When I was a younger I considered myself a bit of a music aficionado. I was quite disdainful of anything that lots and lots of people liked to listen to. My pencil case had bands like Nirvana and The Cure and Pink Floyd scrawled all over it, way before most people at my school knew who they were. I scoured record fairs for Neil Young and Hendrix and obscure Velvet Underground recordings. I coveted my Dad's LP collection (I still do, to be honest). I wouldn't touch Kylie or ABBA or anything that was in the Top 20 (apart from U2. For some reason my friends and I made an exception, a BIG exception, for U2. Obsessed doesn't even begin to describe it).
In short, I was an idiot.
Last weekend the husband and I stayed up 'til the wee hours, letting iTunes run on shuffle and taking turns to play DJ on the record player. We happily skipped from Joy Division to Adele, from Joni Mitchell to Rihanna, from MGMT to The Lighthouse Keepers. Because good music is simply that, good music. It might be a song that helps you make sense of the world or of a feeling. Or it might be a song that floods you with memories, good and bad. Or it might be a song that makes you wanna dance around your living room like an idiot (not that I do that...). It just has something about it that is inherently good, in and of itself.
So now I say 'no' to musical snobbery! (And to movie snobbery, and food snobbery for that matter). Don't get me wrong - this doesn't mean I like everything. But I try to like things on their merits, not because of some ridiculous wanna-be-hipster hang up I have. I believe that sandwiches are completely underrated, that Love Actually is one of the greatest movies ever made, and that Beyonce is a pop genius with a killer voice (and killer pins!).
What do you think? Do you say no to musical snobbery?
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ps. the one thing our playlist is currently lacking is new music, because we are a wee bit isolated from the English speaking world, and there's only so much Kpop I can cope with. I'd love to hear what's on your music mix right now - tell me please!
Absolutely! You've gotta just go with what you like, regardless of the who, what and whys. x
ReplyDeleteditto on the anti-snobbery front!
ReplyDeleteHave you ever listened to Goldfrapp (I'm going to guess you have)? Zee Avi (ukulele & sweetest voice!)?
That's all I've got to recommend right now; early-morning brain! :)
You are a better person than me then :)
ReplyDeleteWe are still self confessed music snobs. And OK with that.
I am addicted to Arcade Fire and lately re-visiting the Cocteau Twins, so lush. The hubsand is loving Blonde Redhead at the moment, and I am enjoying them too :)
My favourites now (and for a while) are Arcade Fire, Cowboy Junkies, DeadMau5, Florence & the Machine, Grizzly Bear, Lykke Li, Metric, Neko Case, Radiohead & Sia. Can you tell I went through my iTunes alphabetically to make that list. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI don't believe I've ever been much of a music snob, I'm fairly open to new music but I have noticed a shift in my taste that may have come with age. I now visible shudder when I hear classic 80s and 90s covers by the new waves of pre-teen or teen pop stars.
I LOVE ALL MUSIC:) I love to discover something new everyday. Ever hear a commercial and want that song? That's me. SaylorMade has mentioned a lot of what I listen to......I also love all genre's...punk/grunge, rock, metal, soft...depends on how I'm feeling for the day! I call it "Mood Music"~
ReplyDeleteI love all types of music, but have to admit I'm still a bit of a snob. I've been listening to a lot of The Black Keys, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Grace Potter & the Nocturnals, J. Roddy Walston & the Business, and the Tedeschi Trucks Band. Those are the 5 cds in our stereo right now at least...
ReplyDelete