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"The popular stuff is bad. It is sterile, there is no feel to it, because it lacks all of the interesting rough edges of actual human artistry. The popular stuff is only popular because most people aren't capable of appreciating the art form, so they want the indications of artistry (aka human creation) sanded away."
This is what I call the I'm calling the indie/hipster take.
I've never agreed with the indie/hipster take on music. I like the pop stuff, and much of the indie/hipster stuff sounds like garbage or at best something in need of more work (aka underproduced).
However, my hobbies are defined by me following the indie/hipster take on writing. I engage in amateur political/culture war writing on this website, and read all the other amateur takes. I read fiction and fantasy stories over at royalroad (and wrote my own story for a while), but the books that get published always feel to edited and sterile to me.
I've also tended to follow the indie/hipster take on video games. I sometimes enjoy the silly bugs. I hate the games that have a progression treadmill calculated down to an exact science. I like the modding scene and sometimes breaking games with the bloated ideas of a dozen different nerds thinking "whoa wouldn't it be cool if this game also had X".
I have the indie/hipster take on some artforms and have the pop/mainstream take on other artforms. But even knowing that and trying to hold the idea in my head, I still can't help but sneer when I meet someone with the opposite take as me on an artform. I find it hard not to gloat at people with the indie/hipster take on music "ha, suck it, no one likes your crappy band's sounds. And if your band ever became good enough for most people to like it, then you would stop liking them!" And I find it hard not to gloat at the pop/mainstream take on video games "you rich idiot, you spend so much money on a glorified slot machine with pretty lights and colors." I have at least learned not to speak these thoughts aloud, instead mumbling some platitudes about 'people can enjoy different things, thats fine'.
I should know that I am both of these people, the indie/hipster geek with an eye and appreciation for the rough edges, and the mindless pop/mainstream follower that likes my art sanded down to the most average and palatable of forms. Coincidences of circumstances have led me to the interests I have, and the interests I lack.
Not sure where I was going with this, but that is part of the fun with amateur writing: The meandering of human thought that any good editor will sand away to a proper form of something like 'idea->example->idea->example->synthesis->conclusion'.
The thing is, I'm not a hipster about the things I really like (excepting coffee.) I like pop rap, pop rock, pop dance, pop edm. I think TacoBell is an incredible restaurant, and so on.
They are also lowest common denominator, but there is still some there there. I even like some pop country!
I feel like stadium country is an exception, and I think the reason why is the cynicism of it. Not to say other genera don't have that too, but country just has the most.
Lot's of country dudes are spectacular artists with really excellent American folk or bluegrass albums/songs they do on the side for artistic fulfilment, then they go out on stage in the big tent and play slop for the hogs.
Imagine a walking into a Michelin star restaurant and the waiter takes the menu out of your hands and says "I think sir would prefer the chicken nuggies". Nuggies are fucking great, nobody hates nuggies. But the context!
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