Musical Elitism

[JuzamDjinn]

Does this problem with so many people irritate anyone else?
I dont know how to explaine, so I'll just give some examples.

I go into a comic shop, there is some irish sounding death metal band on the radio behind the counter. I ask the guy what band it is, so I can check them out. Rather than just give me the name and let me go about my business he goes off about the history of heavy metal and how the metal that most people like is inferior to the obscure bands that he has discovered online. He then goes on to list off 10-15 bizzare sounding band names that he insist are the only things worth listening too. I try to contribute to our conversation by stating some equally obscure black/death metal band that I really like but he just won't have it, if he does they do not compare to his superior tastes. If not the idea that he hasn't heared of a particular band seems to terrify this guy, so he just disregaurds and goes on about how great [insert 20 obscure band names here] are.

This same thing happens if you mention Slipknot in a guitar shop, everyone in there will just treat you like crap. You go into the same shop a few weeks later and mention that you hate Slipknot all these same guys will bash you for not being open minded, or trying to make you feel stupid for "not realizing that other peple have different muscal tastes"

And countless other similar scenarios.
I've also noticed that normally clean mouthed people start using lots of profanities when they go into these elitist trances.

Who else have had run ins with these types?

[ZantetsukeN]

It does annoy me when people are like this. My most recent run in was when I was buying my latest guitar. To test it out, I was playing some Metallica, since it is the style I played at the time. I had some dude walk up to me and start going off on how kids like me should be playing some 'real' music, like... (that is where I switched off, because he was saying all of these obscure band names).

People like this are so closed minded. Just because you love that kind of music doesn't mean that is that, everyone should be the same.

[Freya]

My brother was one of those. And I hated it. I hated it so much...
I always had to listen to those obscure Metal bands and he also told me to only wear black if I really AM a Metal-fan and that real Metal-fans have black hair and so on and so forth. -.-

But I have to admit that SOMETIMES I also tended to think like that. Like: "What? He/She listens to a band that's become popular? How untrue!"
... Then I started to listen to much worse bands and realized that I was too narrow minded and intolerant.

I've come to ignore those people. And I don't tell anyone what bands I listen to anymore. And I surely won't ask anyone about the name of the band he/she listens to. (Except when the music REALLY is good!) I've grown tired of listening to people talking about music.

[ultima_trev]

Musical elitism exists to keep the posers out. Music isn't just some hobby for kids to fap to, it's art. Shit, it's a ****in' religion and should be treated as such. Unless it's in your heart and soul, you got no place being in any scene.

[Pete]

Oh it's the same thing as any stupid high school clique, or people here trying to brag that they beat FFIX in under 12 hours, or whatever they can to show off that they're somehow better than you.

My favorite thing to say to people who do that is "Well, if they're so good, why haven't I heard of them?" or "Why aren't they on MTV?" Nothing pisses music elitists off like that.

The truth of the matter is that not everyone has the time or ability to constantly go and discover every single band that's out there. It's not a testament to how part of a scene you are, but rather a sign of your dedication to finding new music within. There's no law saying you have to dress a certain way and limit yourself to listening to only that type of music. That's just ignorant.

[Unknown Entity]

I hate this, and used to happen to me a lot at school. A friend would give me their other headphone to listen to whatever they're listening to, and nine times out of ten I had to ask who it was, and nine times out of ten, I'd be greeted with a response like: "OMFG, have you been living in a cave?! This are lyk, totally the most awesome band in existence!" Why couldn't I have just been told who they were in the first place? "Instead of acting all superior, you could have actually educated me on what this awesome band's name is, so that I MAY get to know them..."

I notice this a lot on Youtube too. Like, if an old band just brings out a new album, and more new people start to like the band and comment on the music videos, the old fans have to act like an ass about it. When Dead Space 2 came out, I liked the song on the television adverts, so I looked it up. And I found a video where a lot of the Dead Space crowd had gone to, doing the same thing as me, and there was this one guy going on about how he hates it that his favourite band was discovered because their music was featured in a video game advert. That's not supporting your favourite band, is it?

