There’s a bunch of stuff I don’t get, though I will often nod along and pretend, because all my friends seem to like — or at least, understand — these things. It’s not that I don’t know about them, or that I’m just posing when I say I’m familiar with them. It’s that I just don’t get them. I don’t know why they’re a big deal. It’s easier to keep nodding.
However, I just can’t live with the deception anymore. I know this brands me as tragically unhip, but really, I don’t think I was fooling anyone, anyway.
So, here’s what I don’t get:
- TV On The Radio. Thanks to Bill, I’ve known about these guys for years. And they still don’t sound like anything special to me. But they’re hot now, so I can say I’ve been listening to them for years. Even if I just hit “skip” on the iPod when they come up.
- Anime/Manga. I’m down with the extreme violence on Dragon Ball Z. (A guy throws a punch that cracks a planet in half, I can respect that.) But almost all the rest of it… I find my attention wanders. Maybe it’s the dubbing on the videos. Maybe it’s the weird, backwards-reading required for the comics. Still, despite a lifelong love of comics, I cannot muster any interest in giant robots and their plucky sidekicks who for some reason, break into giant drops of sweat while they leer at girls’ cotton panties.
- Radiohead. They’re geniuses. I know this. Everyone tells me this. And yet, for me, they’re the aural equivalent of chewing tinfoil.
- Aqua Teen Hunger Force. I admit, the Mooninites made me chuckle. But I waited a long, long time for that chuckle.
- Diddy. Seriously, cannot understand what this guy does for a living. Can’t sing or rap, but he’s got hit records. Can’t dress, but he’s got his own clothing line. Can’t act, and yet he’s in movies. Clearly, it’s just me.
