Universe Log 9: Beyond The Hits

  I'm realizing that a lot of my episodes are about music. But, I'm passionate about music. And if I'm not writing about things I'm interested in, why bother having a blog?

  One of my co-workers, one of my best work friends, is someone I talk music with a lot. We like a lot of the same bands, which I can't say about most other people at work. However, we definitely differ. Our tastes are both pretty punk, but I'm a little more pop-punk and he's much more punk rock. There are bands he loves that I don't particularly care for, and there are bands I love that he doesn't particularly care for. One of these, I found out the other day, is Twenty One Pilots. I hesitantly asked him if he likes them, knowing his response could very well be negative. And it was - he said that they're overrated. Of course it sucks when one of your close friends insults one of your favorite bands - but music taste is a pretty arbitrary thing of a person; not something I'd let differences in dictate my relationship with someone. As long as you're not into like satanic death metal or Nazi military anthems, I'll be your best friend even if our tastes in music are nothing alike.

   The reason I write about this is because today I brought the topic of him not liking Twenty One Pilots up again. I said something to the effect of "have you actually given them a chance, or did you just hear 'Stressed Out' and 'Heathens' on the radio too much and decide they were bad?" To this, he responded that he likes "Car Radio" and also kinda likes "Chlorine". I don't know if he realized I had a point or what, but I was glad to hear him admit that Twenty One Pilots has at least two songs that are enjoyable for him. 

   But, I feel like this is a big issue with people. They hear a few of the big songs by an artist, not like them, and because of that they disregard the artist as a whole. For example, I see a lot of hate against AJR and Imagine Dragons on Reddit, but have those AJR haters heard anything besides "Weak" or "Bang"? Have those Imagine Dragons haters heard anything besides "Radioactive" or "Believer" or "Thunder"(or many of their other hits, they're a hugely successful band)? If you don't give an artist a fair shake, you may be missing out on music you'd really like. Listen to a few deeper cuts before you discount an artist as a whole. 

    I'll admit I'm guilty of this too. For a long time, I disregarded Radiohead and called them one of the most overrated bands around, because every time I tried to venture out beyond the few songs I already knew, what I heard was a weird hodge-podge of electronic beep-boops and distorted vocals that I didn't quite care for. But, I convinced myself to give them a chance and listened to OK Computer, because a bunch of people on Reddit said that that's the Radiohead album a new fan should start with. And, I ended up loving it. OK Computer is one of my favorite albums now, and I no longer think Radiohead is a severely overrated band. They're definitely weird, but they're weird on purpose. It's called "experimental rock" for a reason. And you can get used to the weirdness and end up liking it. 

   Also, a lot of people say that all music today is bad and say that they wish they were born in a different decade because of it. This is ridiculous - there is plenty of genuinely amazing music being released even today. Don't hear the top 40 on the radio and think that's what all music today is like. Don't be so lazy you won't go beyond the surface level, and think the surface represents today's music as a whole. 

    So, I guess the moral of this anime story arc is to give artists a chance - a lot of times, a band's hit songs were written in a way so it would be formulaic and appealing enough to the mainstream to be a hit. A lot of hit songs are written to be hit songs. If you don't like the hits by an artist, there's no reason to think that that artist's entire discography is like those hits. Even pop giants Imagine Dragons have some quite heavy songs, if you're one who's interested in heavier guitar music - doubt me? Listen to tracks like "I'm So Sorry", "Friction", "Cutthroat", and "Dull Knives". Especially those last two. That's just one example. So many bands have so much more to offer than the reflection their hits give. Not that all hits are bad - some of the best songs by many artists are their hits.