Musical Eggshells

I have worked at a record store for the past 10 years. I’ve picked up a few tidbits of wisdom along the way.

Never try to convince others that your music is best. People are born with musical tastes written into their DNA. Attempting to alter these genetic codes is a fruitless endeavor at best. Sure, the music you love is great. You enjoy the shit out of it. Wonderful. This does not contractually obligate anyone else to care/agree.

There is nothing wrong with being a loyal fan, but where you start getting into the weeds is assuming that your music is better than someone else’s. Because it’s not. It’s just not. You’re nodding your head no right now. But I promise you, Supertramp is the worst. Not to me, of course, but to someone else; they really suck. And that’s okay.

Imagine a band you love, how much they’ve changed your life, how much you believe in the power of their music. Now imagine someone else loving a band that you are musically repulsed by. They probably love that band with that same amount of passion and unbridled enthusiasm that you have for your favorite artists. So you’re really the same, just at different ends of the spectrum. Bagging on said person for their taste only ends up making you look like a bitter control freak with serious self esteem issues. Is that what you want? Didn’t think so. Let the people like what they like.

We all enjoy music in different ways and for different reasons. Someone else’s music is sacred to them, just as yours is to you. Poke fun at it. Try to figure out the appeal. But don’t judge. Because that makes you the know-it-all music asshole. I have been that person. It is truly exhausting. So I quit.

For better or worse, it’s just music.