Television. I love Gossip Girl, America's Next Top Model, all the bad TV. I think it's because, while I look to music and movies and literature to enrich me in some way, television is about pure and simple escapism. Sometimes I don't want to learn about the how the perception of femininity and the 'ideal' body affects young girls, I want to see Tyra Banks make a bunch of 20-year-olds dress like gargoyles and pose on the side of a building. And the vapid narcissism of modern TV fulfills that need perfectly.

Sent by Leah | 10:54 AM ET | 01-18-2008

As much as I've tried, I've never been able to grasp what makes people lose their minds over fancy food. I went to Le Pigeon a couple weeks ago, hearing that this was going to be the best, most original food to ever cross my tongue. It was certainly good, but afterwards I could only think about how silly it was, the whole "cuisine" deal. I had a ham sandwich and chocolate ice cream last night, and it was supremely satisfying. I don't know, maybe I'm just cheap.

Sent by Jake | 11:07 AM ET | 01-18-2008

I think it's easier for a bad movie to be enjoyable than it is for bad music to be enjoyable. Something about the cheese factor of a movie seems easier to deal with. For me it takes something a little extra before music can become so bad that it's great, like Shatner doing Mr. Tamborine Man. That's a lot better than some guy in a bar strumming "Heart Of Gold."

Sent by Gary Drechsel | 11:24 AM ET | 01-18-2008

I can watch all movies and most television - the only television I can really stomach are A&E 'documentaries' and re-runs on syndication.

And I agree 100% about the acoustic guitar coffee shop singers. Wow. They're like a norovirus for my auditory receptors.

Sent by ljc | 11:46 AM ET | 01-18-2008

I think bad movies can still be entertaining, while bad music is just bad. Maybe I suffered from too many horrible bands in our music scene, perhaps the opposite of you, but I too can't handle hearing crappy music.

Whereas bad movies, I will pretty much watch a lot of them, and still find something to like about them. Especially if they have an actor I like in them. So, yes, I watched The Holiday and You, Me and Dupree, and various other cheesy movies. (Does Contact count as a bad movie? I always thought it was quite good, mainstream, but good). However, I find myself drawing a line at some point. No matter what, or how much my husband wants to see them, I refuse to watch Balls of Fury or any of the Scary Movies.

I draw weird lines with TV too. I've watched every episode of The O.C., but can't get behind America's Next Top Model or Prison Break, which probably have equal cheese levels.

Sent by Carrie H. | 11:54 AM ET | 01-18-2008

You might disagree, but I think this is because you are a serious and talented artist and it is the center of your life. I know many talented creative people (which I *might* suggest is different from being "merely creative") who get very anxious having to engage with the form to which they are deeply committed. You hear/see it as a professional, not as "audience," and it puts you in your "professional" mode--judging song construction, genre, lyrics, etc. Of course when it's good it's terrific, especially if you already know/like the artist and understand yourself in relation to them: you wouldn't have become a musician if you didn't love music. But there is too much at stake in art you don't like or don't know; your whole brain is lit up with what *you* might do, and you like to confine that to when you are actually doing it, not when you are relaxing.

I will not and cannot claim to be a talented-creative like the members of a certain "on hiatus" three-piece, but I can really relate to needing to avoid (some) presentations of the work that really matters to you--it's overwhelming.

So, for a break, we go to the movies! Bonus if it's artistic and deep, but perfectly useful as a way of entertaining self & friends. Personally, I am trying to decide if I can endure CLOVERFIELD tonight, or if it will be worth the fright--or if it will even be good!

Sent by David G. | 12:10 PM ET | 01-18-2008

I'm very discriminating about beer. I WILL NOT drink crappy cheap pisswater beer. Period. Only the good stuff for me. Preferably something dark and stout.

Sent by Luke | 12:20 PM ET | 01-18-2008

Wow. Karp... that's a band name you don't hear much anymore. How did a psycho-sludge band ever end up on a label like K?

Sent by Lars Gotrich | 12:29 PM ET | 01-18-2008

My discernment scale, from most to least:

Books/Newspapers/Magazines
Music
Internet
Movies
TV (sitcoms and Law and Order and ???true crime???, sports and ???news???) We have 9 tvs (including 1 outside!) and at least one of them is always on (sometimes soundless) unless we???re sleeping.

Ya gotta mix the high and low, IMO. Too much of one or the other for too long of a time will make you either super-serious and boring or vapid/stupid.

Sent by bud | 12:43 PM ET | 01-18-2008

Totally with you Carrie on little tolerance for bad music. I work in a record store and when a co-worker plays something I can't deal with if I can I take my lunch. Same goes for restraunts & so on. Also, I'm with Luke! I'd rather not drink that drink cheap beer. T.V. & movies on the other hand.....America's Next Top Model & L.A. Ink marathons have totally sucked me in! At least I steer clear of celebrity gossip. Phewwww

Sent by esme | 12:56 PM ET | 01-18-2008

i love a lot of things but i can easily hate stuff within each category. i love food network, but i hate emeril and sandra lee and i can't watch their shows. love music, but james blunt and that beatles song "hello goodbye" make me want to die. they should blast "hello goodbye" in the cave osama bin laden is hiding out in. the only thing i can't get tolerate is conversations with people who i consider "fake."

