Music

The Hipster Brigade, or, “I knew that song before…”

Did you know Imagine Dragons before got big? Had you heard of Two Door Cinema Club before they broke through? Listened to MS MR before they were playing on Radio 1? Is your iPod stocked with the latest tunes so indie that no one you know has ever heard of them? Or can pronounce their names. If this is you, then I have a news flash for you… NOBODY CARES.

The next time I go to watch a music video and see the comment; “like if you knew this song before…” I will (metaphorically) smash my computer into a wall. Seriously, music is on YouTube for you to listen to – not start an elitist-style hipster campaign over. If someone is enjoying listening to song does it really matter so much where and when they heard about it?

Don’t get me wrong – if you listen to new music by upcoming artists, then good for you. I review tons of indie music and I can vouch safely that there is some absolutely amazing music stacking up in the sadly unknown corners of the industry. If you are prepared to seek if out and find some alternatives to the Top 40 then you have my full support – just don’t be so pretentious about it.

Those unknown artist need support and (more importantly) need to be shared and talked about. If you see your favourite band reaching success as a loss to the ‘mainstream’ then you need to rethink your priorities. After all, any bands that’s your best kept secret won’t be getting the publicity or income they need to keep on making music for you to listen to. If you do by some chance happen to hear your favourite indie artist on a popular radio station, don’t be disappointed that they’ll be ruined – be happy for that band!

At the risk of sounding incredibly cheesy… music is something that should unite us, not spark online war-zones. It’s time everyone spent less time arguing about who heard what first and more time just listening to the music.

Let’s go back to the days when you could listen to a song just because you enjoyed it, not to make some kind of comment on popularity.

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