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Oh snap, it’s been brought up: the mainstream.
And then comes the phrase that we, the “respectable music discerning folk (read: snob)” cringe at….
“Oh yeah, I just listen to whatever’s on the radio.”
The horror! There are people out there who have better things to do than to just serf myspace for up-and-coming bands, or haunt concert venues until something decent comes along. They have…oh get this, the horror! They have other interests.
It’s a fairly equal relationship: the snobs don’t understand why the mainstream doesn’t care, and the mainstream just doesn’t understand why the snobs do. While the categories are extrememly broad, they are as competitve as state vs. university football. Sometimes they’re as violent.
The mainstream is the majority. It’s taboo in the alternative community because by default to fall into that category makes a person generic. And generic equals boring.
However, there are a few minor problems with this. The first being that America has been shaped around the ideal of the middle class. And by definition, the middle class would be generic, everyday, and common. Another pressing problem is that without people who think alike, no one would get along. There needs to be people who follow others, because in a world of “leaders,” there would be very little cooperation. We wouldn’t have a society in fact, because there would be no trends, no music…no anything.
So hoorah mainstream, you keep it up! You watch MTV and listen to that radio, and you like those bands! Props to you lemmings, you’re going to be A+ cubicle office workers working 40 hours a week to only marginal benefits one day. As for you snobs…enjoy working at that “alternative cafe” because you’re going to be making significantly less money than the mainstreamers.