On my commute in this morning I was listening to what I believe is the high-point of Dave Matthew's career:
Listener Supported. For my money, this is his best offering since
Remember Two Things and
Under the Table and Dreaming. Much as I have loved DMB, and especially drummer Carter Beauford, the issue of violin/fiddle player Boyd Tinsley has always been somewhat of a stumbling block for me.
On the one hand, to the best of my knowledge, the list of massively popular bands that feature a fiddler is short. Few other pop/rock tunes feature this instrument, so adds a certain uniqueness to DMB, though I'd hardly call them pioneers. They just happen to be wildly popular, and if you've ever attended a DMB concert (I've been to six), Boyd is a crowd favorite.
On the other hand, I don't think Boyd is much of a fiddler. This first occurred to me when I started paying more attention to his solos. Rhythmically, there is scant variety, he seems to just saw back and forth; effectively just playing 16th's up and down. This didn't bother me that much, since my previous exposure to fiddle was largely confined to Charlie Daniel's "The Devil Went Down to Georgia." It started to bug me some more when I heard
Jake Armerding play with
Christopher Williams for the first time. If I may mix country and hip-hop lingo, homeboy can
fiddle. Fid-izzle, fo' shizzle even.
Now, Boyd bothers me some more, which, after such unecessary background information, brings me to my point: why do people (myself included) get angry over certain music and musicians? You mention certain musicians or bands to people and it truly evokes visceral anger from them, "Oh, man, I can't
stand Lisa Loeb," "I
hate Vanilla Ice," "The Rolling Stones stink; they're so overrated," etc.
I therefore ask my titular question, whence arises this anger? Why does it bother us so much for a musician who does not appeal to our particular tastes to enjoy popular acclaim? We could even broaden the notion to include any celebrity at all. Anybody here annoyed by Paris Hilton? Perhaps that sets the bar too low, but aren't there actors or other celebrities that you
hate, or more mildly,
can't stand? People upon whom you are quick to heap insults?
This presents an interesting conflict for me as a Christian. For sure, I oughtn't
hate any man or women (doubly-so if my doing so is a mere matter of my own artistic tastes) because we are each one created in God's image. James 3:9 comes to mind. Perhaps, then, I simply hate what they represent. So did I hate Guns 'N Roses because I didn't care for their music, or because I disliked the sex, drugs and rock 'n roll lifestyle they lived and therefore glorified? Well, therein lies the rub, because in actuality, I like Guns 'N Roses. I'm diametrically opposed to the message they send and lifestyle they live(d), but when the guitar solo for "Sweet Child 'O Mine" is on the radio, it's all air-guitar.
So, animosity towards an artist because I dislike their work is not justifiable (nay, sinful), and I live a double-standard if I claim said dislike is strictly due to their behavior. But this doesn't exhaust my reasons for hating artists.
When Stone Temple Pilots first came on the scene, they were wildly hated by many of my peers because they were perceived as a Pearl Jam knock-off. Well, if being unoriginal is criminal, we'd have very few bands out there at all. So what about lack of talent? Cry-baby personality (paging Axl Rose...)?
The answer is probably a mixed bag. If something rubs us the wrong way, and it's also enjoying massive popularity, it annoys us. Fair enough. I don't much care for chewing noises, and if there were chewing noises on the radio all the time, I'd be irked, or in fibrulation, or both. And, for sure, to some degree the lifestyle or message of a certain artist can be just cause for dislike. No matter how catchy I find Marilyn Manson's "Beautiful People," it's *really* hard for me to run out and buy the album, let alone say that I "like" Marilyn Manson (forgive the trite example.)
For myself, I think there are two things involved that run a bit deeper and darker: jealousy and identity. Of jealousy, I might simply confess that part of the reason Paris Hilton annoys me is because she has millions of dollars for which she did nothing honorable. Me, I have to work hard for my money (Donna Summer, anyone?), and I'd love to
not have to do that, and enjoy the immense creature comfort that Paris does. Do I not also feel a pang when I see all the attention and admiration certain celebrities get? Touche. Herein lies the "lack of talent" problem. A classically trained guitarist dry-heaves at the thought of Eddie VanHalen. Is this not because (at least, in part) because Eddie VanHalen can print his own money while the (arguably) more gifted and devoted musician has to use non-quilted toilet paper?
Of identity, I must confess that a certain part of who I am is wrapped up in my artistic tastes. Think "Fight Club": I
am my sofa. I
am my musical taste. Asking somebody what kind of music they like is probably one of the most loaded questions we have, which partially explains why so many people answer, "I like everything," or "All kinds of stuff." Who wants to pigeonhole themselves into just one genre? We dare not mention simply one band, because, like our identity, our artistic tastes are complex. We are complex, so follows our likes and dislikes.
For my money (sorry to say that again), I think our identities are a little
too closely wrapped up in our tastes. Take any band that has risen from obscurity to mass-popularity. DMB is a good example, or even The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. Their first fans, the local ones, the ones who thought they were awesome before 10 million other people did, often feel a pang when they become popular. Now they've "sold out." Or, "I just like their older stuff." Liking a popular band steals a bit our your uniqueness, see? So it's on to more obscure stuff, stuff that's new and insteresting and different, because you want to be new and interesting and different. Fan of DMB? Yawn. That's so 10-years and 10 million albums ago. Fan of Brian Funck? Never heard of him; who's he? Interesting...
Okay, I've hit my rambling quota for the day. I guess in the end, music brings to mind a common series of struggles I have as a Christian: (1) Love all people equally because God loves them and created them in His image, (2) Flee from jealousy and comparison, (3) Remember that I
've been given unmerited favor and blessing, too, not just Paris Hilton, (4) Root my identity in Christ, as a child of the Living God, not in my tastes. The apostle John comes to mind here. He is not John, he is "the one whom Jesus loved." How wonderful if that was the starting place for my identity!
Hmm. Nothing new there. Yawn. That is so 10 sermons ago...
