How many....

[~Mr. Indecisive~]

How many of you listen to music that isn't popular in your area, for whatever reason?
How many get annoyed when a group of people who know nothing about one of the bands you listen to, start listening just because they hear one of their songs on the radio?

For me the first answer would be I do listen bands that aren't well known where I live, just to get away from the annoyance of people talking about all the mainstream music, which to me sounds bland.

For the second one, I can say it annoys me quite a bit. I mean until Dark Light, a very small number of people knew about HIM. I started listening when Razorblade Romance came out. When Dark Light hit, then all of a sudden all the annoying kids were constantly asking I have heard of HIM, and the song "Rip Out the Wings of a Butterfly". It got so annoying I actually stopped listening to them until all the commotion about them died down, and it went back to being just the small group of original fans. While I would like to see the bands I listen to become more well known, but at the same time I don't because I don't want to have a bunch kids yelling about one or two songs.

[The Crowing]

How many of you listen to music that isn't popular in your area, for whatever reason?
How many get annoyed when a group of people who know nothing about one of the bands you listen to, start listening just because they hear one of their songs on the radio?

I've never, ever understood that mentality. I mean...a band you love and supports starts to gain success and you don't like that? Just don't get it.

[~Mr. Indecisive~]

I've never, ever understood that mentality. I mean...a band you love and supports starts to gain success and you don't like that? Just don't get it.

Its not so much they are gaining success, as it is them becoming mainstream, and in some cases starting to sound like every other band. I mean thankfully HIM didn't reach that point completely. Also the fact that then you have people who only listen to them because they are the band to listen to. Thats the part that annoys me. If the band has to start sounding like every other commercial band out there, then I would prefer they not become mainstream. Also if it brings in a mass of fans that only like them because they heard their latest song, off their latest album, and thats the only song and album they know about, and they start thinking they are bigger fan than you, thats what irritates me. Like Dark Light, I hated that album, it sounded, at least to me bland, and commercial to some degree, nothing like their older albums. While I think its ok for bands to grow and evolve, I don't want to see them becoming bland.

[Spiner202]

I could end this thread with one word:

Dragonforce

But I'll expand on my post. We all know the Dragonforce example so I'll give another. Now what I think is a bit different from your point but in some way similar.

Basically Metallica has been my favorite band since I first got into music and I loved metal and was basically the only guy I know (other than my brother) who liked metal, and naturally that bothered me and I tried to show a lot of my friends metal. Metallica was the first band I showed them and they were like "this sucks". Then Guitar Hero 3 comes around and One is on the setlist. Well all of a sudden they love Metallica (same as Dragonforce) and know 3 songs and call themselves a fan.

One of my friends claims to like a lot of the bands I listen to, but to be honest I think he's a poser because he never knows anything about the music or the bands themselves, and he makes tons of stuff up that's wrong.

So for me, it's not so much when these bands get known/popular, but when people claim to like them and they really don't, they're only doing it because everyone else does.

[AllThingsEqual]

Metalhead elitists. This thread will deliver as soon as a black metal fan comes in and talks about how kvlt his music is.

[blitz]

Eh, it doesn't really bother me that much. Not a lot of people my age liked the Clash, until "Should I stay or should I go" was on Rock Band. It's the only song they know, and they say they're a fan of the band. Great for them, they like one song from them. I'm still a true fan, and liked all their albums. I'm not going to stop liking a band because it becomes mainstream or people hear about them through a video game or radio.

[ZeLdA FaNaTiC]

I see where your coming from.. you have this awesome little band that fits right in your back pocket and it seems your the only one around that is actually listens to these awesome guys. then ya it's gonna kinda piss you off when they put out one radio friendly song and all the dumb bandwagon jumpers hop right on and start arguing about how they are wayyy bigger fans of this F&^kin sweet NEW band...that has actually been around for awhile..

