"You like
Band X ??? Dude, they're awful...you have terrible taste in
music!"
That's what
always puzzles me. In my estimation,
someone's taste in music can't be judged as terrible, poor, good, great or by
any other qualifying adjective. Their taste may be vastly different than yours,
but that doesn't make your taste any better than theirs...just different. Since
it's what they like, for them, it IS great taste, so therefore, using my
reasoning, everyone has great taste in music. To me it's like making fun of someone for the food
they like...I don't like Brussels sprouts, but I know a lot of people do, and I
certainly don't tell them they suck or are wrong for liking them. It's
just their taste in food. Don't get me wrong, there is music that I think, and
have said many times is terrible, but that is me expressing my own taste, or
distaste as it were, and I would never tell someone who likes that same music
that they're wrong. I've even bought cd's (quite a few in fact) that years
later thought to myself, "Why the $%&@ did I buy that
crap?". No worries, I recently purged my cd collection by 60 or so by taking a
quick trip to The Record Score in downtown Woodstock where they were glad to
reimburse me (quite fairly for that crap, I might add) so they could add to their shelves and
help fill out their quickly growing inventory. I'm sure someone with different
musical taste than mine will be glad to give them a new home.
What got me
thinking about this was a Facebook status a friend of mine recently posted about
who sucked more, Nickleback or Great Big Sea. There were all kinds of comments
that came in with all kinds of 'witty' remarks about how anyone could like
either was beyond belief. Some were 'too cool for school' with their snide
remarks, but the overwhelming sentiment was that it was all crap music. Being a
fan of GBS for their more than 25 years in the business, I couldn't sit by and
let it go without saying something. (Yes, that's right, I had something to
say...) Here is what I wrote:
Not a fan of Nickleback by any
stretch, but I actually really like GBS and would like to defend them a bit on
this thread. I've seen them several times over the last 25 years (first time was
a drunken blasteroo at The Lyric in KW with Dennis
Frey)
and they put on a really fun show, are super charismatic and are excellent
musicians. I was raised on roots/bluegrass so their brand of traditional Celtic
music has a lot of appeal to me. No, they are not changing the world with their
political leanings and the new music they pump out rides on the surface, but
it's not meant to be head scratching, chin wagging fodder...it's for
toe-tappin', dancing around and having a good time, and it often delivers. They
know their strengths, and play to them and have had a great time over the past
1/4 century 'doin it all', and very successfully to boot. I have a huge variety
of music that I like, and love getting all deep and thoughtful at times, but
sometimes it's good to appreciate lighter music played very well by excellent
musicians and stellar vocalists. GBS will always be on my ipod in one form or
another. But Nickleback? No, not Nickleback.
You see,
this is a reflection of my taste. I don't like Nickleback, but I don't think
that they suck...they're just not for me, but I sure would like to have even 1%
of the cash they've made over the past couple of decades. For a band that so
many people say suck, they sure have been successful. Someone has to be going to
their concerts and buying their music...oh wait, it's all those people whose
taste in music is terrible...I forgot.
I love all
kinds of music from all kinds of genres: Dailey and Vincent (traditional
bluegrass), AC/DC, KISS, Spirit of the West, Great Big Sea, The Beatles, Frank
Sinatra, Beastie Boys, LCD Soundsystem, Daft Punk, George Jones, Merle Haggard,
The Beautiful South, Moxy Fruvous, The Tragically Hip, The Rolling Stones, The
Who, Alison Krauss...and the list goes on, and in many, many different
directions.
Music is
art, and it shouldn't be judged, just enjoyed.
Don't like it? Don't listen.
Taste is
your own, and shouldn't be criticized.
That's just
the way I see it...or hear it.
All for
now,
G'Day.