Sent by Lauren | 1:04 PM ET | 01-18-2008

when it comes to proper books i can't read fiction but i have always loved comics. i can't stand most television because of it's cheesy sentimentality but i love anime and anyone who has seen even the darkest of anime knows how sentimental they can get.

Sent by Don | 1:11 PM ET | 01-18-2008

I think I'd agree with you about mainstream movies. I can't even begin to explain the joy I get from even something as banal as the newer Casino Royale. I love my art house too, but I will quite happily sit through, and lap up, many a generic hollywood picture. I think it's something to do with the whole experience of going to the cinema - the sound, the picture, the ads, the feeling of it being something special, and the isolation in which the feature is presented. And so much energy, time and money has been spent on any picture which gets to your local multiplex, that there must be something positive and interesting in it.

As for things I am fussy about... yes, music, but more so dull or irritating programmes on the radio. I listen to a lot of BBC Radio 4, and the minute somebody comes on with a boring subject or, particularly, an irritating voice, I have to turn it off. Margaret Thatcher is a case in point - I can't stand the sound of her voice. Maybe it's a function of being English, but I'm also totally OCD about how my tea is made. Right brand, right mug (in the correct colour), right spoon, right water at the right temperature, right amount of milk. Anything else is undrinkable. Which may make me borderline insane, but I prefer to think I just have refined tastes :-)

Sent by UtterlyUtter | 1:16 PM ET | 01-18-2008

After reading this I of course tried to think about what I am particular about and you have made me realize that I am a total snob. Thanks Carrie! No seriously, I share similar feelings about music as I am from DC and have been going to shows since 1985. I don't really watch TV and I only go to movies that seem worth going to (whatever that means). Everything from the books I read to the beer i drink and the food i eat I seem to have very strong particularities about. Gosh, I have never really thought about this stuff, and in my head I now seem like a difficult person. I never thought I was pretentious or elitist, I just sort of knew exactly what I wanted. Hmmm. Thanks for making me think about this Carrie.

Sent by ryan | 1:20 PM ET | 01-18-2008

My college roommate was a movie snob, yet would see anything. And he'd like it. I'm still recovering from 'Lara Croft: Tomb Raider'.

Being a chef, most find it odd that I'm not all that into eating food. I have to sit while I eat (I rarely sit) and I have to have a span of time to enjoy the meal, say 30+ minutes (I rarely have that time, guilt-free at least). With these personal ticks, combined with being cheap, I'm a sandwich and comfort food foodie--high end gourmet food doesn't do it for me. People are shocked that I rarely dine out and when I do it's at a local grilled cheese joint.

Having worked privately for the past 3 years, my heart warmed last year when a client requested a Grilled Cheese with Tomato Soup. (...although I did make it with brie, peppered bacon and arugala.)

Being 33, 90s Olympia fascinates me to this day.

Sent by Jason M. | 1:29 PM ET | 01-18-2008

I'm cripplingly picky about coffee - to a degree that I probably alienate my friends and family over it. My mom gave me three pounds of Starbucks beans for Christmas and I was like, "Ummmm. Thanks! [but oh, what the hell am I going to do with this]" My best friend has a complex about how to make a french press in front of me now. It's terrible, and I hate it, but I care too much.

However, as much as I appreciate New Seasons and Fine grocery stores - I love Fred Meyer, and all of its many wonders. Especially the bizarre murals of vegetables dancing over the produce section.

Alternately - YES. Invincible! Marky Mark!

Sent by Jennifer | 2:09 PM ET | 01-18-2008

i really, really hope the title of this blog doesn't mean you paid good money to actually go see said film in the theater when it came out?

Sent by paulb | 2:11 PM ET | 01-18-2008

Hey now, let's not forget Excuse 17!
I'd have to say that I do not discriminate against any sort of ice cream. But I'm easily annoyed by most TV programs. Can't watch reality shows, embarrassing stand-up comedy or contrived competitions but I regularly tune in to The Colbert Report.

Sent by jennie | 2:16 PM ET | 01-18-2008

Don't remember who, but one of the early surrealist said you can find a minute of genius in every movie (this was the twentys so the pool was shallow).
But the minute I feel a movie going for that golden pond moment I'm out of the theater in a flash.

Sent by msw | 2:25 PM ET | 01-18-2008

I think I'm also fairly open to movies (even the mainstream, the inane, and the unabashedly sentimental). I'm a little elitist about food, with lapses of "I'm hungry and broke, and I don't care as long as it's edible." Even when it comes to music, I will turn up the radio for a whole list of cheesy 90's songs most people would sooner forget. What absolutely kills me is bad writing. I cannot tolerate it. After my friends and family harangued me for months to read The DaVinci Code, I finally succumbed; Dan Brown's writing made me want to claw my eyes out. I can't help it.

