Not So Different

you are not edgy or different for uncritically disliking popular music while uninformed send tweet

— Matthias November 3, 2019

I have definitely been guilty of this. I think it stemmed from getting into alternative, punk, and other non-mainstream music in the ’90s. Being a fan of those type of bands felt like being in a little club and it was easy to look down on pop music. I tried to justify it at the time: bubble gum pop is manufactured by songwriters and labels with tons of money, but the music I listened to was by “real artists.”

In retrospect, it was mostly a way to try to be different. I think there can be legitimate critique about pop music in that vein, but that doesn’t mean it’s all automatically bad music. I think my attitude is much more “Let people enjoy things” now and I find myself more willing to try out music I previously would have ignored.