So there's this odd phenomenon that's haunted me this past couple of years. Let me give some background information on me: I'm kind of a snob. Not a huge one, but when it comes to certain things I have very definite preferences. So music for instance. I listen to stuff that gets radio play but I don't listen to all of it. And I resent listening to much of it. I had a discussion with one of my friends who is a huge Matchbox 20 fan that almost came to fisticuffs. How can you argue that Matchbox 20 is one of the best bands of the decade? They're the vanilla pudding of music: easy to listen to and soulless. Matchbox 20, Third Eye Blind (still hardly decipherable), and more recently The Fray--average white bands. Catchy, but not to be sought after.
The phenomenon is this: I find myself in a position to listen to these songs (usually driving to work listening to the radio) and they become perfect for my life.
Last summer I'd broken up with a boy who I really liked and admired and as I was mulling over this state of affairs while driving to look for jobs, The Fray's song, the "sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same" one, comes on the radio and perfectly reflects my feelings. Damn. Also, the "in over my head" (is this one also by The Fray?) became the unfortunate anthem of the summer before this. Today I was again thinking about a recent breakup and Pat Monaghan's song (I don't remember the lyrics even--a break-up song suffice it to say) came on and I realized that it was to be the anthem of this break-up and consequent period of transition.
Ick. I'm not sure what this says about my subconscious...or maybe it says something about the soulless impersonality of pop. But I don't like it, no not a bit.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Pop
Posted by Kjerstin Evans Ballard at 11:46 AM
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9 comments:
I know what you mean about resenting pop music. I always feel like iPods and such are so cliche...and yet I have one. But when I listen to it I always justify it in my mind... "Ya, but I'n not listening to junk, I'm listening to the Decemberists. Or, I'm listening to This American Life, or Simon and Garfunkel."
Speaking of moods and Simon and Garfunkel, I have determined that their music fits every single mood I am in. If I'm happy, the are celebrating the world. If I'm sad, so are they! If I want to work in the garden, their easy melodies go perfectly with the garden. There isn't a single situation that they don't have a song for (and many of their songs are happy sad and everything inbetween, so its good for everything.)
Happens to me too, and not just with music. Am I a fake snob?
LOL. Nothing to hide here - I really like average white bands. I listen to them all the time, I can't even try to pretend I don't. I am unabashedly not a music snob. I would fail miserably if I tried to pretend otherwise. STILL... I wouldn't argue Matchbox 20 as one of the best bands of the decade - but I definitely like their stuff. I think there is a huge difference between what you like and what is "good." Kind of how I really like certain books - stuff like Choose Your Own Adventure and the 7 Habits of whatever... they aren't "good," but I like them just the same. Does that make sense? Can you acknowledge that something isn't "good" but that you love it anyway? Maybe that doesn't work... hm. Guess it depends on how we define "good."
Goodness.
Why must we constantly put borders around the things we like? If you like it, you like it. Whatever.
I used to ridicule pop music. But it was because it was pop music done badly. Two bands---They Might Be Giants, and Fountains of Wayne---convinced me that pop can be done well. E.g. Fountains of Wayne's rendition of Britney Spears' "One More Time." And mellow horns on TMBG's Mink Car create pure pop bliss.
And the idea of music snobs reminds me of this note found in the student humor paper here at the law school in a section called "Overheard" where you read witty caricatures of campus stereotypes. This one was overheard said by a mac user: "I wear black-rimmed glasses and you've never heard of my favorite band." He he.
The kind of snob I am is a food snob. Catherine gets annoyed with me because we'll go out to eat somewhere and I'll say something like "I could make this better." She has to remind me that we're not just paying for the food, we're paying to not have to do the dishes.
And by the way, the word verification word that I have to type to post this is "obungo," which pleases me. Obungo. Sounds like a good name for a pop band. (But maybe that's just because it reminds me of oingo boingo).
(whose pop music I don't approve of. dead man's party is my least favorite thing about october.)
(nods approvingly)
Dead Man's Party is one of the unfortunately more popular of Oingo Boingo's songs. My favorite is definitely "Private Life"
I think what bothers me about identifying with pop music is that way down deep in the back of my mind I think that all my feelings are unique and so to hear them playing over the radio seems to tell me that I'm not so unique anymore. Sometimes it's comforting, most times its disturbing. And then I know I'm in a bad way when I start to look for signs in pop music. Like I'm going to gain some insight into my life from what is playing over the radio. That is when I know I need to rethink some things.
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