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It's funny how popularity can sway peoples opinions on things. Disliking for something just because it's popular is just as much of a knee jerk response as liking something just because it's popular.
My tastes tend to lie outside of the mainstream for the most part so it surprises my friends when I like something that is super popular (for instance... I typically read small press comics but I started reading Ultimate Spiderman recently because Bendis's writing is so good... he's popular for a good reason).
Too often I see things get popular because they are bland and easy to digest. It's kind of like eating at Olive Garden or Jack Astor's or East Side Marios... the spice has been adjusted to ofend the least number of people. This leaves almost no taste to the food in my opinion so I have a hard time eating at these places.
If something stirs an emotion in me, regardless of popularity, then I'm likely to enjoy it more than something that just passes before my eyes.
Gullible isn't in the dictionary.
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I see your point, I am the same way. I still love homestarrunner, just not as much as when it was less popular. I thought of another example, take bands for instence. One of my favotie bands is MxPx. Thier older CDs were thier best, and now that they are getting better known, they are starting to produce poorer and poorer records. It seems like they changed thier style of music so more people would listen.
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Same thing with Staind spike. When I first started liking them (when only their first title was released) nobody else knew who they were. Their music was awesome. Their latest cd since theyve been popular is crap. I'm not gonna preorder their next cd this time, it's probably going to be just as bad. I hope not though.
Oh, and Zagatto, if you want bland food come down to Fargo ND. I hate Norweigens. They have no taste buds. Most the menus for the restaraunts around here consist of canned crap thrown together with a jar of tasteless gravy and served with nothing spicy. There are a few good places now that our population is growing but a few years ago we had like maybe five good places to eat.
The only thing Norweigens do well is their fast food. Our Taco Bell > anywhere else in the U.S. + we have Taco Johns. MUCH better than Taco Bell. I have absolutely no idea why they don't spread that chain through more than just the midwest. Potato Oles are the best food man has every created. =P Potato Oles are like Hardees hashbrowns (the round ones) or Taco Bells boarder fries except they actually taste good. Taco Bells boarder fries taste like crap. =/
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With the music industry, it's pretty common for a band to have an incredible first release followed by years of bland music. They have their whole lives to work on that first recording but then they have to have the follow up within a year. Only the most exceptional bands are capable of improving with age; The Beatles, U2, Talking Heads, Radiohead and Queen are all fine examples of this. They've all had some level of main stream success while still experimenting with their sound and working on truly new material.
Then there's mountains of bands that come out with their one hit never to be heard from again because they used up all their juice on that first release. Offspring jumps to mind first because of how incredible their first album was only to be followed up with watered down versions of that same album.
I've been to North Dakota... just this summer actually. I was amazed at how bad the food was there. Best thing I had was a buffalo burger when we stopped in Rugby. The most notable thing about ND food was that they managed to make a totally tasteless corn beef hash... I didn't think it was possible but there was no flavour whatsoever...
Things were a bit better in SD but not much... People in MN and WI know much more about their food (It's kind of hard to say that considering I stopped at the Spam museum...).
Gullible isn't in the dictionary.
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Haha, ya Fargo sucks for food. We have a few good places though. If you are ever down here again make sure you go to Doolittles. My parents friends just opened that up a few months ago. Get the chimichanga or however it's spelled - some of the best food i've ever had.
Now texas has some great food. Oh man... I REALLY hate hot weather so i'd never live there but I want to visit again just for the food.
"Offspring jumps to mind first because of how incredible their first album was only to be followed up with watered down versions of that same album."
Do you mean thier self-titled cd? Cuz I thought that was crap. Half their songs don't even rhyme or sound in tune and the other half they rush their words to get them all in cuz of poorly written lyrics. However, the song Beheaded is disturbingly funny. After that their next 3-4 cd's are great. Now their cd's are decent, but not what they once were.
Mommy doesn't have a head any more
Keep it underneath my bed on the floor
Well thats alright, man thats OK
She never really used her head anyway
Daddy called me a silly boy
Bet he wont say that any more
Cause the way his body is severed in two
His vocal cords are gonna be hard to use
Beheaded, watch you squirt like a garden hose
Beheaded, bloody mess all over my clothes
This is a good example of what I mean by they rush thier lyrics. Too many words to say so they just say them really fast.