I am beginning my time at PopZap! with a plea to you. It is time for all of us to grow up a little bit and break our molds. No longer is it acceptable to listen to music based on haircuts instead of the actual sounds you hear. Yes, this has been acceptable as of late and sometimes even expected. If you listen to a certain type of music, you are expected to listen to ONLY that type of music and expected to look and act in a way that conforms with that type of music. The “non-conformists” are now the largest conformists of all. Scene kids are the new jocks and preps.
We need to realize that we shouldn’t feel guilty over “guilty pleasures.” If you turn off As I Lay Dying for a few hours and listen to the new Fall Out Boy CD I assure you everything will be quite alright. Just because Fall Out Boy is mainstream and not “scene” that doesn’t mean that you can’t still enjoy their music, because in my eyes (or ears I suppose) their latest CD [Infinity On High] is phenomenal. I promise you I will be blasting that CD in my car all summer without one ounce of embarrassment because it causes me to feel, which is exactly what one should experience when listening to music.
We should not have to consciously think about what we’re listening to because we’re worried about how others will perceive us. If scene kids think it’s lame, don’t worry, things will be okay. If “Farmtoolmedia” gives it a bad review, it’s not the end of the world. We cannot expect everyone to conform to the same tastes. I don’t expect everyone to like everything I recommend on here; it is unrealistic to have a universal basis for what is “good” music.
I will be the first to admit that I am not innocent in any of these regards. I have been guilty of second guessing what I’m listening to because people can see my last.fm. I have been guilty of changing certain aspects in order to “fit in”. But, because I have now broken the mold, I can confidently tell you that it is in fact possible and absolutely liberating. Here I am boasting on a public website about how much I love the new FOB and it feels great to not think twice about it. I no longer worry about one song I listen to, one word I say, or one t-shirt I wear. We shouldn’t have to consciously debate actions we take in regards to music or anything else music has influence over. What we should be doing is listening to what we want to listen to. What a novel concept, huh? The sad part is, many of us still listen to music for reasons other than because we truly want to. We are listening to music that makes us look more hardcore, more hip, more individualistic. I am calling for an end to this. Stop listening to music because it will make you cooler (as middle-school as that sounds, that’s what we’re dealing with) and start listening to music for yourself.
Listen to what makes you feel ecstatic, sad, happy, in love. Above all, listen to music that makes you feel. So please, next time you turn on your iPod, open iTunes, or put a CD in, consider why you are listening to it. Music is such an amazing thing, why waste any time listening to something you don’t want to hear?