It's like no one is allowed to discover new things any more. ><

[Taco-Calamitous]

Pete: Are ANY bands on MTV anymore?

Yeah, it's pretty annoying. This very forum used to be kinda bad like that a few years back when I'd moderate it. I remember a thread on MxPx someone started, and someone else said MxPx were bullshit, and that they should listen to REAL punk bands like Bad Religion and NoFX. I was like, "Maybe I've tried those bands out already. Maybe I like them. Maybe I don't. I still like MxPx anyway. Please don't be so presumptuous." To which they said I'd be sorry if any REAL punks were around here. And I was like, "What is THAT supposed mean?"

I think it's equally annoying, however, to be accused of being an elitist because you say you don't like a certain popular artist/style of music. That's like falling off one side of the saddle to avoid going off the other side, essentially. Just like/dislike what you like/dislike, and let other people like or dislike what they like/dislike. Anyhoo...

Wuv, Yer Mom

[Faustus]

I'm a metal elitist music nazi to a certain extent. Yes your j-pop, emo, and indie crap or whatever it is these days is inherently inferior. But by the same token I'm not gonna blow up because Someone listens to Slayer, Emperor, Mayhem, Cannibal Corpse or the more well known metal bands. However I also refuse to acknowledge all this kiddie nu-metal and the usual poser crap. All hail metal.

And for the record. Slipknot sucks.

[Dan558]

They're called hipsters and noone but other Hipsters really care to ever listen to them. They think they are above it all and are on the cutting edge ahead of the cutting edge.

Really they just have opinions but like to drone on about it like somehow their opinions are more important or superior rather then just another point of view. It's not even like its a moral highground or something, they just believe that they are the first to "discover" something and want people to praise them as if it's important. Or they actually believe that they are so superior that they actually know everything about what they support right down to the very thoughts the creator had when creating the thing they hold in such high regard. Then they are just arrogant/ignorant.

It happens for a lot of things like "designer products" or even anti-designer products ("I don't conform to the normal standard of clothes..."). It's kinda like the new-age hippie except they often don't have the excuse of constant drug use (they sometimes do some) to justify their annoyance to the rest of the world.

Keep in mind I am talking about the extreme but I think it's true to some effect for every hipster.

[Pete]

And for the record. Slipknot sucks.

Holy shit, we agree on something.

[Sir Kenneth]

Musical elitism would be great if it was actually about style, nerve and integrity rather than substance. It should be about plugging in and playing whatever the hell you want to play without giving a shit about anyone else. Instead it seems to have become all about nurturing a certain image among your peers and fanbase by acting like a douche and trying to be as kvlt or underground or whatever.

I like bands who have sold tens of millions of albums and I like bands who perhaps have only sold a couple of thousands. What matters is if they are actually any good.

[tehmuffinmon]

I know what you mean, and it definitely irks me. On a similar subject, I'm greatly annoyed by musicians who are focused more on theory and tradition or complexity than whether or not the piece is actually involving.

I'm a musician, but I'm almost entirely self-taught. And by no means do I say that with the intent of coming across as smug; I'm currently struggling to get a good grip on music theory, and have a hard time remembering things as simple as scales.

On the other hand, I've been recording my own compositions and playing the piano/keyboard for years by ear, and consider myself to be a competent musician. It's just that when I talk to other musicians, they often come across as elitist and eccentric. It could just be me, but when I hear people talk about their "favorite key" or chord progressions/time signatures instead of the actual song and the feelings it invokes, I get a little frustrated. Especially when it seems as though they're talking theory just for the sake of sounding impressive.

Also, I despise Math, which is probably why I struggle so much with Music Theory. I'm trying to learn it and I can see where it would help, but I get impatient with the elitist attitude of many of my music teachers and classmates. I'll end my rant here for now because I feel like I digressed a bit from the original conversation, haha, but that's my opinion on musical elitism.