Late last week I sent an email out to the WKNC staff to ask them to tell me what their grievances in music are. It’s not quite Festivus yet, but as the school year starts and stress starts to build up, I thought now would be an appropriate time. I left things pretty open. The idea was simple. All they needed to do was send me any pet peeve they had in the music world. From fans, to artists, and everything in between, I received a little bit of everything. Out of all the emails that I have sent to our good-looking staff, this one warranted the greatest response. Below are the musical pet peeves in order that I received them.
Do you have a musical pet peeve? Air your grievances in the comment section below.
La Barba Rossa: Down with the hippie twirl!
DJ Stutterz: People who squeeze in front of you at a show like they are moving and then stand two feet in front of you the whole show. Also people who obnoxiously yell cover song titles in hopes of them being played. People at electronic shows who are more concerned with their glowsticks, glowing/flashing light things, fairy wings then they are with the actual music. I understand that it’s fun to dress up and all but I hate it when there is more focus on the guy twirling a glowstick ball then there is the actual music.
R. Cory Smith: I cannot stand sirens in music. Like that sh*t at the beginning of Drake and Lil Wayne songs. God, that’s awful.
Kyle “El Generalissimo” Robb: When people use “techno” as a blanket term for all electronic music. That 8 foot tall guy at every show who always seems to stake out a spot directly in front of you. You can try leaning to one side, but his subconscious ESP will tell him he needs to lean the same direction.
The Cosmic Cowboy: My pet peeve: the genre of music dubstep.
Mason: Anybody who craps on music on the simple merit that it’s “too mainstream.” At WKNC, we play different music because it’s an opportunity we have as a non-commercial station. We don’t have to worry about corporate giants standing over our shoulders wagging money in our faces. It’s not like all main-stream music is horrible… only some of it is. Music snobbery drives me insane. Just because music doesn’t fit our particular daytime format doesn’t mean that a person who listens to it is an idiot. PS, I freaking love Beyoncé’s new album, Brittney’s ‘new’ album, and Kanye West. I’ve also recently begun to enjoy (I’m behind the times) TLC and Mariah Carey. There is nothing wrong with me. I just appreciate good classics and respect pop hooks from heaven.
Cannibal Cory: I hate it when I listen to a death metal song and can’t eat people at the same time.
Dr. J: My musical pet peeve would be people who, in my opinion, think it’s cool to think Johnny Cash is cool. What do they know about Johnny Cash? I’ve listened to Johnny Cash my entire life. Name me six Johnny Cash songs, poser.
.jose jose.: I hate it when people talk sh*t about an artist during the show and then go tell them how much they loved it afterwards.
Cioffi: Scorpions.
One Cool Dude: When people say, “I listen to everything but rap and country.”
DJ Shorty Fernarnar: Anytime you go to a concert for your favorite band, and the person sitting next to you doesn’t even listen to the band, they’re just going to go. So, they act obnoxious and disrespectful while you’re trying to listen to your favorite tunes.
Emmaroo: Not to bash on musicians, but could they please stop creating epic buildups that make me want to pee my pants with anticipation and then present a mediocre “hook” of no musical merit. Or who have such a great start to end with an inconsequential chorus. Just to throw some bands under the bus: Foals, After Glow and one Andrew Bird Song the name of which escapes me right now. I think it’s from Andrew Bird and the Mysterious Production of Eggs? I can’t remember but it pisses me off. Also when people ask if I’ve heard of a fairly mainstream band and when I say no instead of going “oh it’s awesome! you should listen, you’ll enjoy it” they make a face and utter something along the lines of “where have you been?” or “are you kidding me how have you not heard them?!”. If you’re that surprised I haven’t heard of the band then just assume I have and don’t ask.
Mollypop: Off beat clapping. Like, I understand you’re excited. I understand you’re drunk. But there is NO NEED to clap when 1) the band hasn’t encouraged the clapping and 2) when you’re off-beat. F**kers.
DJ Saber: Tweeted this as it happened today in class because it really irks me when people blast their music through their headphones IN A DEAD SILENT AREA. Of course I love music, but not when it’s squeezed out of someone else’s ear bud. The result is comparable to screaming child who won’t calm their sh*t. It’s a terrible noise. It’s completely unnecessary to turn your music up on full blast in a quiet place.
Shorty Shorts: Long car rides, like a hour or more, of someone’s musical taste imposed on me (if I don’t like it, of course). I love the music I listen to, but I like to be conscious enough not to make others listen to it if they don’t want to. Sure, taste in music is subjective. I get that, and I don’t care what you listen to, but if you make me listen to it… for an extended amount of time… I’ll hate you.
The Voice of Reason: If I go to a show, I dread seeing folks stand about like the sedated undead. It happens so often as to not be a pet peeve anymore, but it’s disheartening to bop around while folks shuffle their feet like having fun is a felony.
