Wednesday, May 2, 2018

Why I Love Spoiler Alerts

Hey there, Friends.

Do you know what I really love and appreciate? Spoiler Alerts. I know, that's kind of a random thing to be keen on, but I am. Even if it's just a description of a video so you know what's in it and can avoid seeing it if you want.

I know I might be in the minority on this one. I understand that there are a lot of people who are super passionate about things -- an artist, music, a movie, etc. -- and want as much information on it as humanly possible at all times. I get it. You're excited about it and want to share that excitement with other people. You can geek out with like-minded people and have conversations that make it even better. I feel you, I honestly do. I'm the same way about some things quite often.

Here's my deal, and it might make me sound like a cranky old grandma who needs to get with the times and get over herself and realize that it's just the way the world works nowadays.

I don't ever skip to the end of a book or a story. If there's a movie I want to see I try not to have it ruined by seeing the entire plot or the ending posted somewhere online ahead of time. I buy all of the music I want to listen to. I know that there are songs out there in existence that were leaked, but I haven't ever listened to them. If the artist who created them wanted them out there in the public realm they would have shared them. Maybe he/she wasn't happy with it, or it wasn't the final product. I'm sure there are many reasons it didn't get released. Somebody leaking it and posting it all over the place is tantamount to stealing, in my opinion.

To be brief: I want to experience whatever it is the way the artist intended it to be. A lot of time and effort was put into creating whatever type of work it may be, of bringing it into existence. Sharing music before the creator wishes, or giving away an entire plot line before most people have had a chance to see the movie, is a pretty shitty way to express your appreciation and gratitude for all of their work.

The internet makes things more complicated.

I follow very few fan accounts. I try to make sure the ones that I do are legit. Do they tell you what they are posting? Do they give credit to the source of pictures/videos? I can only hope that also means they asked permission to share them, but that might be me being hopefully naive. I'm not cool with people swiping pictures and videos from private accounts. I mainly follow other fans. Normally it's people who somehow found me first, and when I look at their account they seem like good people...as much as that can be judged by anything on the internet. At least they don't seem like a bot or a creepy stalker.

Let's talk about music, specifically. I follow the official accounts -- the band, maybe a few specific band members, etc. I don't follow people's family members, their friends, their significant other. That's just a little too creepy/stalkery to me. Everyone deserves their privacy. I don't follow all of the family members of my friends, so why in the world would it be any of my business what people somehow associated with an artist I like are doing?

Here's the thing about music. I know that the artists must know that once they perform a song live it's going to be out there on the internet getting shared, whether they are ready to release it or not. I get that. The cat's out of the bag, so to speak.

Maybe they encouraged everyone at the show to shoot video and post it. Free publicity and a way to get people more excited about hearing the new music. I've seen it happen, especially with bands that don't have millions or even thousands of followers. Make that social media work in your favor and get some new fans! I've also been to shows where the artist has specifically said no pictures or videos, and security will kick your ass to the curb if they catch you doing so. Most of the time nothing is stated either way and you can do whatever you wish.

So here's my moral quandary, and feel free to tell me I have a stick up my ass and need to chill. After a concert there are always a ton of pictures and videos being posted and shared around. For those of you who actually take the time to label it -- New Song! -- I thank you. I'm probably going to skip watching it. It's not that I'm not curious and dying to hear it, but I'd rather hear it in person myself for the first time or when it is finally released. I don't want to hear it for the first time through a video of dubious quality. Maybe the artist is cool with it, maybe they specifically asked not to have that shit posted, or maybe they have resigned themselves to the fact that it will be online before they ever leave the stage.Whatever the case, I'm going to skip it, and I love that the person posting it took the time to give a warning as to the content.

What annoys the hell out of me are the videos posted with no context whatsoever. Where is this even from? I've already explained I'm not okay with people posting things from private accounts, and I also think you need to give credit to the source. The part that really frosts my buns is when it's new music. I'd prefer not to have the first time I hear something be via a retweet of a repost of an Instagram story made from a video posted god only knows where of a concert held some unspecified place that has been manipulated a bunch of times and has the shittiest audio quality in the world. I don't know what the hell I'm watching at first, and it takes a second to realize it's new music. And yes, I realize it's partially my fault for not turning off autoplay on videos. It doesn't make me want to hear the song more. I'm already curious about it. It does make me wonder how much of it is the craptastic quality of the audio by that point, and how far removed it might be from what it originally sounded like. There comes a point when what is being shared is probably not something the artist would be happy about. I'm not a musician, but I feel pretty sure that no one has the goal of saying, "I hope this video that sounds like absolute shit gets spread all over the place! I totally want people to think my new song sounds like crap before I even release it, or maybe they will think I just can't perform live and decide it's not worth coming to a concert!"

Yeah, this kind of turned into a rant. Sorry, Friends.

I realize there are many more important things going on in the world that deserve attention. I've just seen too many spoilers for too many things in recent days. I've about reached my breaking point. Just know that if you post a spoiler warning or even a brief description of what's coming I appreciate you to no end. Every one of us is different and likes different things. I might not want to see or hear something, but that same thing might make other people giddy with excitement and even more stoked about what's coming. To each their own.

So yes, you are free to tell me I'm cranky for no reason. That I need to accept that anything and everything is up for grabs and to be shared on the internet these days. That everyone has the right to determine for themselves how to navigate through the moral quagmire of what should and shouldn't be posted. You already know how I feel.