Sent by Sarah | 2:26 PM ET | 01-18-2008

I've read almost every comic book put out by Marvel and DC over the past five years or so. 22 pages is the perfect length for serialized fiction. If it's good, I get a nice chunk of story and something to look forward to next month. If it's bad, I'm out maybe five minutes.

I can't abide bad comedy. Even before I adopted it as my trade, I could only watch the good stuff. Bad comedy throws me into a furious rage. Even the thought of Carlos Mencia causes my blood to boil.

Sent by Ivan | 2:26 PM ET | 01-18-2008

Have you read Walker Percy's "The Moviegoer"? Binx Bolling, the protagonist, says "I'm happy in a movie, even a bad movie." I used to feel that way too, but then I changed, and I kinda miss that me. Here's hoping you can hold on.

Sent by Piggy | 2:48 PM ET | 01-18-2008

Ryan: I had the same reaction. I never realized I was so finicky. I can't think of ONE thing I wholly embrace without qualification. I make no claims that my taste in food, beer, coffee, movies, music, TV, etc. is more refined or better than anyone else's; I have just figured out what I like. I was less discriminating when I was younger, but over the years I've figure out what works and I built on that. I remember thinking the Olive Garden was awesome in high school, before I had actually eaten at a decent Italian restaurant. I ate there about a year ago and it was absolutely awful.

Sometimes my tastes get better over time, but there are several things I enjoy that are definitely not considered elegant by any stretch: continuing the food example, I love the El Monterey frozen chimichangas and frequently eat lunch at Wendy's. Even my more "refined" tastes tend towards the proletarian -- a great burger, cheesesteak, or slice of pizza are pretty much it for me.

And of course, I am a music snob, probably like most people who read this blog. Add to it that I try to do the musician thing from time to time, and David G. nailed how that tends to play out when I go to shows. It is possible for me to not analyze and just enjoy the performance, but it takes effort. And it extends to my own playing -- your own worst critic and all that.

What happened to Unwound, anyway? Leaves Turn Inside You was a gorgeous album. I guess they wanted to finish strong.

Sent by Joel | 2:55 PM ET | 01-18-2008

i spent 8 straight hours of a sunday watching that hogwash program about the bisexual myspace star, tila tequila. the next day i canceled the cable. so, while i will watch the garbage programming, i make an honest effort not to.

i'm very particular about wall calendars and music. no mediocrity coming from my speakers. no mediocrity hanging on my wall.

Sent by megan m. | 2:57 PM ET | 01-18-2008

The one thing that I'm extremely particular about is music. I try not to be rude about it, but I just cannot sit in someone's car while Fergie is playing on the radio. I can't even enjoy bad music in a purely kitschy way, as some of my friends do with people like the Spice Girls.

I've also left places like coffeeshops due to musicians. As soon as I hear that acoustic guitar case snap open, I'm out.

Sent by Karissa | 3:09 PM ET | 01-18-2008

I can't stand bad music, say from a cd, or car, but if it's live, I always seem to enjoy it. (Even if it's bad). Oddly, I cannot watch mad movies. My friend insisted I watch Spiderman 3. I walked out halfway through. I can only watch arty movies, like Juno or Into the Wild.

Sent by Alex | 3:38 PM ET | 01-18-2008

what about crap like Saw? I couldn't watch that if it would save my life, I think.

Sent by joe | 3:43 PM ET | 01-18-2008

Assuming there is some musician who's stylings you dig, and that musician has been know at some time to play acoustically and sing solo, just for the sake of example - if you walked in on a Feist performance, or Cat Power (before the breakthroughs), would you be just as offended by their acoustic offerings? Just trying to understand if your particulars regarding music are a matter of principle (I.E. I hate acoustic guitars.) or if you retain some flexibility in that area. Don't get me wrong - I feel the same way about most acoustic, singer/songwriter sets.
The interesting thing about being fussy is that it can be broken down. Being fussy out of principle is just as valid as being fussy with room for exception, but I think both scenarios say something different about a person. Um, this is for the sake of conversation rather than tyring to get to the nitty gritty of CB. I don't know why I felt compelled to write that.

Anyway -
I will not watch any reality TV based on the lives of 'real people'. NO Wife Swap. No Real World. No Big Brother. No exceptions. However, I will watch almost any reality-type show that involves challenges based on some specific skill the participants possess. Yes Top Chef. Yes Project Runway. Yes American Idol, for better or worse.

There probably isn't a single genre of music I could rule out completely. There was a year when I only listened to folk music. I also love blue grass and country and everything in between. But within those genres, as well as all of the others, I am picky. This post was just to illustrate, for better or worse, that I give a wider berth to other mediums. -CB

Sent by jst | 4:11 PM ET | 01-18-2008

I'm currently in college, in a pretty artsy community [although we have nothing like H2B or E17, obviously], and without cable, much to my grandmother's chagrin.

