actually, i think cupz has a point. this exchange - "you're elitist and closed-minded" vs "no you just have bad standards and enjoy crappy music" (sorry if that summation isn't comprehensive enough to really contain the scope of the opposing sides; you know what i mean though) seems to have long been a back-and-forth dialog, sometimes expressed in the form of flamewars or tamer arguments and sometimes in the form of peaceable discussion, in most any group of people talking about music.
seems like either group gains ground or loses it in any given area (internet forum, coffee shop, classroom, different internet forum, or group of people) and sometimes this is influenced by the type of music being discussed. if less people of the group called "elitists" (whether this is true or not) generally tends to like a kind of music (let's pretend this is an Ozzy forum or something where elitism is minimal and exuberant simple praise is prevalent) they will get less voice on the forum and probably most of the forumgoers will be seen as a group of excitedly babbling morons, where it could just as easily be said by an outside observer that they are just enthusiastic and don't care much what others think of them.
the reason i think this way is because i myself have been on both sides of the coin at different times. i believe i know what it feels like to have someone talking down their nose at me because of the music i like or the way i express that i like it. I'm an Ozzy fan and it's not out of the question for me to throw my fist in the air and scream WOOOOOOO PRINCE OF DARKNESS RULES ME FOREVER, which of course makes me look like a primo idiot in many peoples' estimation. i'm aware of this, i simply don't care. but i've also been in the place of the ever-erudite BoC fanboy who cleverly talks down the narrow-sighted dope who bashes 'my music'.
sorry if i've actually missed the point and gone off on a threadjacking tangent. and for the record, i don't view open-mindedness as universally, inherently good simply by virtue of being open-mindedness. i think open-mindedness, even when defined accurately ("open minded = the will to view an opinion not one's own as rational and well-founded" vs. "open minded = i like everything indiscriminately!") can be used in silly ways including as a show of one's superiority over another. believe me, after going to a private liberal arts college for 2 1/2 years i'm already pretty well-accustomed to people trying to make the case that i'm not openminded enough and therefore somehow lacking. i'm not the most open-minded person on the planet, and i don't think that fact alone reflects poorly on my personality or my intellect - i've encountered open-minded geniuses and open-minded morons alike (myself being neither, i hope).
threadjack over!
"grand mistress of the grace note freedledeedee melodies" - Cupz, 2026