The Music Elitist

If you ask me, this term shouldn’t even exist (or rather, this type of thinking). What is this, the music elitist? Well, if you can’t figure it out just by what the term appropriately implies, then you’re probably an idiot. But, for kicks, it is simply this: A person who, by their own standards, rejects or thinks lower of others’ taste and knowledge of good music if they don’t like and listen to the same genres and the same bands as them. The music elitist is a person who takes the joy out of what music does for us by turning it into some sub-categorized, over-analyzed, new way to form cliques within yet another realm of our lives. I can’t stand it.
I don’t like being put down for the music I like, or don’t like for that matter. I don’t like being made to feel as if I hold less intelligence on the subject because I don’t know some obscure band from the middle of nowhere that no one else has ever heard of either, but because it’s me you’re talking to I’m the idiot this time around. I don’t like when people sneer or make faces or flat out say to your face that they don’t agree with your choice on the jukebox or the decision to leave that radio station on because you actually like the song that’s playing. I don’t like people that don’t even listen to the radio because they somehow feel that their musical standards are above most of the shit that plays on the airways these days (although, at the risk of contradicting myself, I do somewhat agree that most music on the radio these days is shit-but I’ll never give up my classic rock, so when I leave Q104.3 on because I can’t get enough of the 12:00 Beatles Block, shut the hell up).
I was out at a friend’s house the other night, pleasantly relaxing, having a few beers, when I got into a conversation with another person who was there about music. All this ranting and raving that precedes this is not directed towards him, he was quite nice, actually. But I will say that he inspired this column topic because he openly admits that, if you don’t like the music he does, if you’re not on the same wavelength, then, well, it’s just pretty much a doomed relationship. I found this shocking. He openly admits to being a music snob-the worst of all music lovers. Granted he wasn’t that bad, but there are far worse, and it’s those particular people to which this column refers.
He and I talked of our favorites, we talked of our influences. I cited, of course, Weston, who, in case you don’t know them, are a great pop/punk band that were consistently streaming through the speakers of my stereo all though high school, and Thrice, who, now that I’m older, reach me on a more mature level with their socially conscious and heavy-hearted lyrics, as well as their newly found raw and blues-y sound. These are two bands that are on complete opposite ends of the spectrum, but both of which manage to continuously hold my interest. He talked of others whom I had never heard, told me how great they were and how much he thought I’d enjoy them. I promised to give a listen (and attend a show). Things were going well because we managed to discuss our commonalities and we were on equal levels of the playing field. But that all changed when, and I may regret saying this but, I mentioned the unmentionable: American Idol. Listen, I think David Cook is a great singer. I think he’s handsome, I think he’s got a fantastic voice and I think he’s sincere. Am I missing anything that makes someone a noteworthy musician? What if he had become well known the way most others have, by playing underground clubs and waiting tables to pay for studio time, then would this be an acceptable infatuation?
Hey guess what? I also really like Miley Cyrus and New Kids On The Block. I think Britney Spears sucks as a person, but some of her music is fun to dance to. Of course I listen to Z100 and KTU, not often, but I do. Is there something morally, and musically, wrong with that? My taste in music jumps all over the place and I draw influence from lots of different sounds. I don’t care if its popular music or someone that no one has ever heard of, or my cousin’s recorded tracks that she made in her living room: If I like it, what does it matter to you?
The point I’m trying to make here is this: Why do people have to get so chi-chi about their music? It’s supposed to be a common ground. It’s meant to be a uniting force among a world so torn apart. It’s not supposed to serve as yet another way to separate me from you, and you from that guy over there, and him from someone else because they listen to something he doesn’t, and so on and so on. This is why the music elitist really pisses me off.
Has anyone ever told you, Mr. Music Elitist, that you’re the worst kind of music fan there is? Has anyone ever let you know that you don’t appreciate music at all, really? You think you do, but in actuality you use it as a tool, a segregation tool, and instead of hearing the deeper message and listening beyond the lyrics, you just think to your self, “Well, this sounds pretty damn good. That’s right. I declare this music as good and, therefore, I also declare anyone who doesn’t agree with me an asshole.” But the truth is, Mr. Music Elitist, that you’re the asshole. You’re the one stripping music of its heart and soul, you may not realize it, but you do. You do when you get into those heated conversations and are ready to throw fists with your best friend when he disagrees with a particular point of view you might hold; you do when you make others feel as if they’re stupid or un-cool because they don’t like what you like. In simpler terms, you suck.