest friends because I don’t want to seem too “mainstream”. I assume my concern stems from the fact that I am at heart a truly, deeply shallow person.
I will say however that I struggled with the top 10 list because I noticed their seemed to be slightly less stigma about certain bands. for instance Johnny Cash seemed more cool because he’s a country artist therefore my like of him could be taken ironically. the rolling stones seemed uncool almost because they are too cool. not liking the Rolling Stones seems dumb but actively liking them seems equally dumb. because they define coolness, commenting on their coolness seems unnecessary. meanwhile Weezer, Death Cab and Regina seemed the least cool because they were at one point soo cool that admitting to liking them instantly dates you as if you never evolved musically from whatever you liked when you were 15.these are things that shallow people worry about.
I don’t think you should be ashamed of liking bands other people like—even if you sacrifice some perceived “coolness.”
People like the Rolling Stones (for instance) because they’re an amazing and talented rock band that has been putting out consistently top-quality music for just a hair short of 50 years. They defined what it means to be rock stars and to create rock music. Why the hell wouldn’t anyone like them? Okay, so maybe they ripped off The Beatles a little with Their Satanic Majesties Request, but it’s a testament to their talent that their “rip off” album is still regarded by both fans and music critics as one of their best.
This is a lot of words for what can be summarized in three: fuck the haters.
Anytime I encounter some hipster/music snob/irony-filled-blog-post about how The Beatles were overrated I immediately know the person is full of shit and whatever they say next is irrelevant. If you don’t recognize that The Beatles were one of the most influential (or flat out best) rock groups of all time, then you’re just being obtuse for the sake of trying to be cool/underground, and frankly I’m getting more than a little tired of that particular flavor of bullshit.
