Last Tuesday, at 9:07 a.m. I put on a baseball hat, readjusted my sunglasses and power walked into Target. For the first time in my life, I zoomed past the summer dress rack and headed for the far corner of the store. I grabbed my coveted item and examined it in Gollum-like wonder while waiting at the register.
I have been waiting for it for months, and I was both relieved and elated to find that Hilary Duff out did herself once again. I have a strong allegiance to her debut album, but "Dignity" just may take its spot on my iTunes 25 Most Played list - that's unless t.a.T.u. comes out with something new soon, but that's another story.
My passion for cheesy, underappreciated music is very hard to conceal, so I've always tried to laugh it off as a cute quirk, kind of like being the 45-year-old woman who collects Eeyore memorabilia. I've been getting picked on since sixth grade, when I went through a period of Hanson and Spice Girls fixation, so I assumed my excitement for the release of an album most requested on Radio Disney wouldn't be any different.
I thought wrong. I have no tangible evidence yet, but it seems that people close to me decided to stage an intervention. One of my thesis readers handed me a Bach CD and gently "suggested" that I lay off the trance for a while and "listen to something good instead."
Then, by pure coincidence I assume, a friend from the music school invited me to the Juilliard Quartet concert. That same day, due to events that are not interesting at all, I got introduced to a couple of local bands.
I was in a particularly good mood, which I accredit Hilary's positive lyrics, so I decided to step out of my sandbox and experience other genres.
Oh, boy.
You don't realize this when you're on the inside, but when you try to enter a new artistic realm, you find that music isn't a sound or a style or a scene. It's a culture. And I don't need to remind you of the significance of cultural sensitivity.
If, like me, you can't tell the difference between C flat and a G - and I'm not really sure if those are even notes - the least you can do is try to be respectful of the atmosphere and enjoy the aesthetic content, even if it is guided by emotion and not technical knowledge.
I have no authority to tell you what you should listen to, but if you are branching out, do some research first. For example, it turns out that Katzin Concert Hall in the School of Music has a reputation for being rather chilly. I'm still having trouble distinguishing "adagietto" and "arpeggio," but at least now I know that classical music and padded bras go together.
My official introduction to classical music was quite pleasant. My experience with the indie local bands has been a little sketchier. Last semester I tried going to a few shows, but the unpleasant looks and numerous, "Um, are you wearing Gap?" comments from girls with too much eyeliner on have left a bad taste in my mouth.
So, I started testing waters in less hostile environments. I found a former ASU student, Wesley Hilsabeck, and a group called Princess LadyFriend on the Internet and they sound really cool, although I don't know if that's a compliment coming from me.
Indie people are rather intimidating, so I have made no formal approach yet. I think it's going to take a lot more than a padded bra for me to fit into their audience. On the bright side, they have no movements.
Reach the reporter at: lucia.bill@asu.edu.
