Entry One: College Music Fans

My name is David Winchell and I am currently in my second semester at Hofstra University. I’ve been playing guitar since I was in the fourth grade and bass guitar since the seventh. So I’ve been exposed to music for many years. I’ve played gigs and recorded with a total of seven different musical groups since my sophomore year of high school, most notably the ska/punk band Three Years Accident Free. But towards the end of the span with TYAF I started listening to a much broader range of music. I went from listening to popular indie bands like Franz Ferdinand and The Strokes and local ska bands to branching out with bands like Primus, Faith No More and some hip-hop. As time went on my taste kept growing and I added a more eclectic variety of artists to my music collection. So, I waited anxiously to get to college so I would meet a lot of people that appreciated the wide range that I listened to. To make a story that has been going on for too long short, I was extremely disappointed when I arrived at Hofstra.
Although there are a small handful of people that listen to a lot of the bands and artists I like, most of the people I have encountered have a very small listening range, and have no intent of adding more variety to it. In high school I complained at the number of kids that preached about the music they loved, whether it be through numerous Blink 182 T-Shirts, or the extremely rare case of wearing a backpack equipped with speakers blasting Cradle of Filth at full blast through the halls, or the people that would have “If you bash my music I will kill you!” on their myspaces. I thought to myself ‘once I get to college I won’t have to deal with this anymore.’ Little did I know that I would be dealing with it on a much greater level. For the most part, the people I’ve met here have taken that same mentality that all the kids had in high school and blown it up to some unhealthy level. Some of my friends have openly bashed bands I listen to because of their level of mainstream success or because they aren’t ‘heavy’ enough, or my favorite, that the bands I like are ‘gay.’ Now, I don’t expect people to like everything I like, but to insult the music I listen to without good reason is just ignorant. Saying that a band like Yellowcard sucks because 12 year old girls listen to them is pretty much saying that the Beatles suck too. Do these classic rock junkies realize that the Beatles were the equivolent of today’s Fall Out Boy? I mean the Beatles were sugar pop, and to say that pop punk bands nowadays are for pussies and then go pop in “Can’t Buy Me Love” is one of the most hypocritical things anyone can do.
Now at this point, some of you who don’t know me may be asking yourselves ‘what kind of music does this kid listen to?’ and the answer is relatively simple. I listen to music that evokes emotions in me. I listen to simple rock bands like Andrew WK and The Hives because it makes me excited, it puts me in a good mood quick. I listen to experimental bands like Mr. Bungle and the newer RX Bandits because it makes me think about the limits a musician has. I listen to hip hop like Beastie Boys and The Roots because it makes me nod my head, and it puts emphasis on the poetry written by the emcees. So, if music does something good to me I will like it.
So back onto the subject, the lack of a mind among college music fans. Although I have met some kids that can listen to N.W.A’s “Gangsta Gangsta” and follow it with “Paint it Black” 75% of the kids here have their heads up their asses. And it’s not only as far as what they listen to, it’s what they classify as what. So many kids think that every rock band that is played on MTV is ‘emo’. I may not be a huge fan of the genre, but I know for a fact that calling My Chemical Romance emo is like calling The Jungle a book about the wildlife in Africa. These people judge by singles and images, yet they don’t realize that producers and record executives hand pick the songs they want to promote as singles. So if “I’m Not Okay (I Promise)” sounds a bit emo, people automatically assume that the rest of the album consists of the guys crying about their ex’s. And just to clarify, a kid that wears tight jeans and listens to Death Cab is not the only kind of ‘scene’ kid out there. The kids that wear a leather jacket, a Metallica shirt and have shoulder length hair are part of the metal scene, and the kids with checkered shoes and belts and Reel Big Fish hoodies are part of the ska scene. So really, people just need to stop talking about what they don’t know.
Another small point, do you know how many people vocalize their hatred for country and then listen to Johnny Cash? It doesn’t matter if he’s the only country artist you like, he’s country and he’s good, so you can’t hate country and listen to “Ring of Fire” and “Boy Named Sue.”
So to summarize, I would really appreciate it if people stopped talking shit about the music I like without knowing a thing or two about it. I don’t talk shit about the music you like if you don’t like it without knowing a thing or two about it. I didn’t youtube Panic! At The Disco and listen to one song and say “They sucked!” I listened to the whole album and said “They are trying to be a smart Fall Out Boy, but all they are doing is copying them with more instruments.” And even though some Panic may disagree, that is my opinion and I have made it after doing some work. If there is a band that I’ve seen on the music channels that I don’t like I say “I don’t like what I’ve heard” until I have enough info to make a legitimate call. So really all I’m asking is for people to stop judging these artists by two or three songs and start looking at the big picture. How would you all feel if everyone said your favorite band sucked because of one song?