“What the hell is this music?”
Posted By Erin Rice in Square Pegs on May 5, 2009
Long before stepping into the music editor/tab-manager/etcetera role at Pegasus, I’ve had a music-related pet peeve that has plagued me. I wish I could get past it. I’ve asked for guidance in letting it not bother me. But it persists and I’ve fallen prey to moments of rage and inconsolable pissiness as a result. The pet peeve is the following question: “What the hell is this music?”
It comes in different forms. There is of course the offhand question above. Sometimes you’ll be talking about your favorite band and some random, Golem-like cretin will slither from the mist and slur, “They’re awful! You don't like them, do you?” Maddening. I can’t help but bite my thumb at them. I have a problem and I need help.
It started early on. A man who listened to classic rock and a woman who sang show tunes around the home and aerobicized to 80’s pop loved each other very much and popped out a kid. Then the couple took that first-born daughter to a Kenny G concert, her first concert ever (by the way, thanks a ton guys). Perhaps a Freudian shame in knowing KENNY-FREAKIN’-G was my first live music experience has led me to fly off the handle when people question my, by all reputable accounts, amazing tape collection/mixed CD/iTunes playlist.
As we all tend to do, down the road I cut the cord and crafted my own musical tastes. So did my friends and our tastes didn’t always mesh. I nearly lost a confidant and soccer buddy because she went on a hateful tirade about Ixnay on the Hombre (Offspring), which I loved. A screaming match after practice left a rift in the team that would last at least two more training sessions. After one ex-boyfriend refused to let me pop Muse’s Absolution into the CD player on a long road trip, I spent the next week with arms crossed and a scowl tattooed across my face. The next boyfriend was warned right off the bat, and luckily for him, he adhered to the standard well enough. There were some exclamations of doubt today as I forced, nay, allowed everyone to listen to Gotan Project during our Cinco de Mayo potluck, and I’ve found my “issues” have not calmed over the years, as this nonsensical post can attest to.
It occasionally happens on this site, too. But I have found, compared to many other music sites, our commenters tend to focus on the positive or, at least, redirect misguided musicos to other bands. Yay for us and this culture of acceptance we’ve fostered. Let’s relish in this glory for a second… Utopia feels gooooood.
Stretching the limits of what Square Pegs constitutes on this site, I write only seeking help. I don’t want to be an angry person anymore. If there is anyone out there with words of advice, or perhaps a few spare prozac, I reach out to you. ("Hi, my name is Erin and it's ok if other people question my music. NOT OK! Alright, it's ok.") Until then I sit and stew (and blog, and maybe I’ll update my Facebook status later when I’m done twittering).
Naturally, after spending the last several paragraphs attempting to be open and inviting to music of all shapes and sizes, I must admit to making one exception. That exception is Nickelback. My God, they’re awful. You don’t like them, do you?
There is this weird dichotomy I feel when this subject comes up.
On the one hand, there is the cultured tongue/ear that i have developed by being forced to listen to new (to me) music for no less than 8 hours a day while at conservatory for ten freakin' years. I remember with horrifying detail the nightmares my psyche was subjected to in the wee hours during my Masters second semester when i was forced to memorize hours of 20th century classical (new/arthouse/holyshithinkmysoulisbeinganalprisonraped) music. But out of all that mess there were glorious moments when things opened up and what i once found indefensible, i grew to love and listened to music in new and different ways.
On the other hand, who the hell are you to tell me that something is good or it totally sucks you douchebag!?
This very subject and my subsequent hostility flares up even among members of my own band. “How the hell can you think Fugazi sucks? Are you insane? Did mommy force you to play with dead kitties and eat toenails for breakfast!?”
I think the one thing that i (and maybe you) can take from this feeling is that I love music. I really love music. And i personalize it. Like, I eat ramen to listen/play music and I cry over stupid chord progressions in <i>Au Clair de la Lune</i> as if they were the dialogue to my soul's Requiem. Whatever. So you love music. And you personalize it. Heck, we aren't just fans of The Clash. We are in The Clash. And if someone doesn't like our music, then bollocks to 'em.
