Whatever happened to live and let live?

[begin rant]

Velvet Revolver have just released a new album, Libertad, which I *ahem* managed to get my mitts on last night. Before, um... 'receiving' said album, I looked up a couple of reviews online to see what the general vibe was about the music. It's been three years since their incredible debut, Contraband, and I was interested to see what people thought of their new offering. I'd head so many rumours - that Pharrell Williams (of N.E.R.D.) was going to be producing it, that Slash had walked out of the studio saying "I thought this was a fucking rock band, I ain't playing fucking disco", etc., etc. - that I didn't really know what to expect.

For the most part the reviews were good - really good - but one stuck out in my mind as being particularly stupid ignorant amusing. Some guy something along the lines of "It just sounds like Stone Temple Pilots and Guns 'N' Roses" and then proceeded to call anyone who liked the album a "fag".

*sigh*

I get so tired of this shit. People taking the piss out of other people for listening to certain types of music or certain bands or whatevs. What is the problem here? Why do you care if all I want to listen to is shouty-shouty music? Or country? Does that make me less of a person? If you prick me, WILL I NOT STILL BLEED?!?!

Heheh.

I had a similar blood-vessel-about-to-burst-in-my-head experience a couple of weeks ago when I heard about people throwing bottles of piss at My Chemical Romance when they headlined at Download.

Now, I know I've just confessed to recently becoming a fan of MCR, but this mini-rant emerged back at the start of last month before I'd listened to much of their stuff. In fact, MCR were really only brought to my attention when I saw footage of all those silly people throwing bottles at them on stage. And they're not the first band that this has happened to.

Personally, I just don't see the point. Do you really think that any band are going to stand on stage in front of, oh let's give a conservative estimate of 30,000 people, and pay any attention to the hundred or so that are throwing bottles at them? Or will they look at the remaining 29,900 people who are singing along and jumping up and down to the songs and continue to play for them instead?

Hmm... it's a toughie!

But more than that, at the time that My Chemical Romance were on the main stage, Korn and Suicidal Tendencies were playing on the other two stages. Why were those hundred or so morons throwing bottles at MCR when they could have been watching either of these two other bands? Why would you waste your time throwing missiles at an "emo fag" band when you could have been watching some "proper metal" band on another stage just a few feet away? Or when you could have gone to the bar and had a drink? Or when you could have gone back to the campsite and cranked up Slayer at full blast and started headbutting your friends or whatever it is you do for fun?

I don't get it.

I don't understand this mentality of "if it's not what I like, then it's shit". My ex-husband used to do that a lot. "If it's not Canadian, it's crap" was his motto. Which is fine, you know, as long as you keep it to yourself. But he would constantly ridicule people from other nations, including his best friend's girlfriend who was Greek, and including me, Irish, because of our "funny customs", etc. Why would you bother? All it results in is a lot of pissed off people and, in this case, divorce. Because this was a major factor in us breaking up. That and the fact that he's a cheating, lying, lazy bastard, may he rot in hell forever.

Why can't people just live and let live? Who cares if I listen to what you consider to be crappy music? If I'm not forcing you to listen to it, and I'm not preventing you from listening to something more to your liking, then what's the frickin' problem?

People annoy me at times.

Oh, and before I forget, to the person who wrote that Velvet Revolver just sounds like Stone Temple Pilots and Guns 'N' Roses mixed together - what the fuck were you expecting?! It's the lead singer of STP and three of the members of GNR!!! What did you think they'd sound like?!
Also, for the record, Libertad rocks!

[end rant]