I’m a 21-year-old male college student, and I can’t stop listening to Miley Cyrus. I’m addicted. I absolutely can’t stop listening to it. And I don’t mean I can’t stop in a “Oh, it’s such a fun song, and I really like it” kind of way. I am literally powerless to do anything but press the back button on my iPod when her new song starts to end.
I’ve listened to it so many times that I find myself dramatically mouthing the words as I walk down 13th Avenue. I like to think that people assume I’m just really into some hard-core rock song, though I think my big smile and slight skip give me away. But I keep doing it.
And this is the real problem: I’m so addicted to this music that I’m no longer really embarrassed. For a while I pretended that this was just a guilty pleasure, similar to how people pretend they like Taylor’s Bar & Grille, as a joke. Sure, I listen to it all the time, I would tell people, but I know it really sucks.
But now I’ve become a preacher for the cause of corporate-produced teen pop. I make my friends listen to these songs now. I put them on at parties. I’ve even requested them at bars.
I still may not understand the identity crisis that is the Disney Channel TV show “Hannah Montana.” But I know that I love her new split personality album.
And I may have disliked “Lizzie McGuire” by the end, but I still loved Hilary Duff’s album last year.
My obsession doesn’t only include Disney-produced artists. I actually believe that “Too Little, Too Late” by JoJo was one of the best songs of last year. Unsurprisingly, music critics and the general public disagreed.
This constant wave of derision for my musical tastes tends to get me down, so I looked for affirmation. But I had no idea where to look. I didn’t know of a place whose sole purpose was to make you feel better about the music you listen to and purchase. And then I found the iTunes store.
What a wonderful place for lovers of embarrassing music. The store’s entire purpose seems to be to make a person feel good about their purchase, regardless of quality. The reviews are overwhelmingly positive, referring to Hilary Duff’s latest album as “appealingly fresh” and “endearing.”
And it even includes a comment area that is almost invariably adoring, which makes sense because why would a person search for a song on iTunes only to bash it? This little community of bad music lovers makes those of us who love it feel just a little more confident.
My addiction to this one song will sadly soon pass. When you listen to only one song all day it quickly burns out. But my obsession with teen pop will remain. Who knows what the next song will be? I’m still hoping for an A*Teens reunion.
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