Justin Smith Verified
6 months, 3 weeks ago
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As someone who's fine with not being savvy in most things music, I generally have no idea who you're talking about when you name-drop bands. I just think to myself, "Hmm, I'll probably never hear what this person is referencing".
What happens past this thought is generally contingent upon my overall feelings towards you. I could:
Srsly though, never understood why this gets people's goat to the extent it does. Someone has a different opinion...welcome to life.
Scott Doyle Verified
6 months, 3 weeks ago
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Oh, to keep it constructive - I advise vomiting profusely on all naysayers...and declaring you're a confirmed case of bacon lung.
Scott Doyle Verified
6 months, 3 weeks ago
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...perhaps then the cure is following Doyle around for a week.
That whole doing my job and helping people (who want it) discover new music thing might be difficult to leave behind. Not to mention, the paycheck that comes with it. Oh, god... are you trying to get me fired?!
Erin Rice Verified
6 months, 3 weeks ago
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Travis Bush Verified
6 months, 3 weeks ago
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I fully support you doing your job, Erin. And though it saddens me to believe your kind looks down on us uncultured folk with eyes heavy in judgment, I'll have you know that I am quite the fan of live shows...ESPECIALLY when I'm not familiar with the band.
Granted, more often than not there's a level of disappointment...but I'd venture to say the good times far outweigh the bad. This may have a high correlation with my inebriation at the time, but so it goes.
Moral of this post is that if someone's ripping on your music and you know the band puts on a helluva show, disregard such blasphemy and post when they're coming through Dallas. If their live performances suck, proceed to vomiting profusely while holding your (hopefully fake) pig flu prescription. =p
Scott Doyle Verified
6 months, 3 weeks ago
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<center><img src="http://g.imagehost.org/0749/cat_bassbassbass.jpg"></center>
Pavel Lishin Verified
6 months, 3 weeks ago
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Scott, I'm sorry that you took my post (which was farcical, at best) to mean that I look down on people who are musically "uncultured." That wasn't the intention at all.
I thought it was obvious that I was making fun of myself for being so silly and getting upset when people make cracks about what I like. It happened yesterday when I played some tango/parisian music for our potluck. Several people made faces and jokes about it, and I fumed. Then I realized how ridiculous I was being and wrote this.
Ultimately the joke was pointed at me and silly people like me, certainly not you. The Scott Doyle biopic is still in the works. You'll have to be patient.
Erin Rice Verified
6 months, 3 weeks ago
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<i>It happened yesterday when I played some tango/parisian music for our potluck. Several people made faces and jokes about it, and I fumed.</i>
Replace "tango/parisian" with the random crap I listen to, and I know pretty much exactly how you feel.
Except I <b>still</b> think that the people who hate my gypsy music are uncultured retards who don't deserve ears.
Pavel Lishin Verified
6 months, 3 weeks ago
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Erin, Kitten, I know the feeling when it comes to music. I look at this at two sides. First, I like finding new and interesting groups, I like gotan project, muse and a few others you listed. In fact, Ixnay got massive play on my CD player years ago and I have the album via iTunes.
However, im not a big fan of the "hipster" who wave their favorite "unknown" band from myspace/facebook who played a friends/family showcase at SXSW in other peoples faces then make them feel like a total jackass because they dont necessarly like their sound.
