Snobbery / Man How Things Change

Every now and again I reflect upon my musical tastes and compare them to how they were around a year beforehand. More often than not the result is completely different to the last, and it's proof that as people change, so does the music that accompanies their life, their "soundtrack" if you will. As the Triple J Hottest 100 voting opened today, I couldn't help but feel anxious as to whether I should participate. Why you ask? Well, more and more I feel myself disconnected from the central scene of the hybrid mainstream/indie/70% Australian hiphop that Triple J puts out, and more linked to new genres and styles, naturally due to the fact that I have changed as a person. (Don't get me wrong, Triple J is still my favourite station, due to the fact that there's something new everyday, and it's one of the only stations where I can hear quality house all the time.)

This year's voting will be the hardest for me

Long gone are the days where folk and indie rock would dominate my iTunes, and nowadays there is a conglomeration of genres and styles, that all appeal to me equally. In short, I have become less of a snob. It's common (especially in younger people aka 13-17) to see people who are discovering themselves musically and wish to find a place where they belong in that way, consequently keyholing themselves into a genre and feeling as though to branch out into new styles or even into the "mainstream"could threaten the perception of themselves. I will be writing about keyholing in another post, but here I want to focus on the potential snobbery between mainstream and alternative styles, and the fear that it's felt by young people to attach themselves to one or the other. In a way it's almost a political orientation. Of course nowhere near as extreme, but the same idea. For years I have been called a "hipster", "indie kid" and all that other shit, by some standard created by stuck up assholes, and to be honest I enjoyed it; but only for a while. Now I feel the consequences of being boxed in: not by myself, but other people, and to be honest it's taken a bit of courage to say,
"WTF do all those terms even mean?"
According to some, to be part of that scene means to dress, act, talk and listen to things a certain way, and no matter how much you deny it or do not intend it, that's who you are. Full stop.
AND IT'S SO DUMB
I could go on for hours about cultural and creative stereotypes, but back on the point of snobbery. Since getting over the perception that I had to shut off all mainstream ideas and art to maintain my status of "hipster", I have genuinely been able to appreciate music a whole lot more. Just because a piece of work is reached and loved by the masses, does it mean that it's less valuable? God no! Look at Beyoncé for Christ's sake! As the cultural genius himself Ezra Koenig said on pop music,
"The fact that so many people like it, I think that does mean there's something fundamentally good about it."
And I have wholeheartedly adopted that concept, and tried to see the music I listen to from a completely unbiased perspective, and no doubt, I highly recommend it.
Just as it is graceful and healthy to be open minded to others, it is a great thing to be open minded to music. Reject snobbery, embrace what you like, and not what others think you will like. It's aaaalll I'm sayin'
I love rock, I love pop, I love RnB and rap, I love indie and I love mainstream music. I love everything inbetween... Except country.

Kacey xx