I Hate the Bands You Like
So if you know me at all, you quickly come to realize that I hate a lot of stuff. Whether it be food, music, TV shows, movies, books, people or whatever, I can be very opinionated, and that's the understatement of the year. This is absolutely why I had to buy this shirt.
I'd like to quantify that hate, however. First of all, especially when it comes to people, I don't truly hate them like wishing them harm or death. (For example, I don't wish bad things on Dwight Howard. I just don't want him to have success in his career. Of course, this is now muddled by the fact that he's with Houston right now, and I wish all the success for Jeremy Lin.) In general, when I say I hate something, I simply think that it is overrated or simply not good. Perhaps I'm maturing to the point that I try not to deride anyone who likes the thing. As well, I try my best to have a reason why I don't like things and have undergone a lot of suffering in order to be justified in my opinion.
For example, I forced myself to read the first Twilight book. I torture myself with listening to Selena Gomez and Ke$ha on the radio in the car. I rolled my eyes through three episodes each of Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother. I literally try to experience things and inflict emotional scars on myself for the sake of science.
However, I've come to realize that people like what they like, and for the most part, who am I to mock someone for their tastes? (I can still look condescendingly down at them silently, right?) People have different reasons for liking different things, even if it baffles me to no end. One thing I don't want to be is that irrational hater that brings other people down by being negative all the time. (Not there yet, but I'm trying), and a few steps in that direction is the aforementioned making sure I know what I hate things and having things that I like. No one wants to meet that guy that hates everything and likes nothing. That's annoying and pretentious.
So let's talk about something I like -- music. Again, I understand that taste is subjective, but I won't be THAT guy that says, "OMG, how have you not heard of band x, and why don't like you like band x?" I like the things that I like, and I'll always encourage other people to like the things I like as well. However, I will not be offended if you don't like it. My tastes are usually different and non-mainstream for the most part. But let's talk about this.
The most important thing about songs for me is what the song is trying to say. As a creative person, the story in things is most interesting to me. The songs and artists I like should be speaking about things worthwhile in the human experience. Love, love lost, stepping away from a bad situation into freedom, finding out who you are......these are the types of things that have a message and makes you feel something. A lot of times, there's a narrative going in the story that really impacts me. I never understood frivolous songs about partying, spouting how great you are or just having a good time. If that's your bag of tea, more power to you, but I find that pointless. Counter point, for these reasons, I should like country music, but I really don't. There are limits to the type of music I can bear, and country doesn't do it for me.
I love the piano and a female voice. I seriously think that's my weakness. There are still some male voices that I like, but in general, female voice is preferable.
Sad songs over happy songs. I don't know what it is about happy songs that I cannot stand, for the most part. I guess part of it is that I resent happiness. I find it boring. Before you go and accuse me of being emo, I'd like to tell you that it's not true. When I think of emo, I think of the type of person that seeks out sadness and frustration, and relatively blames the reason for the source of that sadness or anger on someone else. I'm more of an introspective type of person where the sadness ought to be self-inflicted or even if someone else is the cause, there isn't a lot of bitterness. Sadness is just more interesting. I suppose many people might count hopeful songs as happy songs, but I figure it's more like sad songs that look towards the possibility of happiness. Happy songs really start in a place of happiness and are usually very cringe-inducing in terms of creativity of craft.
The music and beats of a song are secondary. Like I said, there are some formats I just can't get over -- like country, but what the songs is about is more important than the music itself. The music can absolutely enhance a song, but if the lyrics are repetitive or meaningless, that's usually a strike. There are exception, however. From time to time, there are songs that either repetitive or nonsensical, but the sheer awesomeness of the music overshadows the negatives.
Songs, for the most part, need lyrics and words. Unfortunately, this rules out classical music and jazz for the most part. I usually need context for songs, and lyrics are verbal indicators for that context usually. From time to time, there are some soundtracks and such that are so bonded with imagery from a movie that I have a sentimental attachment for those instrumentals, but usually I have a hard time focusing on music without lyrics. It's not that I hate classical music, but I don't prefer it.
I generally prefer singer/songwriters. I don't know what it is, but when I know that the singer of a song generally writes all their own music/songs, that pleases me. There is a stigma when you have someone else write your songs that makes that singer seem more artificial and factory made in my eyes. That person is not a true artist to me.
For the love of all that is decent and lovely in the world, stop covering other people's songs. Unless your version is somehow better than the original, and usually it's not, don't do it. I'm trying not to look at everyone of you on Youtube, but again, this goes along with the previous point.
So hopefully that wasn't TOO pretentious. Again, I realize that my tastes are simply that, my tastes, and I realize that they aren't mainstream. I'll live with that. So, now you've seen the things that I like in my music. Why do you like the things you like? I'd like to hear why.
--Jonathan