Posers In Rock Music Options

[Josh Adams]

I found something really interesting on urbandictionary.com while I was scouring the internet for old words I used a few years back that remind me of being a young teenager. One of them was calling other people posers (or what the equivalent word was in my neck of the woods: wannabe).

Poser Rocker: someone who doesn't know the difference between alternative rock, classic rock, heavy metal, death metal, pop punk, nu metal and possibly even indie. however, this poser will buy a guitar and take up lessons, in a way that will make you cringe seen as 90% of guys have alrealdy jumped on this bandwagon already. they act like they're really 'kwl' and go around proclaiming how good 'rock' is and telling everyone to listen to some 'decent' music, when they dont even know what theyre talking about. their music taste will probably change in a year anyway!! http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=poser-rocker

For some reason I cringe at the use of the word now. When I was a teenager and a pretty prolific rock fan (much more so than I am now, my taste has varied) I could “see” posers left, right and centre. People who had only just picked up the guitar and apparently overnight had developed a life-consuming interest in Metal (or whatever), with their schoolbags and uniform all of a sudden covered in band merch. I’d never seen a reason to advertise my music taste in such a way, and it probably p****d me off a bit to see people walking around in costume, representing an interest they’d only had for five minutes.

To me at least, when I picked out ‘wannabes’ from ‘real rock fans’ (please don’t judge me, I was young) I would usually notice a sudden change in personality or shift in friend group. I know of one guy who was the bubbliest, funniest and most spontaneous guy you’d ever met but all of a sudden he started becoming sad and withdrawn. The change was so dramatic and so cliché. The first sign was when he would doodle band names, broken hearts and checkered patterns across his pencil case. A week later he was suddenly emo. And a proud longstanding one too, apparently. I quizzed him about some of the bands he’d recently taken an interest in and it turned out he couldn’t name a song off of any album bar one.

Now had he admitted to me that he was “getting in” to said band, I wouldn't of taken a blind bit of notice. But the fact he’d so suddenly embraced this persona of ‘the emo’ in a matter of days (to me) was evidence that he preferred the lifestyle and the idea of being an emo more than he did the music. And that somehow the lifestyle had driven him toward the music, rather than the other way round. Worst of all, two months or so down the line he’d evolved into this pop music hating, hip hop hating idiot who suddenly was the world’s authority on anybody that wore black and played the guitar. I knew otherwise though.

Although, the Urban Dictionary definition is something that would totally apply to me at the time that I was secretly denouncing recent converts to Guitar music as ‘wannabes’ in my head. I might have been a pretty avid rock fan but if you’d of sat me down and tried to quiz me on the differences between Alt. Rock, Classic Rock and Indie – I’d of fallen to pieces.

What’s your criteria for a Poser (Wannabe, whatever)? Or are you like me and have grown out of such things because you've left your childish, crowd-following, judgmental self behind? That’s a joke by the way. I’m still a judgmental idiot only now it’s my little secret
Well, and yours. Just promise not to tell anyone.

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!