I’m a seventeen-year-old with a music taste dating as far back as the early 60s, and I’ve not only come across people just like me, who genuinely appreciate and enjoy music worlds apart from their generation, I have also come across an abundance of people who pretend to like ‘alternative’ music simply to appear ‘cool’ to others.
Music is how I express myself, and I talk about little else most of the time – something of which many Indiependent writers are also guilty. This is far from a criticism, as without bands like Pink Floyd, Nirvana and Pearl Red Hot Chili Peppers, I wouldn’t be the person I am today. But it really bothers me when people force themselves to listen to a band or an artist (or just lie about liking them completely) just to appear more musically informed or ‘cool’. You may never catch me listening to artists like Nicki Minaj or Drake, but if people do like that kind of stuff, I’m not going to stop them, or judge them for it. If everybody listened to exactly the same band, there would be no diversity in music, no different genres, and the world would be a miserable place.
Of course, just as I was leaving behind my One Direction phase (don’t even go there) and wanting to discover new artists, I thought I was the coolest thirteen-year-old on the planet, listening to You Me At Six and Two Door Cinema Club. I soon realised that it was pointless and unfulfilling to pretend that what I was listening to was the ‘real’ me. But people my age are still doing it – still posting pictures on Instagram of Kurt Cobain quotes and claiming that he’s their inspiration – when in reality they’re bouncing around their bedroom listening to Avicii. Why not be proud that you are passionate about Avicii’s music? Why not post one of his quotes and tell the world he’s your idol?
Perhaps I’m over-analysing others’ music choices (I must have too much time on my hands), but the music fraudster comes in many different forms. First is the listener who claims to love music from a long time ago – the sort of music that their parents may have listened to – such as The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, and Pink Floyd (people just love that Dark Side of the Moon logo). Others choose a different route, telling the world that they listen to bands like Royal Blood, Arctic Monkeys, Kings of Leon and The Killers. This sneaky fraudster can still appear to like modern music in the charts or on the radio, but it still sounds edgy when they put the lyrics in their Twitter bio.
But how do you spot a music fraud? I wouldn’t advise bombarding people in HMV reading the back of a Royal Blood album, as they could be a genuine fan. But if they’re not committing the obvious band top crime, social media is an excellent place to spot a fibber. Signs are things like posting the most famous picture of an artist online – the first one that comes up on Google images. Or possibly the act of tweeting lyrics from the most popular song, hoping nobody will notice that that’s the only song they’ve heard. There is nothing wrong with liking a band’s most popular song, I must stress, but aren’t true fans better-educated?
I love people to express themselves and be true to what really makes them happy, as that’s how you learn about a person. I know that if someone asks what my likes and dislikes are, I’ll immediately start talking about my music interests. It really worries me that people are so bothered about what people think that they are willing to lie about their interests.
If you fall into one of the categories I’ve discussed, stop wasting your time trying to be someone you’re quite obviously not. If you’re trying to impress a boy or girl that you fancy, they’re not worth your effort if they don’t like who you really are. If you’re being false in order to get into a new group of friends, clearly your friends aren’t people you really like. Start putting the real you out there and show it off, and stop letting your music taste define you.
Words by Hannah Campbell