I have said before that I am fairly new to the jam scene as an active participant. My husband is a jam guy and I resisted the scene for a while, mostly because I had not found a band that resonated with me yet. That changed in the last year when he introduced me to Twiddle. Mind you, I had already been to several festivals with him that he was playing and got to experience for myself the colorful people and welcoming vibe that the scene not only presents, but actively promotes. It's billed as being a welcoming place for everyone to come and get down. It's represented as a modern day Woodstock feel in the hearts and minds of its attendees and that no matter your color, your preference, your manner of dress or your aspirations, if you are cool, it's all cool. Honestly, it's refreshing and quite delightful. I guess that is why I am so surprised by the recent things I am reading.
A friend of mine sent me a link to a Facebook group that follows the band moe. I know a bit of moe. as my husband plays them often for our daughter and there have been times when the ONLY thing that has calmed her on a car ride was moe. I am still getting my feet wet with the band myself as they are not something I would normally like, but I respect the sound and the talent within that group. I thought I also had respect for what seems to be a rabid fan base. I saw them as an extension of the jam scene I had come to know. The welcoming warmth of good people looking to hang with like minded fans and enjoy the world and the music. Apparently, I was wrong.
There is something going on and I don't get it. Maybe you can enlighten me. While I understand this sort of thing probably goes on in every scene, I have never seen it so hard, so gross, and so undeserved.
What is all this animosity towards Twiddle from the moe. fans? It's not just a case of "I get that you like them, but they are not my thing" comments. It is RABID, NASTY, HATEFUL comments. This is not what I thought the jam scene was about. What in the hell is going on here? I saw promotional art altered to be disgusting and tasteless insults. I saw people ripping apart other people who proclaimed their like for the band. I saw name calling. I saw people being really, truly ugly to one another. And for what?
What I did not see, however, was a source. I could not find through ample searching where this is coming from. It left me increasingly confused. Mostly, it left me disappointed. This is not only juvenile, it's a slap in the face to people who want to be acquainted with this scene. It's telling people they don't belong. That's not what I thought this was all about. That was not what I had come to know. Now I wonder if I had been wrong.
To the best of my knowledge, the bands are friends. Collaborators. Teammates. The way so many bands in so many scenes are. So what is the root of this? Is there something I am missing? Did one of the guys in Twiddle kick your sister? Did their music inspire a rampage of criminals who steal everyone's left shoe and remove the elastic from their underpants? Someone please tell me what this is all about because I can't understand how a scene that almost brands itself on fierce feelings of peace and unity could find so much enjoyment in tearing other people down. In a truly unified scene, people lift one another up. They don't push one another down. How can you tell me this is a unified scene?
Music is an insanely personal thing. I like to say there is music for everyone. While I might not like a particular artist, that same artists might be the sound that talked someone else off a ledge. While I might not find the motivation in what they say, someone else might find that sound to be the thing that lit up their darkest moments. For this reason, I would never say that music itself was bad - just that I don't like it. I don't like anchovies either. That doesn't mean someone else doesn't find them to be the greatest pizza topping ever and I most definitely would never breath insults all over someone because of their pizza topping preference. Isn't that what makes the world go round'? Choices? Variety? Just because music doesn't speak to me doesn't mean that the same music doesn't speak to you. Maybe it's the only thing that speaks to you. In that case, who am I to speak against it? Who would I be to insult you?
When someone rips on your music, it can feel like they are ripping on you. Tearing YOU down for being a fan. In a truly unified scene, there is no room for this negativity. It's counterproductive and quite honestly just makes you look like a giant asshole. Don't rip into other people and other bands' fans and then go hang out in the field talking about equality and justice. You are a liar. You are an embarrassment to this beautiful scene that people have worked to make a place of welcome and a place of refuge. There is no room in a united scene for hate and negative shit, so why are you bringing it?
You don't have to like a band, but if you are going to call yourself a member of the scene, you need to speak the respect. It's a language we all know. If you don't dig the sound, take that set to go empty your bladder, get a beer, or make some new friends. Buy some artwork. Take a nap. Just stop with the chatter. Stop with the negative. Stop with the hate.
A friend of mine sent me a link to a Facebook group that follows the band moe. I know a bit of moe. as my husband plays them often for our daughter and there have been times when the ONLY thing that has calmed her on a car ride was moe. I am still getting my feet wet with the band myself as they are not something I would normally like, but I respect the sound and the talent within that group. I thought I also had respect for what seems to be a rabid fan base. I saw them as an extension of the jam scene I had come to know. The welcoming warmth of good people looking to hang with like minded fans and enjoy the world and the music. Apparently, I was wrong.
There is something going on and I don't get it. Maybe you can enlighten me. While I understand this sort of thing probably goes on in every scene, I have never seen it so hard, so gross, and so undeserved.
What is all this animosity towards Twiddle from the moe. fans? It's not just a case of "I get that you like them, but they are not my thing" comments. It is RABID, NASTY, HATEFUL comments. This is not what I thought the jam scene was about. What in the hell is going on here? I saw promotional art altered to be disgusting and tasteless insults. I saw people ripping apart other people who proclaimed their like for the band. I saw name calling. I saw people being really, truly ugly to one another. And for what?
What I did not see, however, was a source. I could not find through ample searching where this is coming from. It left me increasingly confused. Mostly, it left me disappointed. This is not only juvenile, it's a slap in the face to people who want to be acquainted with this scene. It's telling people they don't belong. That's not what I thought this was all about. That was not what I had come to know. Now I wonder if I had been wrong.
To the best of my knowledge, the bands are friends. Collaborators. Teammates. The way so many bands in so many scenes are. So what is the root of this? Is there something I am missing? Did one of the guys in Twiddle kick your sister? Did their music inspire a rampage of criminals who steal everyone's left shoe and remove the elastic from their underpants? Someone please tell me what this is all about because I can't understand how a scene that almost brands itself on fierce feelings of peace and unity could find so much enjoyment in tearing other people down. In a truly unified scene, people lift one another up. They don't push one another down. How can you tell me this is a unified scene?
Music is an insanely personal thing. I like to say there is music for everyone. While I might not like a particular artist, that same artists might be the sound that talked someone else off a ledge. While I might not find the motivation in what they say, someone else might find that sound to be the thing that lit up their darkest moments. For this reason, I would never say that music itself was bad - just that I don't like it. I don't like anchovies either. That doesn't mean someone else doesn't find them to be the greatest pizza topping ever and I most definitely would never breath insults all over someone because of their pizza topping preference. Isn't that what makes the world go round'? Choices? Variety? Just because music doesn't speak to me doesn't mean that the same music doesn't speak to you. Maybe it's the only thing that speaks to you. In that case, who am I to speak against it? Who would I be to insult you?
When someone rips on your music, it can feel like they are ripping on you. Tearing YOU down for being a fan. In a truly unified scene, there is no room for this negativity. It's counterproductive and quite honestly just makes you look like a giant asshole. Don't rip into other people and other bands' fans and then go hang out in the field talking about equality and justice. You are a liar. You are an embarrassment to this beautiful scene that people have worked to make a place of welcome and a place of refuge. There is no room in a united scene for hate and negative shit, so why are you bringing it?
You don't have to like a band, but if you are going to call yourself a member of the scene, you need to speak the respect. It's a language we all know. If you don't dig the sound, take that set to go empty your bladder, get a beer, or make some new friends. Buy some artwork. Take a nap. Just stop with the chatter. Stop with the negative. Stop with the hate.
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