So, my advice in this case: Dont try to be trendy, be yourself and avoid the hipster tag ;)
Chris Kidd Verified
6 months, 3 weeks ago
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*Scott, I'm sorry that you took my post (which was farcical, at best) to mean that I look down on people who are musically "uncultured." That wasn't the intention at all.*
Even though it wasn't your intention, that's how it seems...and I wasn't even there. I've learned the hard way that what's actually communicated holds great precedence over one's intention, especially when the two vary. Whatever your thoughts are on that, please be sure to update us when good live acts are playing. =p
No need to apologize, btw, I know I'm not as culturally diversified as peeps who have a great passion for music. And I'm OK with it. =p
Scott Doyle Verified
6 months, 3 weeks ago
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Welcome to the human race its mess and everyone is wrong but you… Kiddin.. I have made the same mistake that you have accused others on, only on a slightly different level. However karma seemed to want to put the smack down on me and I have learned my lesson on venting my opinion on someone’s taste. Basically I was riding in the car with 2 of the people I work with. Jake(who had gotten on my nerves all day) plugs his ipod into the aux jack of the rental car and begins to subject me to the most annoying happy peppy crap music I have ever heard, and begins to sing along. That last shred of calm lasted a whole 10 mins till I snapped and said the following. “Dude what is this craptastic Beatles wannabe swill your subjecting me to. Seriously I would rather watch a Rosie O’donnel and Starr Jones lez porn than listen to this, change it cause it’s about to drive me bat-sh!&!”. Unbeknownst to me Jake was trying to get on my good side, the band was Panic At The Disco and he knew I loved them but had not heard there new stuff(imo: it is a crappy effort from them). I felt like such a douche-bag, I b!tched at him for trying to do something nice. What I am trying to say is that karma will get around to those people that push their opinions on you eventually. Till then I agree start puke'in on 'em...
Jasen Chavez Verified
6 months, 3 weeks ago
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I didn't see that that's what I actually communicated nor intended. I thought it was obvious this was a post mocking MYSELF. I asked others if they also thought it was obvious, and they did. Not sure why you're seeing yourself in this post. Gosh, the point, if there was one, was to say that it shouldn't matter who or what you like. I, too, am generally annoyed by people who look down on others. I think we're making similar arguments, Scott.
I can hardly recall a time when I have name-dropped a band purely to make myself feel hip. I mentioned three bands in this post only because they were what inspired the events (exaggerated for comic appeal - a comedian, I guess I'm not), and two of them are pretty mainstream. Gotan Project got play in the office yesterday because it was a Cinco de Mayo party and it was the only thing I had with Latin rhythms. Tenuous connection, I know. Name-dropping Offspring (especially today) makes me quite possibly the lamest thing ever. If I wanted to appear cool, I would have mentioned something far more obscure. But I'm hardly cool enough to even know anything that obscure, and I've been a so-called music editor for TWO YEARS now. That either makes me a slacker (likely) or the complete antithesis of what you're apparently blaming me for.
And I'll always try to keep ya'll up-to-date on bands as they come through town. I do it, with tons of help, everyday in one way or another as part of my duties for Pegasus. Glad to continue, whether it makes me trendy or not. Trust me folks, I can't be a hipster, I look ridiculous in skinny pants.
chrisdanger, speaking of kittens (of which I am not), if anyone wants a kitten, contact me. I'm trying to find homes for three wee ones that a stray has squared away under my parents' tool shed. They're cute as hell and don't know the name of a single band. And, here's a shocker, I haven't looked down on them yet!
Erin Rice Verified
6 months, 3 weeks ago
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It has been said that asking people to like each other's music is like asking them to swap underwear.
It shouldn't make much difference... but ewwww!
Jason Rice Verified
6 months, 3 weeks ago
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Have you ever meet the late John Cage...he was all for music, only you dont play that much....A/T, ..Former Muscian..
alexander troup Verified
6 months, 3 weeks ago
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Jason wins :)
Erin Rice Verified
6 months, 3 weeks ago
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::Have you ever meet the late John Cage
Yeah, five minutes with the guy and you felt like you were at the mouth of his cave high on Kilimanjaro with a basket of food and a bowl of rice as offering... poised straining for every breath he might impart.
...And I don't generally have *"heroes"*. Quite the trip.
Jason Rice Verified
6 months, 3 weeks ago
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5 minutes? Don't you mean 4'33"?
David Gouldin Staff
6 months, 3 weeks ago
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::4'33"
Nice....
