Hey, this sugababes discussion is interesting. I think I'll take it as a starting point and end up somewhere competely different. Let's see.
I thought this was pretty obvious. There's going to come a time where we realize that, futuristic-movie-style, pop culture has crept into all corners of our lives and we can't really escape it without becoming total loser recluses.
I don't think so. Just randomly take one example among millions: me. I do have a television, but it's only capable of showing one single program, and it's not MTV. I also own a radio, but i never use it because all it does is getting on my nerves big time. The result of this reclusion is that i am unaware of a lot of things that most other people in my country know about, like who is most likely to win the next football championship, which local actor has married/divorced/whatever which other one, etc. (We have the Big Brother show here in Germany, too, and i've never seen that one either, which i think is only a very tiny little bit of a shame). Also I often don't know who is at the top of the charts here; sometimes i cause wonder and amazement when i hear a song played somewhere and say "wow, that's really catchy - I'm sure it's going to be a big success", when in fact it already is... I'm not a recluse, though. I'm reading daily and weekly newspapers, I'm using the internet a lot to keep myself informed about the things i care about, especially literature and music; I get my recommendations for new & interesting stuff from all sorts of mailing lists and message boards. Embrace and filter? I'd say, the big advantage of the internet is that you don't have to embrace; you can start filtering right away. But, I hear you say, are you not missing out on a lot of things? Well yes, I guess so - for some time i vaguely thought that Destiny's Child was a metal band because the name sounds a bit medievally-pretentious like Paradise Lost or Blind Guardian...... but then I listened to them, and I was utterly unimpressed. And while there *is* some good mainstream pop music (Briskeby! they're fab. From Norway), it's just not worthwhile IMO to wade through all this crap just to find something that *might* be a bit good. (I do miss MTV sometimes, though. Some of those videos are really good. Especially those with half-naked dancers). The thing about ignoring mass-media-pop-culture is that it makes life better; at least for me. I didn't consciously choose to step out of it, it just happened, and it was good. It's strange how people have this idea that pop culture is something unescapable that's got some *meaning* unto its own. In fact, you just have to do a tiny little step to the side, and it all vanishes, you can let this this multi-billion-$$-life-invading industry rush you by like a high-speed train: *whoooosh*. Ok, it's very easy to appear arrogant when you have a different taste. But I don't think i'm *better* just because i don't do or like what most people do. I don't *hate* bad music, i just don't listen to it. Julie, you seem to think that people who are "against" pop music do so because they want to feel superior or something, when secretly they envy those who are out and have space-age fun. I don't think that's the case. It's just that some people don't find it worthwile to spend time with that sort of music, that's all. There is no earthly reason why you *have* to know a certain band, there is no such thing as a GLOBAL PHENOMENON. For me, caring about DC would be a waste of time. That's not arrogant, it's simply economic. It gives me time to enjoy the things i love. And if you happen to enjoy DC, there's nothing wrong with that either, of course. But: people who don't want to take part in global pop culture, not even ironically, are not sad loser recluses. At least not always*. bonus comment: I had heard the expression "spirit ditch" in a sparklehorse song and thought it was one of their genius lyrical inventions (in fact, they are using it twice on their last record), until Jules enlightened me about the fact that it's a normal english expression. Wow, what a language! I think I'm in love. I should learn it sometime.... back to lurking for the next 6 months goes Jan *: I'm with a hot chick. In fact, I'm going to cuddle next to her after i've sent this out and maybe fumble her tits for a bit. -- Tindersticks page: http://www.tinder.org "Lifestyle music for people maybe lacking in life, but never, ever in style" -- +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list mail sinister@missprint.org. To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to majordomo@missprint.org. WWW: http://www.missprint.org/sinister +-+ "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper +-+ +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "peculiarly deranged fanbase" +-+ +-+ "pasty-faced vegan geeks... and we LOST!" - NME April 2000 +-+ +-+ "frighteningly named Sinister List organisation" - NME May 2000 +-+ +-+ Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+