Music Snobbery Part 1 – I Believe in Country Music

This is the first part in a continuing curmudgeon series, Music Snobbery. I’m a self-professed recovering music snob. You all know music snobs. They’re (we’re?) the ones who says things like “I don’t listen to the radio”, “Metallica was shit after And Justice For All”, “I like the Silversun Pickups better when they were called Zwan” (Hi G) and the like. Today I’m examining the music snob who says “I like all kinds of music, except country.”

In Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs – A Low Culture Manifesto, Chuck Klosterman posits that music taste is used by the music snob to gauge coolness. In particular, most people who say “I like all kinds of music, except country” only say so to appear cool. I agree with Chuck; people judge other people’s cool factor by what they listen to. This is increasing measured by what’s on their Ipod (heaven fordid you have a Zune).

These folks always pick out country. You never hear anyone say “I like all kinds of music except show tunes” or “I like all kinds of music, except chamber music” or how about “I like all kinds of music, except Gregorian chants.” No, people love to pick on country music.

Well reader, I love country music. I grew up listening to it and I hear it in a lot of music that all the hipsters listen to, like:

• Wilco (big Ernest Tubbs fans)
• Neko Case
• Okkervil River
• Avett Brothers (these guys are as country as they come)
• Tallest Man on Earth
• Fleet Foxes
• X
• Lykke Li (ok, kidding here)

I don’t want to convince you to like country music, in fact a friend of mine once said “everybody has their own ears” and I agree with him. You can like and dislike whatever you want, just don’t be a snob about it.