Nope he was making noises during that time.
To share the pearl I took away: He was asked how one goes about making a place for themselves in art, he having had a harder path to acceptance than most. He replied with AT/Gilliland like lilt:
<cue shakuhachi flute, cut to desert, pan to lone cactus on horizon>
Jason Rice Verified
6 months, 3 weeks ago
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Erin, I'm not a retarded person. I know you were mocking yourself.
But the simple fact that you got flustered enough to self-mock after the fact (see? sounds dirtier than I intended!) communicates 'music snob'...at least, that's what I took away from your very, very long self-mocking process.
Nothing to do with Doyle, I just want to benefit in the end. Needs referrals to awesome live acts!! Gotta sell it while I can, otherwise ol' numero uno will get bored...leading to behavior such as what we've witnessed here.
If there ever was a better opportunity to bait the hell out of Erin, I'd be hard-pressed to find it. I do how I do, can't knock the hustle!
Scott Doyle Verified
6 months, 2 weeks ago
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"If there ever was a better opportunity to bait the hell out of Erin, I'd be hard-pressed to find it."
Just commenting works for the rest of us, Doyle..
Travis Bush Verified
6 months, 2 weeks ago
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Dudes. It's ok to be a music snob. I've come to terms with it.
xdavidwattsx Anonymous
6 months, 2 weeks ago
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<a href="http://www.pegasusnews.com/events/bestbets/">Pegasus Picks</a>, Scott. Go nuts.
Erin Rice Verified
6 months, 2 weeks ago
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How do PegPicks get picked? As we've seen, opinions will vary. =p
Scott Doyle Verified
6 months, 2 weeks ago
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The Wizard Inside the Computers consults with the Oracle of The Interwebs and after a round-robin sobriety contest the loser adds 42 to the number of every event chosen last week and then throws the numbers in a hat, pulling every 70th one.
In other words, we make it up.
Or, to put it in marketingspeak, our highly-trained staff knows which events are the most important and/or broadly interesting and we mark them as picks. We then throw a few offbeat ones in because, well, we're us.
Mike Orren Staff
6 months, 2 weeks ago
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sigh
I don't care about broadly interesting, otherwise I'd just listen to the radio or go to what the TV tells me to attend!
I'm too willfully ignorant about this stuff to run around in these internets and find it myself. Maybe I'll just start randomly bumping shows scheduled on nights I know I'll be out to see what kind of feedback hits.
Scott Doyle Verified
6 months, 2 weeks ago
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ScoDo - all I can say is Erin must be pretty hot for you to risk her coming after you with a tire iron not once, or twice but 4 times in this thread alone.
As for music a computer can tell you to listen to http://www.pandora.com/
And Mike, your selection algorithm is impeccable... an industry standard (the Component Leisure Footwear Construction Industry, but standard nonetheless)
Jason Rice Verified
6 months, 2 weeks ago
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Pandora r0x0rz
ch0 Anonymous
6 months, 2 weeks ago
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Don't forget http://www.last.fm/
Travis Bush Verified
6 months, 2 weeks ago
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Last.FM keeps me sane at work all day....
Chris Kidd Verified
6 months, 2 weeks ago
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J-Rizzle, you of all people should know that staffers have a better grasp on trolling. Seems it takes a few shots at their passion to get them amped up...opportunities are definitely thinner.
And afaik pandora/last don't tell me how well someone performs live. :(
Scott Doyle Verified
6 months, 2 weeks ago
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Live? Live? People perform live?
Tell me more
Jason Rice Verified
6 months, 2 weeks ago
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I am thinking about seeing Mingo Fishtrap Friday night .. anybody else want to go? LOL.. this post is hilarious.. different strokes for different folks.. Peace, Love and enjoy your differences.
Mike O, thanks for providing a place to find music I normally don't listen to and may not like the first time I hear it.. but what doesn't kill you makes you better.
mbregenzer Anonymous
6 months, 2 weeks ago
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