Bad opinions • Page 244

The funny thing is that the last Matchbox 20 album was their first to go number 1 on the Billboard 200.

 

Hah if I've gotten too cynical for you, we've really gone through the looking glass here, haven't we?

 

It's 2016 and that chart is fundamentally broken at this point

Prettttty much lol

 

I mean, yeah, but 1) this was 2012, and 2) 95,000 people buying your album in the first week is still a pretty good indication that someone still listens to your music. That album also had a top 40 radio hit.

 

I do think there's an interesting conversation to be had about whether people go back to these "flash-in-the-pan" artists in the current landscape where nobody still "has" their record on their shelf or downloaded on their hard drive. Do we remember to go and stream these artists still?

But a band whose last album went platinum and had a major radio hit, won a Grammy in the last 5 years and still plays huge tours isn't much of a jumping off point for it.

 

I had no idea when their last album came out, I just assumed it was recent. And I mean, yeah, but also, there's a whole world out there of music who's numbers are huge but remain more or less invisible to people "in touch" with "culture." Like the suicide squad soundtrack is a huge album this year and yet i don't know of a single person who listened to it or has even talked about it. it might as well not exist to me. or 21 pilots, i know exactly one person irl who likes them and if it wasn't for this site and how much culture writing i consume i almost definitely would have just not even realized they were as huge numerically as they are.

 

Ha, that's fair. Still pretty sure I've never heard a 21 Pilots song.

 

see post above, every one lives in weird little echo chambers where even the biggest artists can go unnoticed. country artists regularly sell huge tours and have top 40 hits yet they might as well not exist in my world, same kind of principle for matchbox 20 or whatever.

 

yah see its very possible to just go on blissfully unaware of the audience for certain kinds of things even though those people are potentially everywhere

 

Consider yourself lucky

 

Being a teacher allows me to get more of a sense of relevancy, for instance a ton of kids are super into 21 Pilots. With that being said, for the past 5 years I still have yet to see country music's impact. Maybe 1-2 kids each year will be into country while the rest of the kids claim they hate it. So interesting to me. I assume it has to do with working in the city, but I also worked in a suburban school and a school in the middle of PA with the same results. Obviously the fans are there, it's just odd to me that its like a niche genre for the kids at my schools

 

Yeah definitely all throughout high school the only time country would come up would be when people say they hate it. I am from a big city in California though so it makes sense but who the hell are the 10,000 people that sell out the big country guys shows when they're in town?

 

Ppl love country in rural CT

 

Yeah ppl are all about the country in rural oregon too. it is funny how an artist big in your world can be unknown by so many people. or I'm just easily amused

 

People love country in rural New Jersey

 

I don't think anyone I want to high school with liked country either. It was a few years out of school that I really got into it.

 

I don't think Country was a big thing by me either

 

the country fest here is big amongst younger people because they just go and get trashed all day

 

Tailgating at country shows was a huge thing in HS

 

Country is huge here but I'm in the south so of course it is

 

Speaking of think I've mentioned this before but hate when people write off Country as a genre just because of bro Country like Blake Shelton which I agree is awful

 

People love country here

 

Country seems to be big with a lot of the 20sonethings in Mass.

I don't care for a lot of country now, but when I was in like third grade I fucked with all that 90s country hard. Diamond Rio, Brooks and Dunn, Faith Hill, Alan Jackson. Loved it all

 

Garth Brooks is my shit. Dolly and Reba are great too.

Bro country is a plague but everyone loves them around here. Florida Georgia Line :(

 

The video for The Red Strokes was TERRIFYING to me. Def had his box set