#365DaysOfWriting – Day 198
‘Intellectual snobbery’ – where do we draw the line?
(Where do we draw the line happens to be one of my favourite Poets of the Fall songs by the way.)
After the euphoria surrounding Coldplay’s visit to India has died down a little, I’ve been seeing a lot of hate posts against the band, and a lot of insults have been hurled fans of the band for liking ‘derivative’ and ‘shit’ music.
What’s wrong with Coldplay’s music?
Although I’m not their Fan No. 1, I’ve really liked their songs ever since they became famous. A lot of my friends were at that concert, and I feel a tiny tinge of regret that I wasn’t there myself. The atmosphere must’ve been something else. So when someone says it’s ‘derivative’ and ‘shit’, I really wonder what they mean. And I have listened to good rock music, country, folk, jazz and the like. Coldplay is a type of alternative rock, and I think they’re pretty good.
I have indulged in a lot of snobbery myself.
Whether it’s berating people for watching regressive, 3rd rate soaps on television (sadly the truth is that they are regressive and 3rd rate) or watching Sajid Khan’s films/Twilight (which are trash again), I have been at my meanest. You know what? None of the people who watch that stuff care. No one. While you can make a comment on their taste, you can’t change their taste. I’ve even rolled my eyes at people who hail Chetan Bhagat as the second coming in Indian English literature. They still proudly take selfies with their Half Girlfriend (no pun intended).
But I suppose that’s where the snobbishness – at least mine – comes in.
People who think what they read/listen to is the answer to everything in the world, without hearing other people’s opinions – especially for authors like Chetan Bhagat. That’s when I get angry.
But Coldplay isn’t like that AT ALL.
They aren’t the Chetan Bhagats of music! Far from it! They evoke beautiful emotions and bring thousands of people to a standstill with their music. So why all this hate for a band that actually makes good music?
I suppose it boils down to perception.
One man’s meat, another man’s poison? Maybe, but this hate goes well beyond that. All I can say is – if you don’t like something, okay, say that you don’t like it. But don’t judge or demean people who do – what you don’t like, may mean a lot to them. Live and let live, eh?
