A Short Story And A Video
I frequent this little website called That Guy With The Glasses.
I do so mostly for two reviewers. The Nostalgia Chick reviews movies from "back when" (that being anything from before 2005) from a female point of view. Todd in the Shadows does pop song reviews.
Now. Before getting into the Todd videos, I hadn't really listened to pop music. It's ... not my thing. Since I've started watching his videos, there has been a bit of a shift in the way I listen to the radio. I'm more willing to give pop music a chance, and we'll also say I'm a bit more discerning than I used to be (read: I pay more attention to lyrics and arrangement).
At the end of November, I had the opportunity to take a handful of teenage girls (15- and 16-year-olds) to a conference in Minneapolis. It's a four hour drive and they listened to exactly one CD the entire time.
Over.
And over.
And over again.
Generally speaking, parents and other drivers recommend not wrestling with your passengers while driving, so ... I put up with it. (On the way home, they slept most of the way and my cohort and I found better things to entertain us, like every '80s radio station on the southern half of the state.)
This CD? One Direction.
Terribly annoying.
Now, I should maybe mention that prior to this trip, I had no particular opinion about the band. I suspected they were obnoxiously vapid (because that's what boy bands are, generally speaking, from New Kids on the Block on) and highly forgettable. And ... I was right. I did manage to recognize one song as "the one that's in that Pepsi commercial with Drew Brees," which probably says more about my priorities than I would like.
However, the whole time there was this one particular song that kept coming up and for the first three rounds, I wasn't so sure why it made my skin crawl. It just ... did.
About the fourth time, the lyrics (such as they are) registered and I actually got angry. This song is worse than their usual vague, pandering schlock -- it's far more likely to cause a complex than help one. And it bothers me.
But Todd can say it better than I, so if you have the time (it's about 15 minutes long) please enjoy this video.
[Warning: This video contains mild language and mention of the intentions of boys in their late teens. If you're not careful, you may also find yourself caught up in an endless YouTube-like cycle of videos.]
I do so mostly for two reviewers. The Nostalgia Chick reviews movies from "back when" (that being anything from before 2005) from a female point of view. Todd in the Shadows does pop song reviews.
Now. Before getting into the Todd videos, I hadn't really listened to pop music. It's ... not my thing. Since I've started watching his videos, there has been a bit of a shift in the way I listen to the radio. I'm more willing to give pop music a chance, and we'll also say I'm a bit more discerning than I used to be (read: I pay more attention to lyrics and arrangement).
At the end of November, I had the opportunity to take a handful of teenage girls (15- and 16-year-olds) to a conference in Minneapolis. It's a four hour drive and they listened to exactly one CD the entire time.
Over.
And over.
And over again.
Generally speaking, parents and other drivers recommend not wrestling with your passengers while driving, so ... I put up with it. (On the way home, they slept most of the way and my cohort and I found better things to entertain us, like every '80s radio station on the southern half of the state.)
This CD? One Direction.
Terribly annoying.
Now, I should maybe mention that prior to this trip, I had no particular opinion about the band. I suspected they were obnoxiously vapid (because that's what boy bands are, generally speaking, from New Kids on the Block on) and highly forgettable. And ... I was right. I did manage to recognize one song as "the one that's in that Pepsi commercial with Drew Brees," which probably says more about my priorities than I would like.
However, the whole time there was this one particular song that kept coming up and for the first three rounds, I wasn't so sure why it made my skin crawl. It just ... did.
About the fourth time, the lyrics (such as they are) registered and I actually got angry. This song is worse than their usual vague, pandering schlock -- it's far more likely to cause a complex than help one. And it bothers me.
But Todd can say it better than I, so if you have the time (it's about 15 minutes long) please enjoy this video.
[Warning: This video contains mild language and mention of the intentions of boys in their late teens. If you're not careful, you may also find yourself caught up in an endless YouTube-like cycle of videos.]
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