(Public Domain License)
This is a more general rant that I think can apply to virtually any entertainment. It doesn't have to be the goth-industrial scene. It doesn't even have to be music.
Why is it that there some people who are under the impression that you are not a "true fan" (and I use that term loosely) of a band, artist, or whatever if you do not think everything that person or those people do is the best thing since sliced bread? Despite what some people may believe, musicians put on their pants one leg at a time, just like the rest of us. Nobody's perfect, and there are times when these musicians put out things that not everyone is going to like. Furthermore, some people seem to ignore at this is a fact of life that is perfectly natural and fine.
There are a lot of musicians I gush over, and obviously I like a significant amount of these people's work. If I didn't, I'd obviously not be a huge fan. That being said, I'm a critical person, too. I call a spade a spade, and I'm not going to shell out money for products that I don't enjoy, regardless of whose name is on it. Furthermore, even if I don't enjoy something, that doesn't automatically mean I think the work was bad. It can mean that, but it doesn't have to.
For example, you all should know by now that I'm a huge I:Scintilla fan. That band is a huge reason why I'm talking to you right now. I have a ton of songs of theirs within my playlists. I couldn't help but to completely fawn over Skin Tight. When Marrow 1, their acoustic EP, came out, I knew it would be different, but I was willing to try it out, anyway. I can't say I was impressed though, and even after a number of listens on the sales page stream, I couldn't bring myself to buy it or even any songs from it. (I might buy their Devo cover, but that's about it.) Do I think less of them because I didn't like that one EP that isn't even representative of much of their discography? Am I a lesser fan because I didn't like something with I:Scintilla's name on it? Possibly even more importantly, does the fact I didn't like the release mean their music was bad?
If you answered "yes" to any of those previous three questions, I need to educate you as to why you're wrong.
First, I have realistic expectations of musicians. Even among my favorite artists, I don't have the expectation that every artist customizes their musical decisions on my personal whims. Regardless of whether their creative focus is more on the desires of fans or their personal wants, decisions are made almost entirely someone who is not me in mind. As such, I don't delude myself into thinking that disagreeing with these decisions is wrong or abnormal. It feels like some people think that disagreement with the choices that musicians make shows some level of deviance. In my opinion, if this is a worry, it shows some level of insecurity. If a fan or an artist is so insecure that disagreement about musical choices causes backlash of some sort, that is squarely a problem with that person.
Second, I consider my opinions of an artist or artists to act like a balance scale. If the good outweighs the bad, I have a favorable opinion, and vice-versa. Even if I don't like something an artist has made, I don't usually write off that person as horrible, assuming I have evidence of the contrary. I admit that first impressions do matter to me, and if my first impression is bad (like it was with Santa Hates You, for example), I will be a lot harder to please. Still, it's not like I just write musicians off because they make one thing I don't like out of a sea of otherwise enjoyable work. That's unreasonable. Some people are under the impression that this is black and white though. If you don't fall over your own feet over everything, you might as well despise everything. There's no middle ground with these people. Obviously, that's asinine.
Third, I can respect a work without enjoying it. Using the Marrow 1 example, it's not like I thought any of the songs on the EP were poorly made. It just wasn't my thing. Would you complain about the culinary expertise of a sushi chef if you don't like sushi? Of course you wouldn't, because that wouldn't make sense. The same goes for my opinion of Marrow 1. That type of acoustic music usually bores me to tears, and this was no exception. I'm not going to say I:Scintilla made bad music though, because that's an unreasonable statement to make. That all being said, there are plenty of things that I don't like because I do think they're badly done. I'm just saying that my dislike for something doesn't necessarily mean that I think something is of poor quality.
What do you all think? Am I full of it? Am I being reasonable?
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