Psychonaut: Bands who save their best songs for the encore. Not that I don’t enjoy hearing those songs, but because it invalidates the whole idea of the encore. An encore is supposed to be for a band that does a great job and entertains the crowd enough that they want more and more. Instead, they’ve become a farce where it’s essentially the band just taking a break and enjoying a forced round of applause and cheering from the crowd.
DJ Bunch: People who keep moshing during a slow breakdown. Give it a rest for 30 seconds, douche! Also, fat people who try to crowd surf (particularly when the crowd has a disproportionate amount of rail-thin teenagers).
Filthy Rich: Ke$ha. In addition to Ke$ha, another one of my pet peeves is when I’m at a show and people in the crowd start shooting video with their phones. Not only are they waving their arms an inch away from my head and obstructing the view of the stage, they’re not really focusing on the show if they’re concentrating on making a shitty video. Then, that shitty video will end up on YouTube as a noisy blur that doesn’t do the band justice. (Unless, of course, it’s Ke$ha.)
DJ Bullcity: Dubstep fanboys that spend twice as much time analyzing dubstep, where it came from, and what qualifies as dubstep, then actually listening to it.
DJ LiViD: When people whistle to a song.
DJ Dylan-ger: When you specifically make a party playlist of seven hours of music to play off your iPod speakers, and then someone comes along and changes it to Lil Wayne, or any other music you could hear at ANY party but your own. And when you try to change it back: “No one knows your music!” Shut up and enjoy my jams I handpicked just for you.
DJ Elly May: I hate when I tell someone specifically that I love a song on the radio in the car and turn it up and then they proceed to talk over it. Helloooo! Shut up!
Captain SKAmerica: Just because you prefer a band’s older material, you are automatically referred to as a hipster. Also that one girl at every punk and ska show that stands at the front in the mosh pit and gets mad when people run into her. If you’re in the pit, you’re gonna get hit. Get it through your head.
Adam Kincaid: Bands, especially local bands, who think they are “too popular” for our station. F**k you. If we can have half of the national touring acts we do come in for interviews you can drag your ass five minutes down the road for a chat once a year. Especially if you owe your local popularity to WKNC’s programming. Our LOCAL listeners want to hear from their favorite popular LOCAL acts because they feel a sense of ownership and pride in making your music as well known as it is. I also can’t believe no one has mentioned people talking during shows. Shut the hell up about your ex-boyfriends cousins best friend who glared at you at a coffee shop 2 weeks ago and remember she was the one who was wearing that super expensive shirt like she was hot shit and like, OMG, that mole on her arm is sooooooo gross. I’m trying to enjoy myself without hearing your coffee talk. If you have to scream over a concert to have a conversation you are in the wrong place.
Chocolate Rice: iTunes.
DJ C.E.O: When people decide that they want to sing along with me! I quickly tell them that this is not a duet. When people are skimming through their iPod looking for a song and skips all the good songs! Just pause it until you’re ready to play something instead of teasing me! When people (mainly my mom) play the same song over, and over, and over again. When I go see an artist live and they let the audience sing a full song. Especially if it’s one of my favorites. When I go to a show and the sound system is POOR. When I go to a party and the DJ takes me on an emotional roller coaster by playing really fast songs followed by really slow ones. Like WTH?
Sarahnade: The chord progression GCD in recorded music. When someone wants to show me a song then talks over it. Quiet music when loud music is equally/more appropriate people at a show who are are completely stoic.
It: I really dislike it when I’m driving in the car and someone can’t just listen to one song all the way though and changes it right when I’m getting into it. Also, people who try to talk to me during concerts; I can’t hear you, I didn’t come to the venue to hear you and unless something crazy is going on you are just hurting my ears by yelling in them.
Chuck: My biggest musical pet peeve is people talking at quiet shows. Story time: July 22, 2009. XX Merge at Cat’s Cradle. The Magnetic Fields begin their (wonderful) set. Live, the band tends to go all acoustic, so it’s pretty quiet. The bands starts, yet above the music everyone can hear lots of loud chatter at the bar in the back. The entire crowd then shushes them and the venue becomes completely silent, allowing for the music to be the only thing anyone heard. It was great.
DJ Ones: My biggest pet peeve comes from my time in the music director world. It irks me so much when someone sends an album to the station that is in terrible packaging. Instead of a proper CD case with clear listings of the track, artist, and album name, they send you this thin slit that hugs the CD. When that thing goes into our library it disappears beside properly packaged CDs. The labels and artists that get the most spins are usually those with the best packaging.
Joy Division‘s Unknown Pleasures has one of the most iconic album covers of all time, and throughout the years individuals of all merchandising types have been able to capitalize on Peter Saville’s design. However, with the release of the new Mickey Mouse shirt that takes inspiration from the iconic album cover, one can’t help but ask, “Why?”