However, although I will watch movies, I find myself renting season dvds of various TV shows. I spent much of middle and high school in film programs, going so far as to go to a documentary film boot camp, so that kind of ruined some movies for me. For example, if I watch Titanic, I can't help but point out most of the two hundred continuity errors. [Did you know that one of the guys boarding a lifeboat has a digital watch on?]

Musically, I will listen to anything except emo. And that's because where I hail from, if you threw a rock in my high school, you'd hit members of at least four "original" emo bands.

Also, I agree with David G.'s opinion. I'd probably be a lot more particular if I were a brilliantly talented musician myself.

Sent by Kirie | 4:21 PM ET | 01-18-2008

I think for most people our musical taste is more tied to our identity than our film taste... in high school we separated ourselves along the lines of punk vs metal (or jazz vs polka, or whatever), not foreign films vs Chris Farley buddy pictures (I would have been on the Farley side of that equation).

When we listen to bad music (or are SEEN listening to bad music) it says something about us that watching a bad movie doesn't say.

Having said that, I love ordering Video on Demand movies through my cable provider because I can privately rent the Wayans Bros. latest opus without the shame of being judged by the video store clerk.

Sent by Mike | 4:39 PM ET | 01-18-2008

I'll listen to a few bars of any kind of music (save drum circles, world music and modern country) simply because, being a musician as well, I know some people really have to work hard to put their emotions out into the public.

BUT. But, I will rarely listen to an album more than once if it doesn't challenge my thinking after the first listen.

Low-brow comedies are meant to entertain, not make a person think, and that's why they're totally awesome.

Sent by JJ Hellgate | 4:47 PM ET | 01-18-2008

I'm with you on the taste for any movies. I've spent many hours watching completely pointless movies, even going so far as to enjoy a viewing of Glitter (featuring Mariah Carey) and From Justin to Kelly. I'm not even kidding.

How unfortunate!

Sent by stephanie | 5:04 PM ET | 01-18-2008

This is my favorite blog yet. You wrote it out in nostalgia & it was envisioned to me as if you were saying it in person.

Sent by Marissa Dailey | 5:21 PM ET | 01-18-2008

Despite my professions of pursuing an artistic profession, I've yet to take on a suitably snobbish opinion of the materials I use. In fact, the more dank & downtrodden the better. In my next piece, I suspect I'll be harvesting flakes of paint from beneath a mouldering brick wall.
Hence--- I actually prefer my clunky old three megapixel Samsung camera to a more astute [& opulent] lens. Somehow poor quality forces me to tap into innovation.

Sent by Zia | 5:48 PM ET | 01-18-2008

Not to pick nits, but are you suggesting that "8 Men Out" is lowbrow? For shame, Brownstein. And this is coming from someone who knows all about lowbrow cinema. To illustrate my point, I'll admit that , over the span of three consecutive nights last week, saw "Water Horse," "P.S. I Love You" and "First Sunday." By myself. On my own volition. You may call it pathetic, but I call it courageous.

No, on second thought, I call it pathetic too.

Sent by McCarthy | 6:45 PM ET | 01-18-2008

I???ve been a cultural snob for a while (two thirds of my favorite movies have subtitles), and like others have related here, I'm pretty discerning with most other things as well -- books, food, gadgets etc.

But I grew up in a climate of disco and Top 40, so I can't say I'm all that discerning with music -- I actually used to be accused by friends of simultaneously being a snob AND being that guy that would "listen to anything".

When it comes down to it, I allow myself lowbrow pleasures in movies and music, but with movies, I'm always qualifying my enjoyment -- for example, I enjoyed American Pie and tolerated Porky's, but beyond the few guilty belly laughs, I make notes to myself about what it all means sociologically. How do the oversexed teens of the '80s differ from the digital horndogs of the 21st century? (yes, I seriously contemplated this for a few minutes) What constitutes a "chick flick" in the age of metrosexuals and supposedly enlightened men?

So I still manage to fool myself into thinking I'm being discriminating with movies with my hyperanalytical tendencies, on subjects that probably don't justify the attention. With music, though, my embrace of the superficial and trashy is pretty unqualified, because I do still hang on to some weird utopian notion of what it means for everyone to be humming a song, no matter how annoying -- watching a group of MIT faculty doing that Souja Boy dance, seeing a family in a minivan singing along to "Oops I did it again" out the window, doesn't inspire revulsion, but a genuine sense of enjoyment.

Soi yes, I watch American Idol and listen to my share of Britney Spears. If anything, what annoys me more musically is pretension and humorlessness, so when I???m attempting to be discriminating, I???m more likely to filter out a lot of emo, metal, and gangsta rap, while allowing for more power pop and top 40 than I care to admit.

Sent by Max | 7:04 PM ET | 01-18-2008

I have a really similar reaction to music stuff, especially when it comes to live music. I can't even think of a handful of bands I've sat through that my band (or past bands) were playing a show with because they'd start a song out a certain way and I had to flee.

