Saturday, January 9, 2010

Leaving the Window Open

I read this article on NPR today and it made me think about how I approach music, movies, television, etc.

(Now would be the time to read the article if you plan on it.)

I am completely guilty of pop culture snobbery. I'm a music snob, tv snob, movie snob, and sometimes even a craft snob. I don't listen to Lady Gaga because everybody else does, even though "Just Dance" is supercatchy and I jam out to it every time I hear it on the radio. I roll my eyes at reality tv/ competition shows, but I'm just as guilty as the next guy about getting caught up in an episode of American Idol or Dancing with the Stars. Chris and I watched almost every episode of last season's America's Got Talent. We looked forward to it, even. I wanted to see The Hangover really really bad when I first saw the trailer for it. I never did because everybody was talking about it. When I overheard a girl (most likely a college student) at Hobby Lobby ask if she could just use "fabric and that self-adhesive velcro stuff" to cover her couch, I laughed at her under my breath instead of offering advice.

I tell people they've probably never heard of the music I listen to. I don't readily share my love for a certain teen vampire book franchise. I stop listening to music the second I hear it on the radio. Hey There Delilah played constantly on my iPod a month before it came out on the radio. Then it got deleted from iTunes entirely.

This article made me think about all of this. When something is uber-popular, didn't it get that way for a reason? Can't I listen to Neko Case and Taylor Swift? I say yes. Yes I can.

I didn't really make any New Year's resolutions this year, since I made my 25 Before 26 list, so I'm making one now. Leave the window open. Just leave it cracked a bit. As the article says "... just in case there's a breeze."

And to show my good faith, here's a song (Jessica, aren't you proud of me?):


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