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Music snobs - a short rant

O

One_Dude

Mar 23, 2005
672
1,226
Appalachian Wilderness
#1
I play at church with a longtime friend who sometimes asks me to acompany him on other gigs. While I enjoy playing with him, I am really tired of his constant choice of songs. He will only do soapy slow protest type Folk songs and basically nothing upbeat. He thinks anything that is not Folk music is not worthy and is lowbrow. I know many people find songs in the same genre to sound the same, but the folk songs in question here get to sound like a stuck record; just the same thing over and over. There is almost no variety. When I suggest an upbeat song he will grudingly agree to one song, then right back to the snoozey stuff.

These are not paying gigs, and I also play in a Bluegrass band so maybe I will start to have other plans on the occasions when he asks me to play with him. Ironically, I used to really like Folk music, but the stuff he picks gets old fast.

Thump on,

One_Dude
 
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#2
One_Dude said:
I play at church with a longtime friend who sometimes asks me to acompany him on other gigs. While I enjoy playing with him, I am really tired of his constant choice of songs. He will only do soapy slow protest type Folk songs and basically nothing upbeat. He thinks anything that is not Folk music is not worthy and is lowbrow. I know many people find songs in the same genre to sound the same, but the folk songs in question here get to sound like a stuck record; just the same thing over and over. There is almost no variety. When I suggest an upbeat song he will grudingly agree to one song, then right back to the snoozey stuff.

These are not paying gigs, and I also play in a Bluegrass band so maybe I will start to have other plans on the occasions when he asks me to play with him. Ironically, I used to really like Folk music, but the stuff he picks gets old fast.

Thump on,

One_Dude
Click to expand...
I suggest letting your buddy know how you feel.
 
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#7
I can certainly see that happening. I like folk music (when I'm in a certain mood) and I can't imagine someone like Joan Baez doing anything different from that. And in the right mood it's great music because it often has a positive message ingrained in the music.
 
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#15
One_Dude said:
I submit that my friend is the music snob since I play Bluegrass, Jazz, Rock n Roll, Country, and Praise & Worship, and enjoy listening to Zydeco, Cajun, and Mariachi. By contrast my friend thinks that all music other than his choice of Folk is musical trash.

Thump on,

One_Dude
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I'm with you on that..his "pooh poohing" of ALL other styles and that anything else "... is not worthy and is lowbrow" puts him squarely in the snob category
 
#17
Played with this one band a few years back. Low BPM city... Literally dozed off and yawned (uncontrollably) once playing "Free Fallin'." Write a "new" folk song for him:
"How many Gs must a bassist play before it goes to the C?
And how many times does the C get played before it changes again?
The answer my friend, is coming and you'll see, the answer is when it goes to the D."
Good luck!
 
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#18
Upbeat is relative. Having been divorced twice, I find "Delia's Gone" to be upbeat.

If you have nothing else to do, if you like this guy otherwise, if you enjoy playing, let him do his thing and continue trying to sneak an upbeat number in.

Wreck of the Ol 97 is fairly upbeat -- except for the whole "scalded to death by the steam" thing. If he's singing and it's otherwise fun, just give him rhythm and enjoy it.

If you have had enough, blow like the wind.
 
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#19
He's a longtime friend. Have a talk with him. Tell him you're a bit bored with his music choices and you want to do more than one upbeat song. If he doesn't like it, suggest he finds a new bass player whose tastes are closer to his. It's not a crime.

Maybe it feels awkward but it doesn't have to be. Ask him to find 5 upbeat songs you can do together in each set. If he can't then don't play together. Jeez. You're friends. It's not worth falling out over.

If this isn't the issue, then be honest with yourself and him and address the real problem.
 
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#20
Turbo Sparky said:
Played with this one band a few years back. Low BPM city... Literally dozed off and yawned (uncontrollably) once playing "Free Fallin'." Write a "new" folk song for him:
"How many Gs must a bassist play before it goes to the C?
And how many times does the C get played before it changes again?
The answer my friend, is coming and you'll see, the answer is when it goes to the D."
Good luck!
Click to expand...
:roflmao:

I couldn't stop it - it was sung in my head.
 
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