Like JST I can't stand certain kinds of reality TV but I love the hell out of stuff like ANTM, Project Runway, Top Chef, Trading Spaces, etc. Even though I know a lot of it is bullshit I still get really into the eliminations or the interpersonal dramas.

I think I am the most "anything goes" with food. I may not like certain dishes but I can love a $2 hot dog as much as I can love some rich, expensive French dish. I loathe food snobbery and people who would rather die than eat at a greasy spoon diner or any place that isn't given high marks in the Zagat guide.

Sent by chriso | 8:14 PM ET | 01-18-2008

This post made me realize how ridiculously fastidious and particular I am about nearly EVERYTHING I let into my body...

Music: only the most esoteric bands...
Film: only those in which I see enough artistic depth... (no Adam Sandler, please)
Literature: only the most edifying stuff involving social or political science... (I mostly stopped reading fiction)
Food: vegetarian...
News: Democracy Now! or NPR; none of that corporate owned political commentary, please...

Sigh.

Sent by Andy C. | 8:16 PM ET | 01-18-2008

Music is a funny thing for me because I fall on both sides of the coin. On one hand I'm all-embracing, while on the other I am very particular. I'm willing to cast my net and give every genre a shot. However, once I'm in a genre I become very particular. I have a co-worker who loves death metal. When we close our coffee shop we crank the death metal station. I've become a fan of The Locust. But I've been able to discern "good" metal from "bad" metal. This is odd because my three favorite bands are Stars, Belle and Sebastian, and (no kissing up intended) Sleater-Kinney. I can listen to anything, but once I become heavily involved I acquire a very precise ear for what I like and what I don't like. I would say that sports is my all-encompassing area of interest. I can watch anything. I will watch a college football game between Wisconsin-Whitewater and Mount Union just because it's on TV. The NBA is low on my list of favorite leagues, but just tonight I had to drag myself away from a game between the Trailblazers and Miami Heat to hang out with my friends. I can name every Super Bowl champion backwards to almost 1980, every Stanley Cup champion backwards to 1970, and for a while I was able to name every NHL team's starting goaltender and head coach. One of the best times I had in college was watching the NCAA basketball championship game between Syracuse and Kansas at a local bar with my friends (mainly because Syracuse won). At the time it was the greatest thing ever. I thought I could get that way with music, but I can't. I'm willing to give everything musical a shot, but I become very picky. I thought I could use live shows as a way to get into bands, but live shows have actually turned me off to a few (I can't stand Spoon anymore after seeing them live). Music is my greater love, but sports is the all-encompassing infatuation.

Sent by Nick L. | 9:00 PM ET | 01-18-2008

I'm so glad I'm not the only music snob who cried like a baby during "We Are Marshall."

Sent by sally | 9:15 PM ET | 01-18-2008

I'm the same way with movies. I prefer foreign and art house, but I'm also totally down with watching a really bad romantic comedy any time.

Most of the time I'm really particular about literature, but then again, I did read "The Devil Wears Prada." And liked it.

I'm a total donut snob. Seriously. Hold the sprinkles.

Sent by Melissa | 9:46 PM ET | 01-18-2008

What am i particular about? It doesn't tie in well with the rest of the discussion, but i am highly discerning about my edamame and associated soy products. Living in the midwest just towns away from the more-than-dastardly giants Montsanto and ADM, its only organic, non-GMO (that's non-genetically modified organisms) that makes the cut.

What do i whole-heartedly embrace? Kids in bands who hand make flyers.

Sent by a | 9:56 PM ET | 01-18-2008

There's the third thing now - Books. My taste for books is slightly as intolerant as my taste for music. I won't bother stuff that I find meaningless and ridiculously manipulative, like a few self-help books.On the other hand, I like watching alot of movies and I dont mind checking any movie out. But there are some that are totally offending or just dumb that I end up really loathing. Something that postmodern writer Curtis White considers " The Middle Mind". That, I cannot tolerate. I guess I've been through a lot myself to know where the target of my criticism is coming from. As for music, the local scene isn't enough for me to say " Oh, come into my life". I mean, I listen to Pearl Jam, The Smiths, even stuff like The Stereophonics, Oasis, Radiohead, and many others. When you hear these songs and when you feel that anonymous spirit deviating from normal life, it changes you and it separates you from the world ( It should). But I get really ticked off when I see a band perform for music's sake, and not really changing anything. Like there's an indie band here in Manila, doing some 80s post-punk-influenced music. It would've been well, until the singer starts joking about how drunk she is. That's the annoying thing and that's the reason why I personally won't settle for just any music, or even any book. These things may be our life. Impractical as it may be to a lot of salesmen or so called "hard-working" people, these songs, these books, these films. They could be life to some of us

Sent by Francis Aguilar | 10:45 PM ET | 01-18-2008

i went to an open mic today and was on the phone with my dad on the way there. i peeked through the window and, having already mentioned that i needed to go, said "oh. there are guitars. let's stay on the phone a few more minutes."

and oh, do i miss the capitol.

