Know what grinds my gears?

I have an endless array of opinions at my disposal when it comes to my music. I don't feel that I look at music with a critical eye. I think I look at it with an interested eye. What's the difference? A critic voices their opinions and actually thinks that they matter. They try to take something subjective and mold it into something objective. I really feel that this canNOT be done with music. We all have our own musical fingerprint. The songs we listen to give us a feeling that is ours and ours alone. Now, we can have some overlap with others, but you'll probably never find someone else whose tastes match yours exactly. I love this. I love finding out what floats someone else's boat. You should never be ashamed of the music you like. It gives you a feeling like no other, and no one can take that away from you.

The music critic on the other hand, pretends that there are laws that music must adhere to. They want everyone to reinvent the wheel. I mean, it's great to hear someone come along and put a new spin on an established genre. That's how music evolves as it should. But who says we're not allowed to like the bands that spin the sounds of their favorite style through their own filter?

That being said, let me tell you about one of my biggest pet peeves in music. This not only applies to the majority of critics out there, but to a lot of my fellow music snobs as well. Somewhere along the line, the notion was born that once a band became popular and achieved any degree of mainstream success, they ceased to be any good. I loathe this idea. I hate it when people parade around the names of unheard-of bands like a badge of honor. Don't get me wrong. I'm glad you like the bands that have yet to see any major exposure. Hell, I've got a few in my repertoire as well. But that does not make your taste in music any better than mine. It just makes it yours.

A thought comes to mind. I keep thinking of "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." Some people say that's just something that ugly people say to make themselves feel better. I think some people liken what I'm saying about music here to that phrase. You know, that me saying "it doesn't matter what you like, just that you like it" is my way of trying to justify the popular music that I listen to. Maybe, but I don't think so. I don't think I really have anything to justify.

Anyway, that's just something I've been thinking about a lot lately. I thought I would share it. As always, I'm not entirely sure about how well I was able to take what's in my head and put it into words. But I think you get the gist. I'll leave you with a song. :) Until next time!