"music snob"? "music nerd"? i think it's ok to be a snob, in that you think the music you like is of a higher quality than, say, top 40 pop music, just as long as you don't look down on people who are not in your musical circle. i think we've all had a tendency to judge people positively or negatively based on what band t-shirt they're wearing, but it's really limiting when you think about it. especially when our teenage angst pops out at age 30, and the thought bubble above your head reads "why can't they just accept me for who i am?"... we, in turn, should accept other musical types, all the while trying to be a positive force in the musical lives of others. people who don't want to share their music, assuming that someone who likes green day couldn't appreciate the music of sebadoh or the replacements or whatever. i just prefer not to analyze it all too much, even though i just did! oh, and my sympathies for the volunteers. i guess the bulldogs thrashed em pretty goon on saturday, eh? :)
a close friend I finally met later in high school knew me sophomore year as "that kid who walks between the buildings the same time I do, usually in a Sebadoh t-shirt." This was totally the goal. I think when you're younger and still trying to create an identity these arguably superficial elements mean more. You're looking for common bonds, voicing your allegiances, etc. It means even more when you're looking for folks outside a percieved norm. I can question now whether Sebadoh fanship inherently means "sensitive outcast worth being friends with" now, but I'd be pissing on my past to totally dismiss that kind of initial camaraderie.
if anything, I think I've just realized that "what they like" isn't as important as the "why they like it" when it comes to who I'll get along with. But when the two coincide, whee!
this is really interesting, emily -- especially since i'm trying to write an article for stylus about the effects of being a musician on one's music-listening experiencees. but i really like this broader consideration. i might have to steal it.
whoa i just realized some weird LJ connections. this stephen cramer chap was mentioned in my friend fotw's last post.
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Everything besides your first declarative sentence is helpful and interesting. ;)
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And I'm very pleased that Sebadoh has been mentioned in BOTH of the comments on this post, and not by me!
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(hey, that cramer bloke's a right old rockist innit ;))
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Fan is the right word, I guess, but it also denotes things that I don't really mean. "Fan", though it really means FANATIC, obv, sounds too casual?
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whoa i just realized some weird LJ connections. this stephen cramer chap was mentioned in my friend fotw's last post.
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And Stephen is a TOTAL internet celebrity. Everyone knows him!
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