Sent by puck | 5:54 AM ET | 01-19-2008

I have the same affinity for all things movie

I'l stay up late to watch Enemy Mine, box of kleenex in hand

unfortunately, for my ears, I have the same love (tolerance?) for all things music

I will stop on the street, pop in a pub (karaoke not excluded), drag resistant-and-much-wiser friends along to bad band night anywhere, anyhoo to catch a listen at somebody playing their something

and then I'm sickly polite, ignoring conversation to pay attention to the noise so as not to offend dark luxor and his electric didgeridoo

I am discerning, believe it or not, it just takes me longer than everybody else to put on the crap stamp and make sure to skip it next time

I'm not sure if it's a weakness

I think maybe I'm "music-simple"

Sent by sharon | 10:19 AM ET | 01-19-2008

Leave out sci-fi, blood baths, and teen-age boys high on testosterone. Old films still are classy to watch. . Musically, I'm drawn to folk and songs that make me cry.

Sent by Linda B. | 2:15 PM ET | 01-19-2008

I'm also a stickler for wall calendars. Pretty much anything that I'm going to see a lot in my living quarters or somesuch. It has to be at least mildly pretty, etc. My parents have tried to give me their Anti-George Bush paraphernalia (count down calendar, count down sticker) which I agree with but would never keep around because it's designed so poorly. I don't want that shit in my house or car.

I also recently went to something called Open Studio here where they open up the college's art department to everyone and make a giant gallery of the student's work. I'm sure it's a common thing. Anyway, they have promotional stickers that they hand out and these nice volunteers ladies tried to give me one and I said I didn't want it 'cause I didn't like the design. They were understandable and actually gave me a different one from an earlier year that I liked much better.

Also, coffee. A friend of mine gave me some coffee for Christmas that I was kind of disappointed in because it wasn't whole bean. I needs my whole bean, I needs it. And I suppose I'm kind of a music snob. I'm not very particular about food though. Or reading material.

Sent by Jaime | 4:09 PM ET | 01-19-2008

Carrie, if you tell us you have seen Transformers, Keeping the Faith or 13 Going on 30 more than...scratch that. If you have seen those movies even once I am trading in my entire SK collection tomorrow.
Penance: a Jan Svankmajer marathon. (Minimum marathon time 8 hours)

Sent by d | 8:31 PM ET | 01-19-2008

pretty much all classic rock. i mean, i do draw a line somewhere, but barely.

Sent by brittany | 10:38 PM ET | 01-19-2008

Funny, I had just watched The Holiday for the first time five days ago. The best part is when Cameron Diaz comes back and Jude Law is (I wanted to believe in the tears but couldnt) crying. Oh, so sweet. 300..and finding Nemo are both next.

-stace

p.s. I can stand only one song by Britney Spears..and that's the I Was Born To Make You Happy song. I dont know why...hits me hard. haha

Sent by STAYCEE LEE | 1:56 PM ET | 01-20-2008

important items i can confidently say i am snobby about: coffee, donuts, and lettuces. i enjoy gossip girl and the wire almost equally for entirely different reasons. almost the same for pbr and let's say a belgium brew of overwhelming better taste.

Sent by rita | 3:38 PM ET | 01-20-2008

Zero tolerance for restaurants with themes that incorporate some sort of "antics" from the staff such as the Jimmy Buffet restaurant, Senor Frogs, etc. I have walked out of both after nearly losing my margarita on the floor. I thought it would be "funny" to go there. It's not. I am interested in most mainstream culture, amazed by it usually, but this is just unacceptable.

Also, talent based reality shows which are showcasing no talent and certainly not the "best" talent yet still somehow add a level of life or death seriousness to their critiques. The invention one... the dance ones... WTF.

I have a major soft spot for the train-wreck shows such as Wife Swap and 911 Nanny. Love it. So bad.

Sent by KM | 4:08 PM ET | 01-20-2008

I also totally love bad movies. Not everyone in my household does, though. When I used to travel for an prior job, I would get caught up on the good bad movies in my hotel room.

Sent by Dynamic Meter dynamicmeter.blogspot.com | 1:33 PM ET | 01-21-2008

Boy, were Unwound a great band.

I guess I'm pretty snobbish about both music and films -- though I'll watch any piece of crap if it's being skewered by the late great MST3K. (As a fan of both baseball and carefully staged period pieces, I think Eight Men Out was an excellent film.)

I guess I'm less particular about food (though I'm very picky about alcoholic beverages, especially beer) and reading material. Hell, I'll even read the local newspaper...

Sent by diakron | 4:28 PM ET | 01-21-2008

When I was younger I was more particular regarding movies. But I think that could be due to seeing a 'different' movie like Wim Wender's Faraway, So Close! in the theater. Having not seen something like that before, I had to explore all foreign and more indie movies (and still do). Eventually I graduated from college and landed a very stressful job. That's when I reached a moment where The Wedding Planner sounded like a great idea. I went on to enjoy Old School, Wedding Crashers, and most Lifetime movies. Pure escapism for me, although I tried with The Family Stone, and that is one of the few movies I just couldn't stand. How did you do it, Carrie?

