I am quick to tell people when I think something is bad. Most rap, all country, and generally anything written for a female demographic with a target age of <18. Ehem, Twilight. (The Hunger Games has escaped my wrath because the book, despite problems, had good character development, as such, and the movie includes Jennifer Lawrence and Phillip Seymour Hoffman) And 50 Shades of Grey which is Twilight Fan-fiction/erotic stories for bored housewives deserves nothing more than that description. I may be right, but I am not always right, and you can be certain there are about 100,000 people lined up to tell me why I am wrong.
I search for an image for “Chad.” This picture is way cooler than Chad Kroeger. This is a picture of the country Chad.
Let It Be, Unless It’s Really Bad…
You don’t have to like all the things, but sometimes it’s nicer to let others entertain themselves, if they so choose—Nickleback, Three Days Grace, ACDC, Guns ‘n’ Roses, any book with two people kissing on the front, pretty much anything with vampires (save Interview with a Vampire), anything with “Lichens” a.k.a werewolves, and anything accompanying message beginning with “Like if you…,” for starters.
Things you should appreciate is anything that takes time, talent, and perseverance; dedication. Admittedly, Chad Kroeger of Nickleback probably worked tirelessly to suck, but that doesn’t count.
Things that stand the test of time are generally the best place to start:
- The Beatles
- Ernest Hemingway
- Harry Potter – which will stand the test of time, I hope
- Phantom of the Opera
- Fucking instruments
*anything you’re required to read in High School English is shit, by the way. I’ll explain when the time comes.
Undoubtedly as you grow up, you and I are going to have different tastes in a wide variety of things. I will be right and you will be wrong, but you can try to convince me otherwise, if you have the gusto. It’s not because I am arrogant, it’s because I have experienced a lot of things and I’ve refined my tastes to things that require abilities. You don’t write a book piggybacking off of Twilight, for example.
You Can’t Always Be Right.
I don’t give a shit how many people love it; watermelon is the shittiest of all the fruits. Trust me on this one. I mean, honeydew is pretty terrible. Don’t order fruit trays anywhere, you’ll get a bunch of shitty melons.
However, just because you (or I, given the context of this writing) finds something to be inadmissible to the canon, or any cannon for that matter, does not negative the feeling and passion that it may inspire in someone else. You can’t touch those feels, brah. The best way to express your opinion without creating a war is to say “It’s not really my thing.” If the person you’re speaking with is vehemently impassioned, you can say “but I respect them as an artist.” Which is just a way of saying, it’s shit, but lets move on.
Your mother and I are both pretty reasonable when it comes to good taste. She may steer you wrong when it comes to the radio dial, but everything else is generally good. But your ultimate authority should be your own. Like what you like, just be able to justify it. If it means something to you, then own it. Just be able to explain why if someone challenges your taste.
If you grow up liking country I swear to god I am going to put you up for adoption.