This is such an awesome thread! I read the whole thing and enjoyed every bit with one notable exception. But even that business got people thinking (I think).
My love of pop music has really defined my personality in the sense that I've always been very open about it and incredibly irked by and challenging towards music snobs. Even in high school I hung out with all the goths who listened to Skinny Puppy and Black Flag, and I dressed like them but would go on about Debbie Gibson. I've always felt like I was the
real rebel because I was willing to flaunt music I actually liked instead of listening to and promoting music that I thought would make me look cool and rebellious.
(And for this reason the music snobs at Pitchfork have always irked me as well. That Lana Del Rey review was the last straw for me. This site is kind of interesting too although more for the hipster or rock or alternative music listener:
http://www.pitchforkreviewsreviews.com/
As the name implies they review Pitchfork reviews. Beekeeper's post regarding Pitchfork is way more interesting though.)
My being gay is obviously tied into my music choice as well, although I haven't always gotten along with all of the gay guys who like much of the same music I do. I guess I listen to the lyrics more often than a lot of them do and am very critical of it yet pretty defensive of it. What marie_05 mentioned about how someone could listen to something cheery because they're naturally cheery, or because they are naturally gloomy and need some cheering up, is very astute and I fall more into the latter category, or at least I don't put pop music on to be pleasant "background music," I really
feel it. I think I have a way of listening to pop that is rooting for the underdog (as another poster put it) and that is something I think many gay men tend to do in their musical, film and celebrity tastes.
Rock has always seemed aligned with the masculine and "serious" and pop with the opposite, and it frustrates me, especially when a woman I'm speaking to says she only listens to rock. I sometimes say "I don't like anything with a guitar in it" just to be provocative but actually I'm somewhat open...I like the Smiths!
Finally...my love of pop music is somehow ironic and deadly sincere and earnest at the same time. I like the tension between those two points of view and wonder how I can hold both of them simultaneously. Somehow I do! And I think it's as much about
how I like what I like as it is what I like particularly that says a lot about my personality.
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