i was recently berated for liking jack johnson.

my friend, who is as close to a music expert as just about anyone i know, is a self-admited despiser of his music, arguing that is music appeals to the lowest common denominator, that it is written for ‘eight and 12 year olds.’

to be fair, i’ve always considered myself a bit of a music snob, occasionally making fun of friends for some of their musical predilections. i’ve even been harassed about my own tastes, but more often than not but people who i felt didn’t have a musical taste as refined as my own (i even sound like a snob!). despite all this, i was a bit taken a back when i was (severely?) judged on my affinity yle-parent:””; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Sectfor jack’s music. my feelings were scratched 🙂 a bit.

i will not, however, apologize for any of this. i’m not a huge fan of or obsessed with his music, but i do find it nice. there is a certain appeal to it. i like the simple guitar melodies and straight forward lyrics. some of his songs i like better than others and have only purchased one of his albums, but like his overall style nonetheless.

i think there’s something to be said for enjoying music that has mass appeal, that does draw enjoyment for the lowest common denominator. i can often find something appealing in a song or two by a particular artist that i wouldn’t necessarily own or be inclined to see in concert. for better or worse, jack falls in there somewhere. i like jack johnson am not surprised by my friend’s reponse. i apparently lose points as a result. points for what? its unclear.

i’m sure i have a myriad of other artists for which i could/will be chastised. how many points will i have left at the end of that list?