Good tip.
― jaymc, Friday, 11 April 2008 22:03 (fifteen years ago) link
the people who the most attitude are the ones who think that if it isn't well known or they haven't heard it before, there must be a reason for that and that reason must be is the music is lame.
-- omar little, Friday, April 11, 2008 8:34 PM (6 minutes ago) Bookmark Link
i really don't know about this
-- Surmounter, Friday, April 11, 2008 1:41 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Link this type exists
― omar little, Friday, 11 April 2008 22:16 (fifteen years ago) link
This thread makes me smile.
I know a fair amount of people who think this is how I approach music, valuing the obscurity, but the real problem isn't that I like things that are obscure, it's that I'm cheap. When you hear me talking about that awesome Horslips album that I picked up (apparently not obscure in Ireland, but whatever), it's because it's two bucks. The reason that I look blankly when you're describing the latest Wilco album? The damn thing's at least $12 new. I only pay that much when I've seen a live band.
Also, something I like when talking about music is talking about it with people who are already familiar with it. I feel like obscurity often works against that, aside from specialized forums, since I feel like there's only so much you can say to someone who hasn't heard something before their eyes glaze over.
― I eat cannibals, Friday, 11 April 2008 22:19 (fifteen years ago) link
im pretty sure i can get u that new wilco for free if yr interested
― jhøshea, Friday, 11 April 2008 22:20 (fifteen years ago) link
This was a nice by-product of starting to listen to the radio again, five years ago, after ignoring it for so long: I could have conversations with co-workers or friends about Jay-Z or whatever.
― jaymc, Friday, 11 April 2008 22:24 (fifteen years ago) link
"(I mean, what if I was a big Pearl Jam fan?)"
Uh so what?
― Alex in SF, Friday, 11 April 2008 22:28 (fifteen years ago) link
pearl jam sux dreamboat gorilla ftw
― jhøshea, Friday, 11 April 2008 22:30 (fifteen years ago) link
(I mean, what if I was a big Pearl Jam fan?)
slap with glove + pistols at dawn
― Shakey Mo Collier, Friday, 11 April 2008 22:31 (fifteen years ago) link
I mean should he have spared your feelings by pretending that you were right and there was something great about nostalgically wallowing in the wonder of Pearl Jam? Yay for communication!
― Alex in SF, Friday, 11 April 2008 22:32 (fifteen years ago) link
No, he shouldn't have pretended I was right, of course not -- it's more about being tactful. I mean, you say "Yay for communication," and that's kind of my point: what bothers me about people who are constantly making dismissive comments is that they effectively shut down good conversation. The problem wasn't that he disagreed with me, it was the way in which he did so. Plus, it was such a trivial, off-handed comment for me to have made in the first place that his retort smacked of "I want to make sure you know that I don't listen to shit like that." Fine, who cares?
― jaymc, Friday, 11 April 2008 22:39 (fifteen years ago) link
B-b-but your question was so leading??! What else could he or should he have said? "No there isn't and here is why. . . " following by a twenty minute pedantic lecture about a comment that was a throw off for you anyway. In person his response might have been nastier/more brusque, but written it out it seems fine to me.
― Alex in SF, Friday, 11 April 2008 22:43 (fifteen years ago) link
the only thing that i remember about hstencil is that he got all butthurt because he thought i had a bad attitude about playing free jazz.
― Jordan, Friday, 11 April 2008 22:44 (fifteen years ago) link
Alex, I don't really remember the conversation that well, so I don't remember what exactly I said. I do know that I wasn't addressing him specifically -- there were a few of us standing around, and I was talking to no one in particular, and my comment was more or less rhetorical, but he felt the need to chime in. Later, our mutual friend apologized and said "J. is kind of a dick sometimes."
Anyway, I already regret dredging up a 6-year-old party conversation, since it's not like it still bothers me or anything; I just thought it was kind of funny and played off Hstencil's online persona well (this, a year before I even discovered ILX).
― jaymc, Friday, 11 April 2008 22:49 (fifteen years ago) link
i don't know, i'm the kind of person that i think about the other person a LOT during conversation. like if i know they like something, even if i don't, i really try to say something positive about it. sometimes it's weird cuz i'll be hating on something but then they say they love it and i have to like concoct this favorable take on it...
