I have a confession to make. I think Indie music is really cool and I pride myself on knowing about bands before they hit the "mainstream." Then I sullenly shun them when they get "too mainstream" (except I don't really shun them, I just pretend to and then still listen to them, but with the caveat "They're really good even though they're so popular.")
I guess you could say I'm one of those people who liked The Shins before Garden State and feels superior to those who only know about The Shins because of Garden State.
(P.S. I only found out about them because of my way cooler and way more alternative friend, Maddie)
Now that I have a full time job, I don't have as much time to sit in my room with the lights off and my eyes closed and listen to an artist's entire album (a technique I learned from my dad who developed it during his lonely Friday nights in high school when all his friends were out smoking weed).
So now I have to resign myself to just being happy with catching glimpses of new artists on college radio stations or Pandora recommendations. "Still," I tell myself, "at least not everyone has heard of this band! I'm still unique!"
And then along comes Buzzfeed to slap my ego with the irony of ironies: Indie music is just as mass-produced as any other genre and just as easy to replicate following a few simple rules.
Now, one could argue that the folks over at Buzzfeed have the advantage of just being able to critique and not create. True enough, but this hit a nerve with me that got me thinking.
Music is meant to unify people by expressing universal themes in a way that can not be told in any other medium, so why would I want to be the "only one" who knows about a beautiful (or, let's be honest, catchy) song or band? Wouldn't it be better if everyone in the world were able to hear this?
In a perfect world, yes. But in this world, pride and despair take root in our hearts in many different ways.
The reason many people are so into "discovering new" whatever or liking said whatever "before it was cool" is because we all have a deep desire to be known for something irreplaceable. We want to be thought of as "that one person" who has something so unique to offer the world that no one else has.
Of course, each person does have something unique and irreplaceable to offer the world: their whole person. However, in an overly-manufactured world that values utility over beauty, that message can be lost and distorted.Too often we forget that we are irreplaceable persons, that just being is enough.
Whether it's pride in being able to quote complete works of 19th century Eastern European authors, having the hottest bod, or knowing where the best hole in the wall brunch place is, make sure you don't let yourself think that that's the "one thing" that makes you you.
The only place we can receive total validation is in knowing that we were created in the Image and Likeness of God and that we express a part of Him no one else can.
Or as Papa Benedict told us, "We are not some casual and meaningless product of evolution. Each of us is the result of a thought of God." (Inaugural Mass, 4.25.05)
And you should also know that I still love a good hand-clap intro.
(You should further know that the best place to find a good band (in my opinion) is searching Sub Pop Records' artists.)
I guess you could say I'm one of those people who liked The Shins before Garden State and feels superior to those who only know about The Shins because of Garden State.
(P.S. I only found out about them because of my way cooler and way more alternative friend, Maddie)
Now that I have a full time job, I don't have as much time to sit in my room with the lights off and my eyes closed and listen to an artist's entire album (a technique I learned from my dad who developed it during his lonely Friday nights in high school when all his friends were out smoking weed).
So now I have to resign myself to just being happy with catching glimpses of new artists on college radio stations or Pandora recommendations. "Still," I tell myself, "at least not everyone has heard of this band! I'm still unique!"
And then along comes Buzzfeed to slap my ego with the irony of ironies: Indie music is just as mass-produced as any other genre and just as easy to replicate following a few simple rules.
Now, one could argue that the folks over at Buzzfeed have the advantage of just being able to critique and not create. True enough, but this hit a nerve with me that got me thinking.
Music is meant to unify people by expressing universal themes in a way that can not be told in any other medium, so why would I want to be the "only one" who knows about a beautiful (or, let's be honest, catchy) song or band? Wouldn't it be better if everyone in the world were able to hear this?
In a perfect world, yes. But in this world, pride and despair take root in our hearts in many different ways.
The reason many people are so into "discovering new" whatever or liking said whatever "before it was cool" is because we all have a deep desire to be known for something irreplaceable. We want to be thought of as "that one person" who has something so unique to offer the world that no one else has.
Of course, each person does have something unique and irreplaceable to offer the world: their whole person. However, in an overly-manufactured world that values utility over beauty, that message can be lost and distorted.Too often we forget that we are irreplaceable persons, that just being is enough.
Whether it's pride in being able to quote complete works of 19th century Eastern European authors, having the hottest bod, or knowing where the best hole in the wall brunch place is, make sure you don't let yourself think that that's the "one thing" that makes you you.
The only place we can receive total validation is in knowing that we were created in the Image and Likeness of God and that we express a part of Him no one else can.
Or as Papa Benedict told us, "We are not some casual and meaningless product of evolution. Each of us is the result of a thought of God." (Inaugural Mass, 4.25.05)
And you should also know that I still love a good hand-clap intro.
(You should further know that the best place to find a good band (in my opinion) is searching Sub Pop Records' artists.)
