What are Your Pop Culture Dealbreakers?

[bob_32_116]

As a gay man, I get exposed to more than my fair share of what is supposed to be "our culture". For some reason I have never been able to fathom, we are supposed to love certain female singers (when did it become the case that any woman who can hold a note for 2 seconds is a "diva"?). Christine Aguilera, Britney Spears, Madonna, Barbra Streisand, Rihanna, Beyonce, Lady Gaga ... we are supposed to adore them all as "gay icons".
Gay icons? What a lot of bollocks. They are SINGERS. (And only a couple of them actually have real singing talent.) Sorry, but I don't get what my wanting to fool around with other men has to do with needing to listen to some screeching female belting out some formulaic pop tune that sounds exactly like her last one. Life's too short for that.

And don't get me started on drag shows. Yes, yes, I get it, it's a male dressed up like a female and singing like a female. Very good, very clever. it must have been a real hoot back in 1943 or whenever it was first done. Seventy years and about 5 million drag performances later, the joke has worn a little thin. I have nothing against men who want to put on a skirt as part of their lifestyle, I just don't think it's great entertainment. But I am not allowed to say so, because that's seen as some kind of gay-bashing.

[JJ88]

I am a HUGE Beatles fan. I have been for nearly 50 years. I have everything they released and hundreds of unreleased recordings. I consider them the greatest and most influential band ever. In all my years, I have yet to meet ANYONE who thinks the music world began and ended with them. In fact, the only time I hear such phrases is from people accusing Beatles fans of thinking that way.

Agreed again. When The Beatles started out doing cover versions and recorded many of them early on, who would be dumb enough to claim that anyway? Just sounds like a 'straw man' exaggeration of people who talk about The Beatles' importance...which is factual and undeniable.

I do remember some hysterical comments from both 'fans' and 'experts' when Michael Jackson died, though. I remember one shrill 'expert' claiming on TV that he was more important than just about everything in the world, ever, and this wasn't even challenged. Beatles fans these days are rather more well-adjusted, I think!

[JJ88]

As a gay man, I get exposed to more than my fair share of what is supposed to be "our culture". For some reason I have never been able to fathom, we are supposed to love certain female singers (when did it become the case that any woman who can hold a note for 2 seconds is a "diva"?). Christine Aguilera, Britney Spears, Madonna, Barbra Streisand, Rihanna, Beyonce, Lady Gaga ... we are supposed to adore them all as "gay icons".
Gay icons? What a lot of bollocks. They are SINGERS. (And only a couple of them actually have real singing talent.) Sorry, but I don't get what my wanting to fool around with other men has to do with needing to listen to some screeching female belting out some formulaic pop tune that sounds exactly like her last one. Life's too short for that.

I'm not gay but I saw something recently where quite a few gay men commented on how they felt patronised by the 'Lady Gaga as saviour' marketing campaign. So yours isn't an uncommon view. That song 'Born This Way' was one of the more blatant 'market chasing' things I've heard.

I would put most of those singers in the 'bellowing diva' category I mentioned earlier. It comes off as, listen to *me* singing the song, rather than letting the song come first. Aretha Franklin *didn't* sing that way, with all those note-filled trills. Barbra Streisand doesn't sing like that thankfully, but she does have a very showy, dramatic style of acting-singing that's not really to my taste, even when doing songs I quite like. It's still a 'look at me' style of singing, though less hard on the ears than Mariah Carey or whoever.

As for disco, some of the earlier records in that category like 'Rock Your Baby' I quite like, and I like the production on Chic and Donna Summer records. But there's a lot of truly appalling novelties within that genre. As for The Bee Gees, I much prefer the ballads they were doing in that particular period to the likes of 'You Should Be Dancing'.

