The Right Unpopular Opinions
This thread is actually born out of a thought I've had for a while but which I touched upon again in the Metallica paradox thread. It's about something that has annoyed me about music discussions for a long time.
Have you ever met a teenage girl who says she's a Metallica fan? I have. I asked her what she liked and she said she only liked them prior to Black Album. What I automatically think then is, that's not your opinion. That's some old man's opinion and you just robbed him of it because you didn't have a proper formulated opinion of the band of your own.
It's like some people, the moment they get into a band, they desperately want to appear as if they've already listened to them for years. They don't have time to sit and listen and get an opinion themselves because they got their pride at stake. If someone asks them about a popular band, should they say "Oh, I've only really heard one album", they think they'd lose face. Better to grab an opportunity to look cool and wise. So they go and find an opinion. But the popular opinion isn't good enough because that's the one typically held by those who have only heard the band's most popular output (ie. the best album is the biggest seller). No, they need to educate themselves a little more and find the right unpopular opinion, the one that favors more obscure output and makes you look like an old-time fan.
I guess the youngest people around here may not recognize them, but as you get a little older, they become readily appearant because they're reiterated time and time again. It could be a self-proclaimed Led Zep fan who thinks Stairway to Heaven is awful, but loves their pre-IV output. It could be that Megadeth was so much better before Countdown to Extinction and if people listen to U2, they will seldom admit to liking anything beyond their 80s material .. because that's not cool.
Of course, if the attitude that everything pre-Black Album is better is the one you got getting into Metallica, that's most likely the one you're going to reinforce through your personal motivation and the resulting listening you do. People wanna live up to their bluffs because it's the right way to feel about the band, right?
So, it's not that there's something wrong with these opinions in themselves. They are good, educated opinions. But when you meet them, are they earned or are they borrowed/stolen?
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