• "How can a group I've never heard of win album of the year?"
• "How can this group get album of the year when they didn't even have as many top 10 [hits] as Gaga. Did this group even have a number 1 hit?"
• "Who is Arcade Fire?! Compared to Gaga ... no one."
Speaking as a big fan of the Montreal, Quebec, indie rock group, this reaction was a bigger shock to me then their surprise victory over Eminem, Lady Gaga, Lady Antebellum and Katy Perry.
To the uninitiated — and it appears there are more than I thought — The Suburbs is the group's third album.
They were featured last year on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine.
The Suburbs is one of 16 albums released by an independent label to reach No. 1 on the Billboard charts.
Their music's been used in ads for movies as well as the Super Bowl.
With all of that said, I am not writing this piece to defend their selection by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Science.
That's a fight that will happen regardless.
However, the vitriol and anger displayed because of their selection is disconcerting.
I've worked hard to never make this blog about my-music-is-better-than-your-music-type snobbery. That attitude infuriates me.
It's ugly.
It's unnecessary.
I think Arcade Fire has made some great records and I'm so pleased they were recognized for their hard work. It's a really satisfying victory for the indie rock scene I love so much.
But if someone doesn't like them, that's OK with me.
When someone says they don't like an artist I enjoy, I don't deride them, tell them that they're wrong or try to make it into a character flaw. I say, "That's OK. Everyone likes something different."
Personally, I don't care for Justin Bieber. He's not my thing, although I think it's a fair assessment that I am not his target audience.
But I have never and will never use this space to say that he sucks, that his music is a waste or time or that no one should listen to him.
Why?
Because everyone likes something different.
It saddens me to see people so savage about these things. Bieber fans excessively and repeatedly vandalized Esperanza Spalding's Wikipedia page after she was announced as the winner of the Grammy for best new artist instead of the Canadian pop star.
I don't understand that reaction. It's petty and childish. Why not, instead, search for Spalding's material and give her a try? She's a really talented jazz bassist and singer who has made some impressive records.
It's probably a fair bet that if you like Bieber, you may not enjoy Spalding. But at least give it a try before you judge.
I do love seeing people so passionate about music, but we should not be so passionate that we cross over into bitterness when an artist we love didn't win some silly award.
At the risk of sounding like some freaky, peace-mongering, hippie Berkeley liberal, it's important to keep an open mind, man.
You don't have to love my music.
I don't have to like yours.
But we shouldn't be so invigorated and inspired that we let our differences transcend common decency.
After all, music makes the people come together. It mixes the bourgeoisie and the rebel.
Hey, Madonna said that. And I don't really Madonna's music.
But even though she's not my thing, I can appreciate the sentiment.
And that's the power of music.
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