[Trane]

Tolkien - books, films, soundtracks

Well, I won't shoot at the books, because the first two are enchanting (I was bored throughTROTK and read it diagonally).... but the flims and other shit??? noooo thanks

I noticed something recently. Punk rock was probably the prime example of musical expression of anger and dissatisfaction with society. Yet most punk rock contains very little swearing at all. The Clash, for example, swear once on the whole Sandinista! album, and it's easy to miss it. The Sex Pistols did one song that's full of swear words, and that was about it. Most of their songs contain none of it.

Punks did all the swearing andd insulting on stage between the songs

Reggae. You're a fan? Let's not waste eachother's time by trying to find common ground - I still won't like you.

Monty Python. I spent the 80s surrounded by people who thought nothing was funnier than to repeat sketches by these guys ad infinitum. And they weren't that funny in the first place.

Reggae is one of the rare style of music where you'll get me on the dance floor.... but 20 minutes sessions max... even seeing an Ozric concert is way too long forme.... but I love some mid-to-late 70's reggae (Third World, Marley, Steel Pulse, for ex)

As for Monthy, I totally agree... Most of it wasn't funny... sarcastic and cynic... but funny???

In termsof Briitish humour, I certainly preferred Dave Allen At Large.... Or (cringes; shudders and hides under the carpêt ) Benny Hill (max 10 minutes)

Oh man, I am so with you. Never found their arrogant, middle class, public shool, piss taking of British society funny in the first place, and still don't.

Well, the movies (didn't see much of the shorter sketches) were more or less meant for international audiences were already 20% hits and 80% misses...
So these internal-English divergences sketches were not really easy to grasp if you're not part of the caste system...

==============================

In general, I'm an adversary of most "mass culture stuff", and in some ways a movie or book (Star Wars, Harry potter, etc...) going "huge" will probably irk me in some ways and its success may even change my view on it, precisely because it has become an unavoidable icon


I once almost became a snob (read trendy, because snobs are often more trendsetters, rather than trend-followers), because it was snobbish to be anti-snobish

I barelu watch TV (outside a few documentaries, some sports or newsprogram) and very little fiction (though I do go see movies at theatres when the odd intyeresting choice gets released... On the web, forget tose social networks for me...

[Cuz]

Someone who says "my favorite jazz musician is Kenny G", or "my favorite actor is Claude Van Damm".

Or someone who says "Jerry Garcia and the GD had no talent". Don't get me wrong, most of my good friends aren't into the Dead at all, that's fine. But when I meet someone (more often than not someone who's really into 80s hair metal) that says the Dead were crappy musicians, I immediately move away. Unless I'm in a snarky mood, where I'll encourage them to offer more of their inevitable silly ideas about music and I'll have a laugh at their expense.

[zombywoof]

People who say, "I know, right?"

[trurl]

I know, right??!! I hate that!

[PeterG]

Love reggae and ska.
Can't stand (and I know many gay men can't either) the "leather & feather" & YMCA antics on EVERY single Pride parade. Many gay men find it extremely embarrassing.

[Calabasas_Trafalgar]

Hipsters(all those hats should be burned)
Tom Cruise
Steven Spielberg

[Jerjo]

As a gay man, I get exposed to more than my fair share of what is supposed to be "our culture". For some reason I have never been able to fathom, we are supposed to love certain female singers (when did it become the case that any woman who can hold a note for 2 seconds is a "diva"?). Christine Aguilera, Britney Spears, Madonna, Barbra Streisand, Rihanna, Beyonce, Lady Gaga ... we are supposed to adore them all as "gay icons".
Gay icons? What a lot of bollocks. They are SINGERS. (And only a couple of them actually have real singing talent.) Sorry, but I don't get what my wanting to fool around with other men has to do with needing to listen to some screeching female belting out some formulaic pop tune that sounds exactly like her last one. Life's too short for that.

There's this gentleman that I've been good friends with since grade school. When my wife and I are talking with him and his partner, we can talk about movies, TV show, sports, politics but sweet Jebus on a stick, neither one of them have any musical taste whatsofuckingever. It's all about the gay diva icons, dance music, boy bands, etc. Then again I remember him clasping his hands over his ears during road trips when we were in high school and every single eight track in the car was 70s hard rock. Guess I shoulda seen it coming.

