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DISCLAIMER: If we're all done with the topic of this thread already, feel free to skip it and laugh at me.
Unfortunately, I probably fall into the pretentious category on occassion - but I strongly agree with truncated. I hate when an artist's work is viewed is somehow affected by their popularity or by common opinion - whether for good or for bad. It works both ways. When you're with one group of people, everyone likes [insert popular band here] because they're popular, and in another group of people the same band is ostracized for the same reason.
Example: Liking Pearl Jam does not make you a mainstream trend-following asshole. Conversely, hating them does not make you a musical pedant. If you like them, you like them. It's just a bunch of sounds mixed together. Obscurity or popularity should not affect whether you like something or not. That is a decision, not a taste. This doesn't mean that people can't be drawn to obscure music exclusively, but that they should not be drawn to it simply because it's obscure (and because it therefore somehow makes them better than everyone else.)
And it seems like sometimes people feel obligated to state their opinion on something just to gain credibility for their opinion - to somehow prove their worth. I could care less if you dislike U2 because you are "aware of their lack of talent," or whatever your reason is. Many people here would think less of you if you liked them, and that's ridiculous. If you like them, good for you. It is not a sin to disagree with people who think their opinion is sovereign.
You're right about the "what are you listening to" thread, too. I'm guilty of that, myself. I'm more likely to post there if I'm listening to Sun Ra or Fushitsusha than if I'm listening to Jimmy Eat World or John Mayer, which I listen to much more often. But really, who cares? Coldplay and Radiohead are similar. Yet I never see anyone listing Coldplay on there, because on this forum Coldplay is "uncool" because most people here lean towards Radiohead and hold a predetermined stereotype towards Coldplay.
And finally, I do think that many peoples' opinions are genuine. I don't assume that because someone hates Coldplay and likes Radiohead, they must be pretentious. It's just that when you get to the point of criticizing someone for having different tastes and start establishing things as law, you've gone too far. I still like many people on this forum that are like that. It isn't enough to hold a grudge against them for. Like I said, I'm guilty at times, too. It's just childish and ridiculous.
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