Wednesday, September 24, 2008

austin. city. limits. tomorrow.

Sometimes I get embarrassed at my lack of knowledge in current musical trends. Because I'm in a band now I run across people almost daily who just assume that I will not only know about this and that obscure band/song, but I will also be able to maintain our conversation by suggesting an equally obscure band/song that they have perhaps not heard of and can now add to their arsenal of obscure bands/songs.

The actual truth is that I don't know any indie music beyond that to which I am forcefully introduced, and my preference is usually old-people country and/or whatever Rihanna song is heating up the Top 40. I can also usually name classical pieces that I hear, given that it is one of the 50 or so that I played while in GCYO.

My feelings about this are complex. Sometimes I want to expand my bank of knowledge so as not to appear so completely ignorant about a field in which I actively participate. Other times I want to scream at the person in question "I DON'T CARE ABOUT THIS TOTALLY AWESOME BAND "THE UNITARD COLLARS" THAT YOU HEARD AT SOME DIVE BAR WHILE YOU WERE IN CHICAGO, NOR DO I CARE THAT YOU MUCH PREFER THEIR EARLY STUFF AND THINK THAT THEY SOLD OUT WHEN THEY OVER-PRODUCED THEIR SECOND ALBUM." The latter reaction is normally saved for strangers. I like it when my actual friends give me music.

Anyway, the point of that tirade is that I'm going to Austin tomorrow, and don't even know who is playing, besides Patty Griffin. I'll probably just wander from tent to tent until I find someone whose sound I like. Maybe I'll buy a t-shirt if I like them a lot.

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