[davis]

Any Reality show: Can't stand them, and they're not reality anyway.
2 1/2 Men: I can't believe it's still on; never liked it.
The Big Bang Theory: Not as bad as 2 1/2 Men but I still can't believe it's on.
Bullies/bullying: Get the help you need. I stopped taking your shit a long time ago.

[ronmac]

Anything Kardashian.

[walt]

Alec Baldwin
Jay-Z and Beyonce
Beebs

I want them all to go away.

[ronmac]

I find this whole "diva" thing quite hilarious. Originally, a diva was basically a bitch. Now it's misused to mean something altogether different. And these unoriginal copycats are aspiring for that label.

Dumb asses.

Another dealbreaker is fake, rehearsed vocal inflection. It's supposed to come from the heart. You can't rehearse it. And you shouldn't need to script it. I can only imagine Aretha laughing at the whole thing.

[Jerjo]

Well, that whole style of diva singing started with Whitney Houston. If is wasn't for that histrionic caterwauling coke addict selling billions of records we wouldn't have had Tommy Mottola pimping the shrieking Mariah Carey to the American public for another jillion records and the avalanche of wannabes began.

[Calabasas_Trafalgar]

^^word^^

[bob_32_116]

T] Then again I remember him clasping his hands over his ears during road trips when we were in high school and every single eight track in the car was 70s hard rock. Guess I shoulda seen it coming.

Oh what a giveaway!

[Trane]

Can't stand (and I know many gay men can't either) the "leather & feather" & YMCA antics on EVERY single Pride parade. Many gay men find it extremely embarrassing.

Not that I know many gays, but indeed, some of them are embarrassed because they find it insulting to women, but an important fraction opof that community insists on these gay pride antics, precisely because it's supposed to get under our skins and sqtart irksome itches....

I find this whole "diva" thing quite hilarious. Originally, a diva was basically a bitch. Now it's misused to mean something altogether different. And these unoriginal copycats are aspiring for that label.

Dumb asses.

Funny, because divas are what these Closet Queens attires are out to be all about (the La Cage Aux Folles movie trilogy was a real cult thing for gays throughout the 80's)

And gays' favorite insults between themselves is "bitch"... "Stop being a bitch" type of comments or having menstruations because you're being a "bitch"

[Garyhead]

[QUOTE=gryphs also;251916]Disco----it wasn't a style of music; it was a social disease. And funk and soul are not the same as disco. The definition of disco is funk and soul music with the funk and soul removed.

disco. the precursor to Jazzersise......an exercise routine.

[ronmac]

Skank glorification. Think Paris Hilton.

[bob_32_116]

I defence of disco, there were a number of disco tunes that were quite decent. Can't say that applies to anything I've heard since about 1980, though.

[Trane]

I defence of disco, there were a number of disco tunes that were quite decent. Can't say that applies to anything I've heard since about 1980, though.

some of that disco stuff of the later-70's was sometimes killer funk (thinking of Chic or EW&F, or K&tG)

I kind of passed over it at the time (being a stubborn disco-hater teen)





TBH, nowadays, I even prefer all that bad "disco shit" of those years than 99% of today's dance music...

[No Pride]

some of that disco stuff of the later-70's was sometimes killer funk (thinking of Chic or EW&F, or K&tG)

I kind of passed over it at the time (being a stubborn disco-hater teen)





TBH, nowadays, I even prefer all that bad "disco shit" of those years than 99% of today's dance music...

Amen!

[JJ88]

It's the 'too many notes' thing that drives me up the wall with these 'divas'. Aretha Franklin never sounded like that, crowbarring in all those notes into one line of a song.

Whitney Houston's 'I Will Always Love You' perhaps marks the point where female singing crossed the line into an athletics contest. The likes of Mariah Carey and all those singers went even further.

[Yves]

You all are one angry bunch.