― Surmounter, Friday, 11 April 2008 22:52 (fifteen years ago) link
six finger satellite was great.
I saw them on severe exposure tour @ black cat. it was great
am now trying to convince as many friends as I can to buy early janet jackson records tho
Control, early Wax Trax, what's the difference
― daria-g, Friday, 11 April 2008 22:53 (fifteen years ago) link
i have to like concoct this favorable take on it...
So you're insecure in your own opinions?
― Mr. Odd, Friday, 11 April 2008 22:54 (fifteen years ago) link
I know what you mean, Surmounter, although I don't know that I try to say something positive as much as I try to couch my dismissal in gentle terms, like saying, "Oh, I guess I wasn't really into that one so much" instead of "OMG I can't believe you liked that, it sucked." That's just with people I don't know that well, though; if I'm with friends, then I can be a total asshole sometimes, haha.
― jaymc, Friday, 11 April 2008 22:56 (fifteen years ago) link
maybe not so much that as i tend to want to agree with people a lot. i'm like afraid of hurting people's feelings. i have this one friend who makes it a BIG POINT to tell you EXACTLY how she feels about something, even if she knows your opinion is completely different. which is something i can't do
― Surmounter, Friday, 11 April 2008 22:57 (fifteen years ago) link
there's something about clinging to other people's opinions on music that turns me off.
compare and contrast
― Shakey Mo Collier, Friday, 11 April 2008 22:58 (fifteen years ago) link
right ;-) with my boyfriend i can be a total asshole which is refreshing
― Surmounter, Friday, 11 April 2008 22:58 (fifteen years ago) link
i was really interested in this thread two hours ago and then ilx happened
― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Friday, 11 April 2008 22:59 (fifteen years ago) link
it's more a conversational thing, shakey -- it's a matter of manners, to acquiesce to the other person's viewpoint somewhat, even if you don't totally share it
― Surmounter, Friday, 11 April 2008 23:00 (fifteen years ago) link
did ILX used to be less.. what it is now? I seem to remember it being friendlier in the greenspun days
― daria-g, Friday, 11 April 2008 23:01 (fifteen years ago) link
btw this thread inspired me to listen to some Sleepytime Gorilla Museum at work today. it was OK.
― Surmounter, Friday, 11 April 2008 23:01 (fifteen years ago) link
xxp Yeah, that just seems polite.
― jaymc, Friday, 11 April 2008 23:02 (fifteen years ago) link
I dunno I guess I do it too to some extent - altho I'm more inclined to try shift the conversation and find common ground about a particular subject than to express an opinion I don't really share. If someone tells me they like something I hate I'm liable to just keep my mouth shut. unless they're being really obnoxious about it.
― Shakey Mo Collier, Friday, 11 April 2008 23:02 (fifteen years ago) link
Haha, what prompted that, Daria?
I walked out of a show of theirs once. I, uh, couldn't take it.
― Shakey Mo Collier, Friday, 11 April 2008 23:03 (fifteen years ago) link
Re: Wilco No, not really. It's just going to be something else that goes in the "to listen" pile, and I still owe reviews on enough crap that I don't need more. I was just using them as a general "new release"-ish thing, even though it's a year old. It was something that my girlfriend's sister just couldn't believe I hadn't heard when it came out, and I kinda felt like I wasn't willing to spend the money and effort to listen to something that I'd probably like incrementally less than all the previous Wilco albums.
Yeah, I feel like a lot of people who complain about folks only liking "obscure" stuff have a really warped view of what's obscure and what's mainstream. Like, my blindspot tends to be the big "indie" like Arcade Fire or Belle and Sebastian or Spoon (anymore). So it's like, y'know, I was excited about the new Janet Jackson or Rihanna or whatever, even though I probably won't buy 'em, I'm at least radio familar and enjoy 'em. But that mid-tempo rock? I'm just never anywhere that I hear it, and I don't really feel like seeking it out just so I can have conversations about it.
― I eat cannibals, Friday, 11 April 2008 23:05 (fifteen years ago) link
I think this kind of douchebagery is a symptom of youth. Once you get past a certain age, people aren't really like this anymore. Because eventually they realize that they would rather have friends and that they are going to die someday.
― Mark Rich@rdson, Friday, 11 April 2008 23:10 (fifteen years ago) link
Most threads I've posted on aside from rolling 2008 ringtone?
