Posers Anonymous

Hi I'm Brad and I don't like bluegrass music. It's not that I dislike it, I listen to it occasionally. I've even been to a few sessions of Pickin on the Green in Asheville and had a stellar time. But I'll be honest. I hate that WNCW jams its airwaves with bluegrass on the weekends. Aside from people who fall into the Folk category but are sometimes mislabeled as bluegrass (nickel creek, alison krauss, and the likes) I own not a hairy bit of bluegrass music. So why pretend? I don't know. Maybe because I'm a lower middle class resident of Greenville, SC who leans a bit to the preppy side sometimes, I enjoy frequenting towns like Asheville and Brevard, and relish time in the mountains. It's like a badge I'm supposed to wear. But I don't really enjoy it all that much and I no longer will pretend. I'm coming out of the closet. I'm here, bluegrass steer clear, and I'm proud of it.

While we're on the subject of things that take me off the hipster list...

I'm getting tired of "indie" films. Yes they were all the rage for me years ago around the time of "The United States of Leeland" and "Garden State" but it's time to let the fanfare subside. I'm not sure how most of these movies can claim to be "indie" anyway, with big name stars, huge budgets, and massive hoopla leading up to a national release. So they may not be released by a "major" production company, big deal. I think "indie" films should stray from the beaten path. Quirky films with dark comedic undertones pointing to a nihilistic worldview have become the norm. It's tired. Lay it to rest unless you have something above average to offer. For now I'm going back to movies like Rocky Balboa, the new Die Hard, and the new Indiana Jones. No they weren't awesome but at least they had taken a long enough break for me to become nostalgic about them.

I guess I'm not that cool... or maybe I'm so cool that I'm just ahead of my time. No probably not.

--Brad