obscure music?

"Oh wait, there was also the party I was at with Hstencil and a Pearl Jam song came on and I was like, "Isn't there something so great about hearing these early '90s songs, something kind of nostalgic?" -- and he glared at me and said "No." Haha!"

I can totally imagine saying this.

suzymc

Yeah, I don't even like Pearl Jam, but dude was just so humorless and condescending about it!

That's because not listening to Pearl Jam is SERIOUS business.

what was like a big hit by Pearl Jam? i wasn't zoned into that at the time...

suzymc

Wow, did Hstencil just win the Turner Prize or something?

I should also note that it was like the second time I'd ever met him, so it seemed a little more douchey than it would've been if we were actually friends.

Tuo-mounter

"She once happened to mention that she liked minimalism, and he said, "Like what?" -- when she said Glass and Reich, he rolled his eyes."

This on the other hand is really pretty lame.

I would just like to say that hstencil was very nice the one time I met him which was something like 10 years ago

why is everyone talking like something very tragic happened to him??

He died of condescension.

I worked with hstencil for a while. We was tight; haven't talked to him in months though.

I heard gygax! killed him

it was a murder/suicide thing IIRC.

and as irritatingly snobbish as hstencil could be about music, he was still right 95% of the time.

He's a LOCAL BLOGGER now

Either way not liking Pearl Jam /= fetishing obscure music. It just means you don't like Pearl Jam.

i like the weird pearl jam songs, like BUGS.

does this make me an obscurantist?

maybe, maybe not

He could have disagreeing with the sentimental statement and not reflecting on Pearl Jam.

Well, what it meant was that he was the kind of guy who was comfortable making absolute statements of taste with people he barely knew, which I guess rubbed me the wrong way. (I mean, what if I was a big Pearl Jam fan?) But that's probably for another thread.

yeah there's no right or wrong, sure, nabisco, whatever you say. everything's "all good in the hood," yo.

-- hstencil (hstencil), Thursday, August 11, 2005 2:58 PM (2 years ago) Bookmark Link

It sounds like this issue is mainly a problem at parties. The solution, therefor, would either be to not go to them or get so trashed that you're already more obnoxious than the obscurist. And, you know, everyone else...

Good tip.

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

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.

im pretty sure i can get u that new wilco for free if yr interested

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.

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.

"(I mean, what if I was a big Pearl Jam fan?)"

Uh so what?

pearl jam sux dreamboat gorilla ftw

(I mean, what if I was a big Pearl Jam fan?)

slap with glove + pistols at dawn

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!

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?

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.

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.

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).

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...

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

i have to like concoct this favorable take on it...

So you're insecure in your own opinions?

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.

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

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...

there's something about clinging to other people's opinions on music that turns me off.

compare and contrast

right ;-) with my boyfriend i can be a total asshole which is refreshing

i was really interested in this thread two hours ago and then ilx happened

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

did ILX used to be less.. what it is now? I seem to remember it being friendlier in the greenspun days

btw this thread inspired me to listen to some Sleepytime Gorilla Museum at work today. it was OK.

xxp Yeah, that just seems polite.

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.