There's always the name dropping. ok so Metallica was up at the top of the thrash metal scene in the 80's of course and all they're fans loved it. as soon as the black album came out in 91' a whole lot of people shouted "F*&k you! you sold out!" I'm sure those same people would respond to the question "do you like Metallica?" with "well I like old 'tallica, back when they did it for us REAL fans"

I guess it all comes down to this. You have this band that you love. If they continue to make music then they will change. every band changes, some more than others. If that band becomes bigger and more popular then they are just doing what every damn band in the world is trying to do. Does it really matter that you saw them play their first show in some shltty bar and you owned their first album before that Huge single? maybe it does to you? whatever

[Ihsahn]

This thread will deliver as soon as a black metal fan comes in and talks about how kvlt his music is.

Here I am. I remember seeing a comment on a YouTube stream suggesting that though it was a great song, the video should be taken down as the internet was too mainstream for black metal. It might have been something by Blood Red Fog. I can't remember.

[Civil Disobedient]

Hey Ihsahn, I just got your new record, angL. The song "Emancipation" on it is ****ing epic.

Also, if other people enjoying music that you listen to annoys you ~Mr. Indecisive~, whether you were first or not, then I suggest you stop listening to music altogether.

[~Mr. Indecisive~]

I think ZeLdA FaNaTiC summed it up best when here.

all the dumb bandwagon jumpers hop right on and start arguing about how they are wayyy bigger fans of this F&^kin sweet NEW band...

I don't mind until you have the bandwagon jumpers who know nothing, but think they do, and then say that its a new band, sorry HIM has been around since when, 1997. 69 Eyes have been around since what 1989. Yet kids think they are new. That is part of the reason I try to listen to foreign bands that aren't that well known in my area.

[Civil Disobedient]

So the only good bands are ones no-one knows about?

[~Mr. Indecisive~]

So the only good bands are ones no-one knows about?

No, I'm sure that there are bands out there that are well known, and good. I just prefer to listen to bands that aren't well known, because I mostly listen to Symphonic, and Gothic metal, and most that I listen to aren't well known, at least not where I live, and it would be annoying to have a bunch of kids jumping up and down because they heard one song, and then start claiming to be fans. I mean like what happened with HIM. Up until Darklight, not very many in my area knew who HIM was. Then Darklight, and then you had a bunch of bandwagon jumpers asking if I had heard of this cool new band HIM, and if I heard the song Rip Out the Wings of a Butterfly. To which I would respond, they aren't new, they have been around since 1997. That would get a response to the effect of, I must be thinking of a different band, because this band is new, and I being a HIM fan bought Darklight, and next thing you know, I am a poser, and only like the band because of Rip Out the Wings of a Butterfly. So I guess you could say what I'm against isn't so much music becoming popular, its when people are ignorant, and think that a band is new, when obviously it isn't, even after I have shown them all their older albums, they still claim its new, and that that must be different band. Then again there will always be ignorance in the music community.

[Operative #19]

So, why did it take HIM so long to produce a "hit" single and become the talk of the town for a couple weeks? I had listened to HIM before Wings of a Butterfly and Darklight and I wasn't a fan of them then(they have a few good songs, but none that would make me buy their albums.) I'm using HIM as a metaphor here as well, you listen to lesser known bands and get upset when people start asking you things about them because they become more known(hit single, hit album, whichever.)

It's this kind of attitude that the term "elitist" comes from, because people think they're more of a fan of something then someone else because they know more about it. It might be true, but perhaps what you should do is inform them and grow HIM's fanbase by informing these individuals about their past albums. That is what a true fan would do, not be upset because they've got new fans. It's kind of like when a two people are friends. One friend finds a new friend, the old friend gets upset about it and, instead of trying to also become friends, sulks because they were "forgotten" and ruins the friendship.

Another question is why does it take so long for lesser known bands, like HIM, to produce a hit song. Almost a decade, yet in that time a crop of newer bands have become "mainstream" while HIM is still lesser known, or "indy."

[Civil Disobedient]

So you claim you enjoy some bands only because no-one knows who they are? That sounds quite silly to me.

[Spindrift]

I may be getting different vibrations here, but it seems to me that Mr. Indecisive doesn't like it when bands have a hit single or album and suddenly everyone likes them and claims that they're fans because they like one song. Then they tell people who liked the band before the song that they aren't real fans because they don't know anything about the band despite having liked them before they became suddenly famous.