I'm still a bit particular regarding non-fiction books---I tend to read only those. Although a friend turned me on to Lorrie Moore a year ago and I had to read every single one of her books. Are there others like her? I need another fiction break.

cheers.

Sent by allison | 6:41 PM ET | 01-21-2008

I can't watch TV, but I will watch any film that has attractive people in it. Even a movie that's supposed to be fabulous (and seems to be) I might shut off if there's no one to look at.

I will also watch almost anything if it means a trip to the theater. Every Tuesday I go for the free popcorn, no matter what's playing. I just pick something to sit in the dark a few hours by myself.

I won't watch anything past Splash with Tom Hanks though. Or anything past Garp with Robin Williams.

I only read "literature" (with a fairly wide swath of the word, mostly 20th century fare), but am commonly stuffing People magazine into my grocery basket.

This week I expanded this to reading Andrew Morton's Tom Cruise biography, just to read more about what poor little Katie Holmes has really gotten herself into. I haven't told anyone this yet, though.

Sent by Elizabeth | 7:01 PM ET | 01-21-2008

I'm also super particular about furniture and kitchenware. 1950s or 60s furniture and 40s-60s fired-on glassware in the kitchen. The kitchen has to be spotless at all times. Which is particularly odd if you look into my study, which has no shelves, only stacks of books lining the walls, piles of magazines, things taped to the wall, reminders that get buried, last year's calendar on April.

No gold jewelry.

I refuse to wear something if the brand name shows, except for shoes. Because I like my Addidas.

And I probably shouldn't admit this, but I have a tendency to only have good-looking friends. This is probably because in my twenties I kept sleeping with them. Though this is no longer the case, the trend towards attractive continues.

Sent by Elizabeth | 7:12 PM ET | 01-21-2008

I'll admit to being picky about lots of things, from music to movies, because life is too short to listen to Trapt or spend two hours watching Date Movie. But it's less a general picky and more a revulsion at pretension (on the one hand) or cynical manipulation (on the other).

For instance, I can't imagine the writers of Meet the Spartans actually getting any laughs around the writing table from Britney Spears references. I picture them cramming their script with as many soon-to-be-dated pop culture references as they can so they can get home early and get back to work on their "real" screenplays. Likewise, I wonder if there isn't some band right now in Brooklyn trying to work a reference to Derrida into a song chorus as an attempt at impressing a reviewer at Pitchfork. Either way, the creator is being dishonest with their audience.

Having said that, as long as a creator is honest about their art, I can usually sit through it no matter how bad it is. I'd rather watch a marginally talented high school senior playing four chords at an open mic and singing about girls than watch a bored yet super-tight band go through the motions. And I'd rather watch The Heartbreak Kid, which aspires to be nothing more than a Ben Stiller/Farrelly Bros. comedy, than watch Titanic, which was poorly acted special effects-driven melodrama posing as a historical romance with Important Things To Say About Class Issues In America.

Off-topic: Carrie, has anybody been able to sell you on the new Radiohead album yet?

Sent by Sam | 8:29 PM ET | 01-21-2008

A good exercise for me was landing a pop music critic gig for several years at one of the nation's largest dailies. By the end of six years, I was less snobby about EVERYTHING: music, movies, radio, people. I had to be, or I would have been the suckiest columnist. ( I saw 'N Sync and Backstreet Boys four times each). But, for some reason, I draw the line at reality television. Some very intelligent friends of mine live for "America's Next Top Model," and, while I support them, I can't watch even five minutes of it.

Sent by Gina V. | 2:18 AM ET | 01-22-2008

my treatment of television is very broad--i don't watch any. i can sleep anywhere. i am very particular about my shopping environment. for whatever reason i can't shop with friends or family around, i get very uncomfortable. i am very picky about my nose.

Sent by sam | 7:57 AM ET | 01-22-2008

I WILL NOT go to a movie under a hour and a half... (only one that comes to mind that I did go see, was the Walus and Grumet movie)

I almost NEVER go see comedies with the same standard formula

I cant stand action movies that have 1 hour worth of chase scenes and gun fights, 20 mins of hot sweaty sex, a 10 min montage at the end... with 30 seconds of bad dialogue spread out between...

YET... I can sit and watch 50 hours of "The Legend of the Condor Hero" (all of which is in subtitles as I dont speak Chinese)

And I'll watch some of the most insanely BAD Kung-fu movies... AND LIKE THEM!!!!!

I'll also watch virtually any WW2 era movie... yet any military / war related Vietnam - current movie? I'll probably skip (with the exception of a few... Black Hawk Down, Apocalypse Now, Full Metal Jacket... and who doesnt love Top Gun right?)

I think Johnny Depp is a great actor... yet dont really love any of his movies?

I think Brad Pitt, Is not a very good actor, YET, I have tons of his movies on DVD???

