A Devaluation of Guilty Pleasures
I made a point in my previous post about "The Meaning of Music" that I wanted to expand on. To summarize: the most important thing about art is what the person who experiences it feels. The determination of whether a work of art has value rests on whether it is able to elicit a strong emotional response from the audience. This makes the determination of value a subjective process, which opens the door to the idea that different people have different artistic "tastes". A work of art which I find appealing may seem to you absolutely dreadful.
And this is where something interesting pops up. It is highly unlikely that you or I share the same interests, yet there are still some things which are considered "popular" that a great deal of people share an interest for... or do they really share an interest?
The post was somewhat inspired by this blog post. The blog is the creation of Adam Young, creator of a musical project which I greatly admire called Owl City. (Recently, Owl City blew up into an international phenomenon with his single "Fireflies" and accelerated zero-to-sixty into the realm of popular music.) In the post, Young explains that it really doesn't matter if you like something that perhaps no one else does. People like can something, and other people can despise the exact same thing, and some people just don't care. Essentially, there shouldn't be such a thing as a "guilty pleasure". You shouldn't feel guilty because you happen to like something other people don't. You don't have to care about how others think of you liking something... because regardless of what they think, you still enjoy that thing. You like what you happen to like, and it really doesn't matter what anyone else likes. In the realm of art and creativity, you are the most important thing.
So when we look at what things are considered "popular" in this day of age, we tend to think that "this is what everyone likes". But really, we are forgetting that not everyone has to like the same things. We shouldn't feel obligated to also enjoy those things that are considered "popular". I have a friend who once pointed out that the songs I have on my playlist are some pretty obscure songs that no one else probably likes or has heard of. My general response is: "Is there a problem with that?"
This is also why I encourage the development of music discovery services such as Spotify, Pandora, or last.fm. These services allow you to find those obscure songs that you happen to find pleasure in listening to, without getting distracted by what the majority of people apparently enjoy.
One final thought I want to make clear: I'm not trying to support being anti-social. You should totally hang out with people who share some of the same interests as you. Of course, no one will ever have the all of the exact same interests, but you and someone else will almost certainly share some of the same or similar interests. What you shouldn't do, however, is strive to also like all of the same things your friends happen to like. Doing so kills your own individuality and creates this unnecessary guilt of finding pleasure in something you are apparently not supposed to.
And this is where something interesting pops up. It is highly unlikely that you or I share the same interests, yet there are still some things which are considered "popular" that a great deal of people share an interest for... or do they really share an interest?
The post was somewhat inspired by this blog post. The blog is the creation of Adam Young, creator of a musical project which I greatly admire called Owl City. (Recently, Owl City blew up into an international phenomenon with his single "Fireflies" and accelerated zero-to-sixty into the realm of popular music.) In the post, Young explains that it really doesn't matter if you like something that perhaps no one else does. People like can something, and other people can despise the exact same thing, and some people just don't care. Essentially, there shouldn't be such a thing as a "guilty pleasure". You shouldn't feel guilty because you happen to like something other people don't. You don't have to care about how others think of you liking something... because regardless of what they think, you still enjoy that thing. You like what you happen to like, and it really doesn't matter what anyone else likes. In the realm of art and creativity, you are the most important thing.
So when we look at what things are considered "popular" in this day of age, we tend to think that "this is what everyone likes". But really, we are forgetting that not everyone has to like the same things. We shouldn't feel obligated to also enjoy those things that are considered "popular". I have a friend who once pointed out that the songs I have on my playlist are some pretty obscure songs that no one else probably likes or has heard of. My general response is: "Is there a problem with that?"
This is also why I encourage the development of music discovery services such as Spotify, Pandora, or last.fm. These services allow you to find those obscure songs that you happen to find pleasure in listening to, without getting distracted by what the majority of people apparently enjoy.
One final thought I want to make clear: I'm not trying to support being anti-social. You should totally hang out with people who share some of the same interests as you. Of course, no one will ever have the all of the exact same interests, but you and someone else will almost certainly share some of the same or similar interests. What you shouldn't do, however, is strive to also like all of the same things your friends happen to like. Doing so kills your own individuality and creates this unnecessary guilt of finding pleasure in something you are apparently not supposed to.