I’m tired of music snobbery. Jokes like this.
I guess I’ve hit full-stride on my Rick Moody Against Cool phase. I realize that it’s very 2004, but I don’t care. D.C. is full of scenester kiddies who play the six-degrees of separation from Ians Svenonius and MacKaye. It’s exhausting and banal. Everyone knows Ian. And Ian.
I think the most endearing quality in someone is the healthy way she/he admits to liking a terrible band. Not terrible in the ironic way you suppose, but outright horrible.
Last Saturday at the Mount Pleasant farmer’s market, Becca (of Whoa Becca) casually mentioned over some green tomatoes that she had seen Fountains of Wayne in order to tell a story about seeing Bon Iver. It was brave. And she didn’t wince. She wasn’t embarrassed. Also, the band she’s seen the most? Dave Matthews.
I used to tell people that the worst band I’d ever seen was Milli Vanilli. I used to say that it wasn’t my idea, but that it was my friend Holly’s birthday, and I was upset that we didn’t see Young MC instead who was playing downtown. But I’m really happy that Holly had a birthday and it happened to be the night that Milli Vanilli was playing at Star Lake, weeks before the tape skipped in Connecticut. It’s too much of a piece of history now to say it was the worst. And, too ironic.
A TV Analysis professor used to say that he soaked up culture—good, bad and worse—just to experience it, to understand that moment. He said it made him a better critic.
I’ve seen Rusted Root, but that really doesn’t count. When you grow up in Pittsburgh it’s hard to not accidentally walk into a Rusted Root show.
The worst band I’ve probably ever seen was Dashboard Confessional on a double bill with Pete Yorn. Or maybe Travis.
But, you know, I really like Travis.
The band that I’ve seen the most? Death Cab for Cutie.
And I kind of tear up when I hear the acoustic version of Creep because it reminds me of driving around Austin in Claudia’s Ford F-150 in the late spring, just right before it got too hot to have the windows down. Back when we wanted to make films but had no idea how to do it.
There’s some Heart on my iPod and that Matthew Sweet song from Can’t Hardly Wait.
And the Replacements songs I like the most are the pop-y ones with hooks.
Although, I still can’t go back and listen to the Get up Kids. There are some things that should be retired permanently.