Think of it on the same level as Dragonforce. Many who were fans before the Guitar Hero III game don't like them as much because of all these one song loving fans.

[Operative #19]

I may be getting different vibrations here, but it seems to me that Mr. Indecisive doesn't like it when bands have a hit single or album and suddenly everyone likes them and claims that they're fans because they like one song. Then they tell people who liked the band before the song that they aren't real fans because they don't know anything about the band despite having liked them before they became suddenly famous.

Think of it on the same level as Dragonforce. Many who were fans before the Guitar Hero III game don't like them as much because of all these one song loving fans.

Even if that is true, what's wrong with people who like a certain song more than the others? There are quite a few bands I'm like that with, Papa Roach being one. On their first CD the only song I liked was Last Resort. Am I wrong because I thought the rest of the CD sucked? Their subsequent CDs are the same way. Another example is Trapt and their single Headstrong. I've never listened to another Trapt song, and don't have much interest to, but I like that song. Is that wrong, too?

[Cure4commoncold]

I don't think there's many people in Knoxville, TN that even know what Ska is....Streetlight Whatahoooh? That's what they'll say. When people listen to a band that no one else knows about really just for the sake of listening to a band no one knows is stupid. I could care less if a band I like gets on the radio that means they're gaining popularity and fame which leads to money which leads to them continuing their career in the industry making music I like.

[Powerslave]

Even if that is true, what's wrong with people who like a certain song more than the others?

there's nothing wrong with it, but a consequence of that is that the Dragonforce gig i went to last month had the worst atmosphere i've known at a gig. it seemed like 90% of the people there didn't know any of the songs aside from TTFAF. it was completely subdued for the whole show, and then when they finished with that, everyone went crazy.

[Spindrift]

Even if that is true, what's wrong with people who like a certain song more than the others? There are quite a few bands I'm like that with, Papa Roach being one. On their first CD the only song I liked was Last Resort. Am I wrong because I thought the rest of the CD sucked? Their subsequent CDs are the same way. Another example is Trapt and their single Headstrong. I've never listened to another Trapt song, and don't have much interest to, but I like that song. Is that wrong, too?
It's not really much of the people who only like one or two songs, but those who only like one or two songs because they've only listened to one or two songs. It's these people that are being referred to. They think they're hardcore fans because they like the only song to gain considerable mainstream recognition. It ends up like how Powerslave described his Dragonforce concert experience. That's what happens when groups have a big hit. People bandwagon like crazy until the insanity is over. Then, you have a few who might stick with it and find they like the group, but the rest will likely go hop onto the next bandwagon.

[Spiner202]

there's nothing wrong with it, but a consequence of that is that the Dragonforce gig i went to last month had the worst atmosphere i've known at a gig. it seemed like 90% of the people there didn't know any of the songs aside from TTFAF. it was completely subdued for the whole show, and then when they finished with that, everyone went crazy.

When I saw them the crowd was barely into it at all. Then ZP was like "ok, I'm sure everyone will know this one because of Guitar Hero 3" and they played Through The Fire & Flames and I have never in my life heard an outdoor crowd get that loud. It was more sad than anything.

[Legendaryking6]

Yeah, they did that at mayhem fest. The crowd was almost dead silent, save for TTFAF and the select few who know about valley of the damned and fury of the storm. It's pathetic, really. Even though I'm a huge GH nut, I think it's one of the biggest causes of this problem anymore. Kids like a song that's on it and are like "zomg, I lurve that song!" (with One and TTFAF in particular), so I ask them what their favorite album is by the bands on the game that they like the song from, and they look at me like I just killed their grandma.

Even though I hate how kids find out about music this way, I tend to find a lot of music I've never heard before through this method, but unlike the rest of the dumbasses out there, I bother to listen to more stuff by those bands than just that one song. If I like them enough, I'll buy one (or all) of their albums and research the band more, like how long they've been around, who's in the band and who's been in it before, etc.


I think it can all be summed up by one phrase:

F*cking scene kids.

[AllThingsEqual]

I think it can all be summed up by one phrase:

F*cking scene kids.
Elitist. Remember how music taste is subjective (according to you.)

[Legendaryking6]

How am I being elitist?