For any self confessed rock snobs like myself, this is a pretty funny book:

Well, regarding Paris Hilton. I will step right out of the closet and admit to liking "Nothing In This World", it's a catchy little song. But... it is Paris Hilton. I think she could put out the greatest album ever and people are going to react the same way to it just because it's Paris Hilton... the no-talent whore who got famous for doing nothing and making a sex video. I think that's the beef people have with her.

I agree with snobbery tho. I can see where people prefer listening to deep music, but what's wrong with someone having fun a little bit also? I used to hate Britney and I still think she has minimal talent and has no "artistic vision", but I admit after Womanizer came out, I decided to get over myself and admit that I actually think that, Toxic, Gimme More, I'm A Slave 4 U and the sort ARE IN FACT FUN LITTLE POP SONGS and ended up adding them to my mp3 player because they're fun to listen to every now and again, even if the "artist" in question is Britney. Same with Miley Cyrus, I got over myself and admitted that 7 Things and See You Again are actually some of the most catchy songs to make the top 40 in the past year. Do I think she'll have a career when she's 21? Absolutely not. Do I think she has a few fun little guilty pleasure singles? Definitely. But a lot of snobs wouldn't be caught dead even giving a guilty pleasure a chance because they have to look "cool" and Britney and Miley will never be cool compared to Radiohead or Arcade Fire.

I don't quite get the idea of music snobbery. Some of the best music I hear on the radio is on KISS-FM type stations. A good pop song is a good pop song.

What I've seen a lot of lately is music snob backlash. You know, dissing people's music because Pitchfork gave it a good review. To all the haters out there: maybe I'm listening to Deerhunter because I actually like it, not because a douche in a ringer-T said it was good.

You don't think there's a little bit of arrogance in calling people "haters" because they don't listen to the latest pop sensations zooming up the charts? Why does my pursuit of adventurous, interesting music make me a "hater" ? I have no idea what a "douche in a ringer-T" means. I must not be hip.

oh come on!!! Snobbism happens all the time here, just look at the Coldplay thread. They're popular, therefore that means they suck. That's the mentality and it is snobbery. You know in ten years, you'll be yearning for the days Coldplay were popular, much like how I've heard people yearn for Bush (the band) when a decade ago they hated them.

For whatever reason the music I respond to the most is not mainstream. Stuff from projects that have had time to mature and create music that rewards more and more.

I'm not saying pop doesn't have its place, as I have moods where I want to hear short catchy songs. But the artists that really do it for me tend to be less mainstream. I think it's mostly because the requirements radio and "mainstream" put on an artist are not really conducive to meaningful music these days. One of my favorite songs from Porcupine Tree is 17 minutes long from their last record. Good luck hearing that in its entirety on mainstream radio.

So in the end what's on the radio is of no consequence to me. I don't use the radio to find new artists, because my experience has shown the type of artists I want to find are not in the top 40. If top 40 is what others like, that's great.

I don't think people should be looked down on for liking something like Britney Spears. I think it comes down to what music means to you and what it does for you.

Music for some is something to pass the time in the car or on the train, etc. For others it's something to go out and dance to.

For me, it's about finding something not quite like anything I've heard before, yet catchy and memorable. I am a long-time musician and this has of course colored my views on music, so I do tend to be more picky about music than most likely are. I want to be impressed by the music I listen to. Sadly top 40 does not do that for me. These days I'm lucky to get 4-5 CD's a year that I can spin over and over and call a "favorite", and they almost always come from artists I already know.

It's what hipsters wore in the late 90's. Not to date Hiro or anything.

John Slider: Do you like this song?

I hope you can see the difference between listening to an album multiple times and Top 40 stations spinning singles over 100 times per week (more than once every other hour, assuming they don't air any specialized/syndicated programming that would further increase the rate of repetition).

well, I never listen to top 40 radio, so the current songs I hear, I discover elsewhere, such as YouTube or whatever.

I agree, I tend to like the kind of music that people associate with music snobs, but I get a lot more shit from people for liking it, than I give out to anyone else.

I'm 146% a music snob.

I listen to Metal. Everything else is crap. Why does anybody else care what I listen to?

Is it snobbish to look down upon trashy bimbos who get record deals due to their cup size, or being in the tabloids, or some other factor unrelated to musical talent, and who require extensive post-processing because they can't even sing as well as people who get kicked off American Idol in the second episode? If so, then pass the pate and caviar, because I'm a snob.

You might be able to bop your head to a Paris Hilton or Kelly Osborne song, but it ain't art.

