The Greatest Hits

Strawberry Jam Is The Best Jam

Chapter 9 - The Greatest Hits

Would I order a jam sandwich if I was out at a restaurant? Probably not. Though perhaps if I was into my food as much as I'm into my music I would. Maybe if I'd wanted to be a chef instead of an Arctic Monkey I'd be putting down a marker. Maybe at my own restaurant I'd be going full punk. "Let's give the people what they really want !"

"Yes, Madam, if you want beans on toast, you can have that ..and no, I won't be adding any fancy seasoning to make it look more up-market. Just straight out the tin, onto the toast. As you'd have it at home. You don't have to fake it here."

Now a person may sit happily eating beans on toast if they're at home, in their own home, but they wouldn't order this in a restaurant. They'd order something more appropriate to the situation, whatever their belly wanted. Plus, the whole point of heading out to eat is to do something special and fancy. So it would defeat the purpose somewhat. The point of this little series isn't really to be puritanical about taste though. As I noted earlier, it's more just about being mindful of these influences. Being aware that social pressures can affect our choices (in ways we often don't realise) when it comes to food, music and many other things, and that likewise, being honest about our genuine likes and tastes can come at a social cost.

Self-awareness gives you a bit more freedom. You can weigh up the pros and cons more easily.

I'll finish with one last anecdote. When I told my friend I was writing this he mentioned a time when he was travelling in a car with another friend. It was a longish journey, and they'd spent the time listening to two albums: The Police's Greatest Hits, and Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd, with The Police, by far, getting the prominent share of the air time. Anyway, when they reached their destination - another friend's house - this other friend asked what they'd been listening to on the journey. The first friend, without missing a beat, stated Dark Side of the Moon. When my friend pointed out that the Greatest Hits had had a fair bit of journey time too, the first friend then played this down lol. As if, really, they hadn't been listening to it at all. Obviously it didn't carry the same cultural gravitas. Hearing this did make me laugh out loud. The Greatest Hits of The Police is a pretty impressive collection of songs. Many would say classic collection. If it was something in the actual mould of the Spice Girls you could understand the shirking of association, but here we see a higher level of wanting to be niche. A true desire to be interesting, that craves only association with the most critically acclaimed and esoteric rarities. It's a sad situation that many true music fans fall into.

I must admit though, prejudice against "greatest hits" is something I too used to suffer from. Even long after I'd made peace with the Spice Girls. Listening to a "greatest hits" or "best of" collection kind of suggests you're not a "real" fan. You just want the popular hits. You don't want or appreciate the hidden gems and more obscure albums. So it's not really the done thing. However, it is the strawberry jam of a band's back catalogue. The "best of" generally is the best stuff. Admittedly there's the problem that the track choice has been curated by someone other than the band members, but still, generally, the public gets what the public wants. So if you're downplaying a greatest hits, to the point where you're reluctant to admit you've even listened to it, you've probably went too far in your quest for coolness. It's much better to come back down to earth, so you can enjoy the good things in life once again.