> Of course not. Nobody's saying a lousy band will make people abandon
> *music*. But if someone goes to, say, their first Malaysian restaurant
> (to choose something fringey), and the food is overcooked and greasy
> and makes them practically retch, the next time someone suggests a
> Malaysian restaurant, they may well say, "No, I tried Malaysian food
> and I don't like it." This is, of course, ridiculous - they just don't
> like *bad* Malaysian food. But not having inside knowledge of the
> kitchen or any exposure to *good* Malaysian food, they may well steer
> clear of anyplace serving Nasi Goreng thence forwards.
>
> Carl W.
>
Well, this restaurant metaphor's a little silly to start with, but I would
say that your explanation points out why, Carl. People going to a
"Malaysian restaurant" for the first time are likely going there to try out
Malaysian cooking -- I mean, the particular restaurant is subsumed by its
category. If the restaurant sucks, they'll probably shy away from that
style afterward. No big surprise here. But I don't think neophytes go to
see, say, Moonshine Willy, to "try out" alt.country in the same way as a
style of food. When their pals at some later date ask them to go see Robbie
Fulks, I seriously doubt people are gonna say -- "Oh, no, I tried that
alt.country stuff once, and it sucked, and I'm not gonna do it again."
I guess what it comes down to is the degree to which a given band is known
and marketed as representative of a certain genre, and the degree to which
people associate their particular experience of the band with the entire
genre. But the larger point for me, to say it one more time, is the notion
of blame. The conversations here (and Mr. Anonymous' assertion that sucky
bands are a threat to the roots music movement) is like a bunch of
restaurant critics suggesting that the sucky Malaysian restaurant should
shut down before they ruin everyone's taste for the good stuff...
BTW -- have any of you popsters out there seen Jason Faulkner? Thinking
about checking it out tonight, and hoping it won't turn me off from pop
altogether....
