i liked the backstreet boys when they were underground, but they’re just too popular now, y’know?

Nov. 2/2007 – John Storey describes the phenomenon of consumption as communication, articulating identity and conveying membership to one community or another. He cites an example from Stephen Mennell regarding upper-class elites in medieval times, whose bread consumption habits were directly related to their socio-economic class. “The upper classes,” he states, “regarded black and brown breads with aversion – it was even claimed their stomachs could not digest them – while the lower orders aspired to white or whiter bread,” (41). Storey’s article describes consumption in the context of its double role “in providing subsistence and in drawing lines of social relationships (ibid.). The consumption of popular music is by no means exempt from this condition.

In consumptive circles of popular music, especially with fans of indie, alternative, and underground music, there is a distinct paradox faced by music fans and musicians alike. The problem for music fans, who often pride themselves on their ability to seek out and enjoy obscure music, is that the ‘underground’ bands they listen to are usually really good. With the help of digital networking technologies, good bands don’t go unnoticed forever nowadays, and can become overnight sensations through their MySpace pages alone (e.g., Arctic Monkeys, Lily Allen). As a result, the fans of a relatively unknown artist may turn on their previous preferences once mainstream culture begins to reflect ‘their’ culture. I have a lot of friends who stopped listening to Modest Mouse once their songs started getting regular radio play; the only thing that had changed, though, was the public awareness and hype surrounding the band. Still, radio play seems to be the irrational breaking point for lots of music snobs… I mean purists… No, wait, I mean snobs.