The Community of Music

Aside from casual references I generally avoid writing about music. It's not for any lack of interest in music itself but as a result of aversion towards propagating my own tastes. For some reason I feel it smacks of elitism. There is no real logic behind this since I have never been too shy to promote my affection for a film (this stance is as illogical as my distaste for blogs before creating An Arkansan Abroad) ). I've always been slightly amused with elitist inclinations, especially when it comes to something like music. This, I think, is mainly due to my own preponderance for these tendencies. Despite this, I think that I've shied away from sharing my own tastes here out of self-consciousness and not out of elitist parsimony.

As a music lover I've always been somewhat of an outcast among the majority of my friends. Of the set who actually like music, my tastes might be deemed too old fashioned. For those that don't have an interest in music (at the risk of being elitist myself I should say, "taste in music") my tastes are too out there, too avant garde. This paradox is possible not out of fact but thanks to each sets particular interests, of which the latter ingests a semi-steady diet of popular radio tunes and the former a steady diet of independent and cutting edge artists.

Ironically it seems that everyone, myself included, deems their particular taste in music superior in some way to others. This is self-evident in those who like to pride themselves on "discovering" artists or bands. Getting in on the ground floor, so to speak, grants the person a sense of cultural hipness they are unable to find in listening to more established acts. Ancillary to this, and another manifestation of elitist tendency within music lovers, is the inclination for some to stop liking an artist once they become "mainstream." Though I openly accept my guilt for multiple hypocritical elitist stances over the years, I think this is one character flaw of which I'm largely free. Sure, I might bemoan the large concerts and pine for the intimate shows of the past but I try not to begrudge an act for "making it." The confluence of music and "elitism" is a paradox. Music, like food, is a communal expression, one that is best loved with others. And preferably those "others" will be loving it with you.

Perhaps I am alone in this sentiment but all of my favorite concerts were just as influenced by the people I was with as much as the particular artist or band. That communal experience, the exchange of knowing smiles as the guitarist hits a certain note or swaying along with your girlfriend as the vocalist croons your song, always makes the event worthwhile. Whether it was screaming along to My Morning Jacket with Kasia and the Dove or watching Cookies twisting across the front of the stage at Lambert's, it has always been those closest to me who push a musical experience over the top.