Musical Snobbery

In my eyes there is nothing more annoying than musical snobbery and it usually comes from the people who take music far too seriously. Let me explain. Music is personal. It is whatever your heart desires - it can help your mood, it can lift your spirit and it can ease your sorrows. It helps when you feel pain, it can make the happiest person even happier – it is different for every person – it is personal.

Just because somebody loves X Factor winners Little Mix more than Radiohead, doesn’t make their musical taste wrong and lacking credibility. It doesn’t make them any less of a musical expert than you. A song containing samples and synthesised beats doesn’t mean it is any less musically brilliant than a song with real drums, guitars, keyboards etc. A song writer that writes poetically brilliant words doesn’t necessarily mean the song is better than Spice Girls ‘Wannabe.’

At the minute I quite like Olly Murs, Rizzle Kicks and Rhianna. There are certain people out there who would cast aspersion on my musical taste. I’d hear these phrases in an instant: “Manufactured garbage,” “Pop shite,” “Don’t even write their own lyrics,” “Don’t even play any instruments” etc. If I came back with some home truths, such as: “Rhianna is the biggest selling female artist this year – millions of people love her music,” all I would get back is: “That’s because there are millions of stupid people in the world and it’s only because she gets naked in every video.” As you can probably tell I’ve have this argument many times. I then ask what music they like and they reel of a list of unheard-of ‘local’ bands (yes local – that makes them feel like they know what they’re talking about) or bands that are unsigned and ones that have only had 20,000 sales yet “made a musical masterpiece.” People say such things like “They don’t want to be popular; they just care about the music!”

Bollocks! People don’t spend their life making music for it never to be heard by the masses. People don’t write songs and play instruments to make a CD for their mum’s birthday, they make it because they have a passion for music and given the choice they all wish the world would listen – and so they should! Ask some obscure local band their dreams and they wouldn’t say “to sell 1,000 records,” they’d say to be the most influential band in history with millions of sales, selling out Wembley Stadium on a hot summers night playing the music they love. Musicians, like all of us, are egotistical so please don’t give me any bullshit stories about not wanting to be ‘pop.’ Pop is just short for popular and every artist ultimately wants to be pop! Else why bother? If it was just about the music, a truly personal thing, no artist or band would bother playing live or even making a CD, they’d record it and listen to it in their bedroom and tell nobody about it.

So, let’s get back to the point. People make music because they have an ego and a sound they want the world to hear. Every listener listens to music that they enjoy, that suits their personality and that they personally enjoy, for reasons that are personal to them. You shouldn’t judge someone for listening to N-Dubs just because you like Radiohead. Personally I think Radiohead are one of the most boring bands I’ve ever heard. That is my personal opinion but I fully respect them as musicians. I won’t tell you not to listen to them and I won’t judge you for enjoying their music. But when you like commercial music, you’re instantly judged by various losers who take music too seriously and who think their opinion is always right. Yes Olly Murs may be under the control of music mogul Simon Cowell but you know what, I can dance to his music, it’s pleasant and it make me happy. I don’t particularly like the music industry due to all the celebrity-driven bullshit that comes with it. I don’t particularly approve of a half-naked Rhianna performing live on X Factor for kids to see or the losers that sell their soul to Heat magazine to raise their profile, but I don’t care about that. If I like their music, if it connects with me and my mood, then that’s all that matters.

Don’t be a music snob – it’s sad and pathetic. Let us all be musically diverse, let’s look at the positives that every musical genre offers. Music choice is a personal taste and is personal to our moods. “Whatever makes you happy” is what I think. If a Little Mix song lifts the spirits of a young girl dying of cancer, then you know what - they’re worth their weight in gold.

Now I’m going to put my iPod on… Hmm… Coldplay, Jersey Budd, UB40, Barry Manilow, Immortal Technique, 2Pac, Madonna, Olly Murs, Will Young, Queen or The Beatles – what do I fancy listening to today? Whatever I choose, it’s whatever my heart desires! Don’t judge me!