Monday, May 30, 2005

In Defense of Infamy



Now, I don't often do this, but every so often I feel the need to defend my stance on things. My good friend and fellow blogger Mr. Misra has long taken pot shots at me, for not having read Harry Potter, for not listening to Pop Music, and indeed for giving a tepid review to Star Wars. He tells me candidly that I am simply cynical and too arrogant to ever admit I like anything popular, such as "pop music", or star wars. This statement is both uninformed and ridiculous. Of my favourite books, movies and music artists, many are very popular if not the most popular things ever.
Take as a case in point, The Beatles. I am a big Beatles fan, I have every single song of theirs on CD, and most on my iPod. I know lyrics to even highly doped out songs, such as Strawberry Fields Forever(I love that one), and I am the Walrus.
The point is this. A greater example of popular, and indeed pop music has NEVER existed in all of music's recorded history. In sheer volumes of albums sold, singles sold and general fandom, the Beatles is to music what Harry Potter is to books. If my arrogance was to get in the way of my taste, I simply would not listen to them, but I love their music.
I however, do not have much love for the fantasy genre, and I have little or no love for the Boarding School Genre. Combining the two will obviously greatly reduce my desire to pick up and read something, and thus I have never felt inspired to read the Harry Potter series. The only thing I do not care about is hype, it does not affect my desicion whether to, or not to listen, read or watch something. That's the way it should be with pretty much everyone, I feel. You should neither take to, or shy away from something because "everyone else is doing it". Make your desicions based on your own tastes and needs, and my cynical needs mean that I shall never enjoy a Karan Johar film, regardless of how many people did, or did not, but will love always Sholay, Amar Akbar Anthony, and Dil Chahta Hai, regardless of how many people did, or did not.
And that as they say is that.

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