Is it snobbish to look down upon trashy bimbos who get record deals due to their cup size, or being in the tabloids, or some other factor unrelated to musical talent, and who require extensive post-processing because they can't even sing as well as people who get kicked off American Idol in the second episode? If so, then pass the pate and caviar, because I'm a snob.

You might be able to bop your head to a Paris Hilton or Kelly Osborne song, but it ain't art.

well, nobody ever argued they are. But why do some people think they're above having guilty pleasures? I don't think anyone listens to Britney because they think she has amazing lyrics and want to delve into her psyche... they listen to Britney because they want fun mindless pop songs you can sing along to, and in that aspect she delivers. Why is everything supposed to be serious all the time? It's like people who look down on comedy because it isn't thought-provoking or Oscar worthy.

The way I see it, snobbery can run both ways. I'll see threads were someone says list your best songs of the 2000s and then they say "why doesn't anyone list songs I've actually heard?" or "those aren't the best of 2000s in the same way Smells Like Teen Sprit would be for the 90s since no one knows them". Or someone will look at a list and say "did you cut and paste that from Pitchfork's webpage?"

The thing is, everyone has different tastes and, if someone starts listing stuff you've never heard of (be it The Octopus Project or Kelly Willis) they're not doing it to prove they're better than you, they're doing it because that's the music they're enjoying right now.

As for the other way, I try not to criticize taste (since, I know I've got more than my share of guilty pleasures in my collection). So if someone posts about how much they love Britney, I'll steer clear of the thread if I don't have anything positive to say. But if someone posts a link to the latest Britney video with a "Thoughts?" or a snide comment or two, I'll feel free to offer my opinion of whether I like it or not.

I love Britney and especially 'Womanizer'.

But then again, I'm probably an air-headed conformist queer.

It depends. I do in fact know people who love obscure stuff just because it makes them look cooler. Especially when I was in high school. I had a friend who loved female singer-songwriters, he loved Ani, Juliana Hatfield, Sarah McLachlan (this was before Lillith Fair), Babes In Toyland, etc... but he hated Alanis Morissette with a passion. Why? She was selling tens of millions of albums and liking her would be like admitting to liking Mariah Carey or Hootie And The Blowfish. Whereas those other artists may have been known (keep in mind, Sarah hadn't gotten big at this point yet) but none of them were among the top pop stars of the moment, Alanis was... therefore she was evil and he hated her.

At the end of the day, I could care less. I got enough problems as there is to not worry about what other people listen to. I don't know these musicians nor do I make any money off them, so it's really none of my business to butt in on what others listen to.

Why do you assume that art has to be serious? If I want fun music, I'll put on They Might Be Giants, Kirsty MacColl, or Lily Allen, any one of which has more talent than Britney, Paris, and Kelly Osborne combined.

I'm a soundtrack nut, and I freely admit that I am very glad to have NEVER met any soundtrack fans personally, because the levels of snobbery is disgusting. It also doesn't help that I collect the music of a certain film score composer who is despised by many, many, MANY people.

Like you say, it's a high school attitude. Too cool for school. Most people outgrow it in a few years.

I think you've completely misunderstood my point.

My point is that some people have a reflexive dislike of people like me who buy obscure stuff because they perceive that listeners of (as you call it) "adventurous music" are just trying to be cool. They think that listeners of "adventurous music" are slaves to what they perceive to be pretentious critics publishing snobby, sophomoric reviews of what's (let's face it) hardly high art. There's a sense that having an iPod chock full of Panda Bear, Department of Eagles, Santogold etc. means that you're a person who is desperate to be "in the know" and hates stuff when it becomes popular. I've seen this a lot on this forum, for example.

My point is that, like you, I listen to "adventurous music" because I happen to like it, not because some hipster critic says it's the latest cool thing that all the right thinking indie kids like or because I take pleasure in feeling superior to people who have no appreciation for a band like The Microphones or collecting Can albums on vinyl. I also listen to platinum-selling studio creations. I couldn't care less of the provenance of a song. If I like it, I like it. I think most people are like that.

Side one of the Glow pt. 2 is by far my most played vinyl. Damn I love that.

I'm probably considered a music snob by a lot of folks because there are a number of smaller and obscure bands I listen to. This doesn't stop me from also listening to and loving The Rolling Stones, Counting Crows, Coldplay, Guns N Roses, etc.

I don't enjoy most top 40 music, and I don't really appreciate most artists who do not write a majority of their songs. I won't give any time to someone who is given a book full of songs to pick from, has producers to create the arrangement/music, all the while they are just singing. Sing your own damn songs.

The producer and songwriter created the music. The singer is just another one of a plethora of people who could have had a hit with the same song. Congratulations to you on transforming art into capitalism.