First things first: I made a bit of an error in my last column.

My wording was not clear and I would like to explain. The final sentences of my column on legalizing marijuana go “I actually tried it, didn’t like it, and now abstain. If pot were legal, I’m sure there are plenty of people who would do the same.” When I was talking about “it” I meant smoking in general, not smoking pot specifically. I have not had the experience of trying marijuana in any form; as I said in my article, the closest I’ve come to smoking pot is an e-cigarette. I apologize for the unclear wording. Although I don’t think there is anything wrong with marijuana, I’d rather not end up in hot water over an ambiguous sentence.

Now, for the fun stuff!

I sometimes feel a bit bad for my lack of knowledge when it comes to music. In fact, I often feel a bit like the “musically oblivious eighth grader” meme. If you know me, it’s funny for me to say this because I am a very musical person. I sing, play two instruments, and can’t write effectively without a soundtrack. I know the basics, including the current pop culture’s love for older bands and the –well deserved–hatred for Justin Bieber, but I don’t know much beyond that.

For example, I have spent most of my life not knowing that Billy Joel sang Piano Man, not Elton John. I love the song, and often use it as an alarm clock track. That being said, I made a pretty large oversight on a main part of the song: the singer/songwriter. I’m not going to lie, it makes me feel a bit stupid.

It’s not that I don’t care about who sings what or when it was released. It’s more that the context isn’t as important to me as the song itself. Though context can be relevant and can completely change the meaning of a song, I often don’t need it to enjoy –or dislike– a song. Take for example, Chris Brown. What he did to Rihanna was absolutely disgusting. However, I find his music just as bad as I did prior to the exposure of his character. The reverse of that can be seen in the song “House of the Rising Sun.” The first time heard it was from a southern blues a capella group. I didn’t know until recently that the song was made popular by the classic British band, The Animals.

Because of my personal history with modern music, I often don’t look down on people for not knowing The Rolling Stones from Aerosmith –another sin I’ve been guilty of– or Pink! from Lady Gaga. I also am not, for the most part, a music elitist. I don’t hate Taylor Swift’s music because she is a new artist, I hate it for it’s content. As illogical as it sounds, I like the music I like because it elicits a pleasant emotion or a feeling of catharsis. Music is my easiest way of expressing and understanding my emotions, therefore making it too logical would nullify it’s beauty and effectiveness.

Image from: http://knowyourmeme.com/photos/38875-musically-oblivious-8th-grader