Matt Wells: Don’t Believe The Hype

January 14th, 2008

For the most part, in terms of who is BUYING music, I think it’s safe to categorize people into either those who buy what is already popular and what is on the radio, or those who avoid what is popular to the masses opting to find music on their own…and of course with varying degrees of both types of people in between to round out the rest of us.

We are inundated with massive marketing campaigns, redundant radio play lists, music in TV shows and the internet, OH MY GOD THE INTERNET! It’s gotten to the point where I’d have to put myself in the category of people who can’t bring themselves to listen to over-hyped music with an open mind anymore – it’s virtually impossible. It has NOTHING to do with the music and everything to do with the hype, deserving or not, over-hyped music kills me.

It’s like this stubborn musical “Don’t Tell Me What to Do” moment; and I hate that because I love finding new music. My lowest point came when I couldn’t bring myself to listen to Feist in 2001 when everyone else in Canada was (it’s because of all the Broken Social Scene hype that was happening at the time). Finally, I heard Let it Die like 2 years after it came out and felt like I missed 2 wonderful years of hearing her music.

I wonder if, before radio and video stars or even actual full length albums in like the 1920s when a hit was gauged on how many copies of the sheet music was sold, if people were like sitting around their pianos and singing “By the light of the Moon” (Billy Murray had a mega hit with this song in 1919, selling 1 million copies of sheet music), I wonder if there was some music crab who was all “shit man, Billy Murray is so overhyped – I can’t sing this song with you dudes, I’m going to play stick ball in the street”.

I kinda doubt it.

On one hand I can say I wish I lived in a simple time like that to be able enjoy music in very pure and honest form, but on the other hand then I would have never been able to see The Big Lebowski so it ain’t so bad.

Take it easy,
=m

Posted on Monday, January 14th, 2008 at 4:45 pm by Hannah Simone and is filed under Music & Videos.