I can't figure out if people have gotten more judgmental or if I've actually started surrounding myself with more people who have different interests. I remember being in middle school and being made fun of for liking Hanson. There were kids that even waited at my locker for me, so they could tell me just how much Hanson sucked. That's middle school, though and everyone pretty much sucks from the age of twelve until eighteen. It goes with the territory. That's probably when I built up my thick outer shell, though. The words stung more than I ever let them know, but I had a close group of friends who shared the same interests. We were in it together and as a group, they couldn't touch us. Naturally, as things go, we all grew apart as we got older. I'd venture to say that all of us still enjoy that music though. Hanson's been putting out music since 1996 and I still buy every album and see every concert that comes to town. Just as their fans did, their music has matured over time. And I've had a few people tell me they give Hanson more respect now since they write their own music and play their own instruments. Because Hanson and all their fans are just dying for everyone elses approval. Backsteet Boys is a different story. My relationship with Hanson goes much deeper and it's much older, but I'd say I enjoy Backstreet Boys' music more. Why? I have no idea. It touches me differently than Hanson does. It gets to me in a different way. I relate to it on a different level. And isn't that really what music is all about?
I am far beyond the point of exhaustion when it comes to people saying that someone elses taste in music or movies or books or television sucks. I'm beyond the point of being able to control my rage at the people that think their opinion is the be all end all. I don't care what your opinion is. I don't care what you listen to and I care even less that you don't like what I listen to. I like it and it reaches me in a way that it obviously doesn't reach you. Why is that a bad thing? And what right do you have to tell me that that's wrong? Everyone gets something different out of music. Some people are touched by the music itself. It takes them to a place that makes them happy or relaxed or soothes them a little bit. Some people, like me, relate to the lyrics. Maybe that particular group was finally able to make me understand something that I never understood before. Maybe they were able to put something into words that I was struggling with. Maybe they were able to motivate me in a way that no one else was ever able to.
I remember one particular Backstreet Boys song "Roll With It" that I played on repeat for a full day in high school once. Life was pretty miserable; I'd lost many people I cared about, I was constantly fighting with my mom, my friends were all moving on and my grades were the worst they'd ever been. The lyrics to that song spoke to me and pulled me out of the deepest depression I've ever been in. As they sang the words "if you ever feel like no one cares; when you try your best, but you get nowhere, don't give in. 'Cause good times will come again" I just knew they were talking to me. "When they criticize every move you make and you've had as much as you're gonna take, don't you worry. Soon enough, things will change" made me feel like they really understood me. It didn't matter that they had no idea I existed. It didn't matter if they wrote the song, or if they were playing the instruments. Those words were coming out of that stereo and singing to a girl that so desperately needed to hear them from anyone that nothing else mattered. I played that song all day long as I studied for my exams, taking the first step that day in getting my life back on track. It was a defining moment in my life and not one I'll ever forget. Every time I hear that song to this day, I remember that girl and that promise and the words in the song still ring true. "And when it seems as though nobody understands, young man, don't you let your head hang down, young woman, just stick to the plan." It's what I've always done. First and foremost, I have always stuck to my own plan. Have I still been discouraged along the way? Absolutely! Have there been times when I thought my ending goal would never be reached? Sure! But, I've never given up on it. I've taken the criticism of others and I've used it as fuel. So, when people tell me that they don't understand why I like Backstreet Boys, it's not something I'm able to explain. It's gotten to a point where it doesn't even matter what I say anymore. The words still hurt as much as they did in middle school, because the love for the music is deeper than it used to be.
To say that it doesn't count as music or that they don't deserve as much respect as another artist is not only disrespectful to the group themselves, but to the fans. I've had other songs along the way that have touched me in ways nothing else was ever able to. Ashlee Simpson has a song called "Beautifully Broken" that got me through a tough time with Ryan and another one called "Nothing New" that sums up my relationship with my mother better than I've ever been able to. Taylor Swift's "Mean" relates to far too many people in my life and lets me know I'm not alone. Maybe the lyrics are cliche. Maybe the music is mediocre. And maybe they got other people to write the words for them. Who really cares? All that matters is that that music is speaking to someone on a level that no one else really understands. I have an appreciation for all music. There are many genres that I don't particularly find pleasing to the ear. And there's some that I won't even give a second listen to, because it sounds like gibberish to me. There's some that depresses me a little bit and some that makes me laugh. But, every artist on my iPod has spoken to me on a level that no one I know in the real world has ever been able to. Sometimes it's like taking a page from my own diary and listening to it over the radio.
It's the same with everything else too, though. People have different opinions on comedy; on books; on what kinds of TV shows they like to watch. People like things for different reasons and they hate things for different reasons. Some people enjoy reality shows for the drama and others hate them for the same reason. Whatever the reasons are, it's making that person feel good. For a brief moment in time; for three minutes or a half an hour or for two hours that person is happy. That person feels less alone and a little bit more understood and there is less than zero wrong with that. No one should ever have to defend something that makes them happy and maybe we'd all be a little happier if we stopped asking them to!
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