The perils of being a music snob in Thailand
In the past three months here I have nearly bitten my tongue clean off trying not to scream, “Please God, no!” when people put on Dave Matthews. What I never knew is that he’s made so many records that, by my rough estimate after glancing at a friend’s MP3 list, it would be possible to listen to them back to back for approximately 40 years straight without hearing the same song twice. And every single song I’ve heard is horrible. It is amazing.
I have heard shit music at people’s houses. I have heard shit music in cafes. I have heard shit music in bars, restaurants and guesthouses. I have never heard so much bland, boring and straight-up bad music in my entire life as I have in the past four months in Thailand. And it’s not the Thai’s fault.
It’s making come to terms with my inner music snob. And before anyone else has a chance to bring this one up – yes, I love Britney Spears. But come on, even Mojo listed Baby One More Time as one of the best written songs of all time. You can argue with me but you can’t argue with Mojo. Oh boy, I’d like to hear what those guys have to say about Dave Matthews.
OK back to the point – I’m not being an extremist here. I mean, I don’t expect a 500-word essay on the influence Gram Parsons had on rock music from every person I meet. I guess I’m just realizing that, for better or worse, I’ve lived secluded in indie rock social enclaves for pretty much my entire adult life. Even the three times I lived abroad before, there were always loads of people around who were far more obsessed with music than I am. Maybe because that was in Europe?
Regardless, this is the first time I’ve been in a situation where I’d bet my life savings there’s no one within a 200-mile radius who’s even heard of Slint. It’s not a big deal or anything. Just weird. I’ll continue biting my tongue and trying to figure out what people who aren’t into music or books or art actually talk about.
Tags: Nong Khai, Thailand
sandra_101
DMB is a piece of shit. I had to suffer through all of college surrounded by droves of drunken frat-tards thinking this fuckface was some sort of artist of great note.
It’s not really about being a snob…I think liking DMB is just an indication of a deep inability to think critically about culture and engage with a world of ideas beyond the bland, generic, tired, sentimental, trite, cliche, vapid, predictable, safe, and unlistenable beyond the ability of words to describe piece of crap songs.
If you like DMB it’s probably an indication of your low cultural intelligence and tendency towards conformity, tendency to not ask questions of authoruty, as well as poor values (materialism), poor judgement, likely to be religious, Republican, and probably is a jackass turd. The world would be better off if they were all coralled in a big herd and given cyanide koolaid.
You think you’re a music snob? Listen to a true music snob speaking. Thailand bars are a musical hell for someone who prefers Western Classical music and rock music from the ’60s and ’70s, i.e. me. Nobody looks down his (or her) nose at the utter bilge they play in those bars that you’re talking about more than me. Mind you, my attitude is that if it’s harmless background rubbish then better to have that as background than music that grabs you, because it’s harder then for the music to be background. But if they turn up this rubbish full blast so your ears are being assaulted by candyfloss as cliched as a clunking klutzette clinging on to a kleptomaniac in a bad movie about how good bad people really are, then I think they deserve the derogotary remarks.nrLong live music snobbery! (I prefer to call it stating your preference).
You don’t like DMB? Jesus what’s wrong with you? He’s GREAT! When his songs come on I just HAVE to get up and dance. and I do that ‘sexy’ hippy girl dance. I also like to act out his song lyrics in my dances. I also wear hiking boots. His music speaks to ME.
Gram Parsons? He was just some rich trust fund kid who wanted to hang out with the rolling stones. BORING!
BRING ON THE JAM ROCK DMB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!