― daria-g, Friday, 11 April 2008 23:11 (fifteen years ago) link
surmounter, i've found that lots of people who don't have patience for artistic appreciation suck as people. they tend to be douchebags into self-promotion, who can't be bothered with shit that doesn't directly advance their douchebag selves. (i guess there's an argument to be made that demonstrating your obscure knowledge is self-promotion, albeit demented and sad; either way, i'll take that over dudes discussing how awesome they are at golf and getting laid or whatever.) conversely, like catsup, i've found that a taste for obscurity is a good sign someone doesn't suck as a person. but hey, we all run in different circles
― kamerad, Friday, 11 April 2008 23:23 (fifteen years ago) link
hmm... i mean, i think it seems like i don't appreciate a taste for the obscure. i certainly do -- i mean, in certain circles, some of what i listen to is obscure, and it's always disappointing when people can't relate to it. yup just wanted to clear that up.
― Surmounter, Friday, 11 April 2008 23:25 (fifteen years ago) link
it's strange how even Kate Bush is so obscure to a lot of people i interact with... that's always such a let-down.
― Surmounter, Friday, 11 April 2008 23:27 (fifteen years ago) link
who the fuck is kate bush
― omar little, Friday, 11 April 2008 23:28 (fifteen years ago) link
"I only listen to top 40 and Sublime Frequencies"
--Steven Q. Shasta, Wakeboard Extraordinaire
― jaxon, Friday, 11 April 2008 23:28 (fifteen years ago) link
Sleepytime Gorilla Museum is one of my favorite bands, not because they are obscure, but because they are AWESOME.
your results may vary, of course
― John Justen, Friday, 11 April 2008 23:53 (fifteen years ago) link
SGM put on one of the worst shows I've ever seen at the Elbow Room. Later, I noticed that they didn't look anything like their photos, or sound anything like their clips. I never bothered to figure out what happened, but SGM was on the bill, and the band claimed to be SGM. Is it possible there are two?
― I eat cannibals, Friday, 11 April 2008 23:57 (fifteen years ago) link
was there a botoh dancer at the show you're thinking of? They did a tour a few years ago that was 100% improvised with a dude in a cage.
― John Justen, Friday, 11 April 2008 23:59 (fifteen years ago) link
these days i mostly rely on metacritc and the quarterly "waht is best" roundups in the various rolling threads. try to hear the stuff everybody in respective threads agrees upon, hasn't steered me wrong yet.
― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Saturday, 12 April 2008 00:41 (fifteen years ago) link
what is it with people who think completely obscure music is cool?
All music is cool
― water, Saturday, 12 April 2008 01:05 (fifteen years ago) link
i mean, ugh. does this piss anyone off? it's like you're not really with it unless you like some band no one's heard of
why does it piss you off? because you really to be "WITH IT"? who do you hang out with, 13 year olds???
― winston, Saturday, 12 April 2008 01:18 (fifteen years ago) link
really WANT to be
try to hear the stuff everybody in respective threads agrees upon, hasn't steered me wrong yet.
-- BIG HOOS aka the steendriver
haha don't worry, there are plenty of land mines waiting to go off in your face in those threads
― omar little, Saturday, 12 April 2008 01:19 (fifteen years ago) link
you have to choose between being pissed off about something and not giving a shit about it; you can't have it both ways
― winston, Saturday, 12 April 2008 01:23 (fifteen years ago) link
I think what Surmounter is talking about is some left-field bands that other people have tried to sell him on that aren't actually any good. One of the sad truths about the inability of the vast majority of musicians to make any money these days is that many of them fit the same description.
― Tracer Hand, Saturday, 12 April 2008 02:11 (fifteen years ago) link
Also stence's comment was perfect and funny, jaymc you gotta lighten up!
― Tracer Hand, Saturday, 12 April 2008 02:12 (fifteen years ago) link
some left-field bands that . . . aren't actually any good. One of the sad truths about the inability of the vast majority of musicians to make any money these days is that many of them fit the same description.
Name names.
― Daniel, Esq., Saturday, 12 April 2008 02:25 (fifteen years ago) link
At least Surmounter has a sense of humor about being a special princess.
― libcrypt, Saturday, 12 April 2008 02:59 (fifteen years ago) link
???
― winston, Saturday, 12 April 2008 03:44 (fifteen years ago) link