Falling Out of Love

It has happened more than once, and always unexpectedly. Sitting in the car listening to the radio, or at my desk with my iPod on shuffle, I hear a song and immediately cringe. 

It's a song by a band I used to like, maybe even love, but I can't help my physical reaction to it now. As I drove to work this morning I heard a commercial for a concert: "See U2! with Florence and the Machine" to which I thought "Ugh, I like Florence but I don't think I'm willing to sit through U2 for her, am I? No, no I am not." This made me wonder, at what point did I go from liking U2 to finding them intolerable even to hear about? Certainly the album Pop didn't help (they lost me at catorce). When I was younger I liked them quite a bit, and now all I can think of is how absurd Bono has become. During the next radio commercial break one of their songs started playing and I rolled my eyes. I remember watching the movie Taken about a year or two ago with a few people, and what we found most unbelievable in that film - which was nothing if not a string of unbelievable scenes - was the very notion that any teenage girls would want to go to Europe to follow U2 on tour. Of all bands, honestly? That's who Hollywood thinks young girls want to listen to? I digress. U2's recent involvement in the failed Spiderman musical only made my dislike of them more intense, as I found myself shaking my head and wondering how they went from that Irish rock band singing about the Easter Uprising to self-important has-beens, the butt of many a Conan joke.

I also find I now have a similar aversion to Muse, a band I used to intensely love. I hate to play the "I liked them before they were popular" game, but hey, I did, and well, there has been a inverse correlation between their rising popularity and the decrease in the quality of their music. They hit a wall. I started listening to Muse back in college, and even though Showbiz sounds like they spent too much time listening to Pablo Honey before recording it, I felt they had developed a distinct sound and I could not stop listening to Absolution. It became one of my all-time favorite albums. I went to see them in concert a few years ago, and most people's response when I told them I was going to see Muse was a confused "Who?" The concert, one of the best I've ever been to, was at the Patriot Center and was at the most 1/3 full. (honestly, closer to 1/4 full). 

Then their latest album came out, and I could not have been more underwhelmed as all the songs blended into each other. I did not recognize them. It sounded like another band. It was so over-produced, tame, and well, ridiculous. The lyrics were simplistic, the guitar repetitive and obvious. Anyone could have made that album. And THAT's the album that they have become famous for. They won awards, got invited to perform at lots of shows, got showered with praise. I don't just think the album is mediocre, I actually don't like listening to it. At all. When I hear one of the songs on the radio I change the station. When one of the tracks (Usually Resistance or Uprising) is used in a commercial or trailer I count it as points against whatever the trailer is advertising. I scoffed as people began to post about Muse on Facebook as if they were some new band just invented by MTV. I am all for artists I like succeeding, but it's sad when that success comes at the price of the very music I liked them for in the first place.  I was annoyed because for years I had told people about them, and now I didn't even want to hear them anymore - I was embarrassed for people to think that's the band I've recommended. I also wondered if people who love The Resistance would even like earlier albums because they sound so different.

After thinking about this, I realized this isn't exclusive to music - there are many TV shows, actors and authors I have lost interest in over the years. For instance, The Simpsons used to be one of my favorite shows. I wasn't allowed to watch it, but I did anyway, for about 9 and a half or 10 seasons. Now, I can't even stand seeing commercials for new episodes. I tried to sit through the movie, but it was pretty terrible. The same is true of Saturday Night Live. I used to think the show was funny, but now even seeing the ads for upcoming episodes elicits a sigh of contempt and a desire to watch an old Phil Hartman skit. Similarly, I was fine with Tom Cruise when he was Maverick, LeStat or Daniel Kaffee, but now trailers for his new movies cause me to sneer.

So now I wonder, why do I get annoyed when I encounter these things I used to enjoy? I have outgrown many things in life that I don't react negatively to now.  The fact that I no longer read The Berenstain Bears or James Herriot's novels, or that I haven't seen an episode of Sesame Street in years doesn't mean I can't stand hearing about them, and I certainly don't begrudge other people for liking them. In fact, I think of them fondly because of the happiness they brought me. So, I am resolved. I will no longer be annoyed with entertainment that disappoints me. Here's to indifference!*


*Despite my new indifference to my own lost loves, I want to hear about yours, so tell me about them in the comments section!