I used to go to movies all the time... I dont know what happened to Hollywood? I used to go to a movie every sunday night, Now, its like, one every few months will make me want to get out to shell out the 8 bucks or the movie, plus 4 for the soda... Ive given up Popcorn... you walk in, it smells great, you shell out 5 more bucks, take two handfuls and you realize, I just wasted 5 bucks :/

Sent by Kramer | 2:53 PM ET | 01-22-2008

I think when we know the intricacies of something, we become more discerning and more interested in things that fall outside of the norm. This is why I seldom want to see a band full of music majors. Typically, they can't content themselves with forms that are easy on the ears, and end up trying to do too much. I get the desire to push the boundaries and I get why that is interesting music to make. Unfortunately, it doesn't always translate to my ears so well.

I think too the more you know about a form, when someone doesn't do it well then you see it more clearly. I find this the case with poorly written books. An awkward style of writing will make it impossible for me to read. I find when people don't know grammar as well then these problems aren't problems simply because they don't see them. I think this accounts for a lot of popular fiction.

Sent by mikeyj | 3:48 PM ET | 01-22-2008

Well, that's a little bitchy Carrie. I think the drunk girl with the beat up Aria is probably making better music than the douchebag nextdoor with the distortion pedal and all the friends at Spin magazine. Get off your high horse dude. I think you need a change of environment.

Sent by Franny | 11:21 PM ET | 01-22-2008

Movies are escapism and fantasy and sometimes even reality that allows us to experience and explore something else. Whether it's high art or lowbrow, movies are a sort of pastime that never gets old. We are just "in them" for a few hours, and then we are out. And while some might really affect our lives on a deeper level or make us think in a completely new way, movies are passing moments.
Music, on the other hand, is something that we have used for identity, for social connectedness, and for personal growth. Music affects us on a different level, either because of a lyric, a melody, or a great guitar riff. And it sticks! For me, it's not as momentary or fleeting as film...it's lasting. I can get so caught up in just a few chord progressions and it takes over my insides for a few seconds and gives me energy and hope. And I can identify with that on a great extent because it is personal. It becomes me, mine. Film can touch us as well, but it's someone else's "personal". It's sort of voyueristic, yeah?
Anyway, that doesn't disgrace film or going to movies in any way for me. I actually prefer watching movies over going to shows these days (having spent my adult life seeing shows and playing music), and like you, I am not ashamed or worried about going to some Hollywood blockbuster over the latest indie sensation. Movies are FUN, plain and simple.
When I think about it though, I can only watch a few movies over and over again, one's that touch me deeply (Hiroshima Mon Amour being the absolute), but there are many, many songs that just never get old for me, never lose their power, and always inspire me. Remind me of who I am.

Sent by Georgina | 12:00 PM ET | 01-23-2008

I too saw some crazy movies in Oly in the later 90's at the Lacey movieplex. I totally agree with you, CB- It was a connection to the outside world, since we all lived in a weird bubble. A few memorable ones are The Postman (wow) and Twister (in the front row! with Donna).

LONG LIVE KARP!

Sent by Julie | 1:53 PM ET | 01-23-2008

Every week I treat myself to some trashy magazines. when I pull them out at the staff lunchroom to read its amazing how many sneers I get from my elitist University colleagues. But, why is it that everytime I come back to kitchen they've all got dog ears? C'mon you people with slapped ass faces admit you love it and embrace it.

Sent by Frances | 2:28 PM ET | 01-23-2008

I have a good one...I am dead-against reality shows like American Idol, etc., but a HUUUUGE fan of trashy not-very-real reality shows, like Flavor of Love, Rock of Love and a whole host of really embarrassing shows. I think I just have a dark sense of humor and enjoy watching people make fools of themselves, rather than watch somebody that thinks they deserve to be a star! I also feel that it makes society at-large feel that they can all be stars.

Sent by A.R. | 2:43 PM ET | 01-23-2008

I've found that I have pretty strong opinions about anything I'm interested in, and can pretty much consume anything that I only feel sort of "meh" about. I get rather bent out of shape over very particular films, but I can stomach almost anything on television. I have no passion at all for television, so I haven't really developed any criteria by which I would reject any one genre or show. That being said, I can't imagine not having particular taste in anything that I really gave a crap about.

By the way, I believe that movie theatre in the suburbs you mentioned was recently turned into some sort of strange church, if I'm thinking of the same one. It's sort of sad...

Sent by Stephen | 4:51 PM ET | 01-23-2008

I am going to disagree with those who suggest that being a professional in one medium necessarily leads to a hyper-sensitivity to sub-par examples of that art form. As a film and TV scholar, I tend to enjoy all kinds of television and film as a result of my expertise--I find enjoyment in the analysis, even of the poorest examples. That's not to say that I necessarily seek out mediocre films and television shows, but merely that I can find something amusing in them. Maybe an artisan of film would feel differently, but I suspect that many would agree with my point.

Music, however, is a totally different story. There's something specifically emotive about music for me--if I don't click with it on a visceral level, I struggle to find anything interesting about it.

Maybe what this all suggests is that the purpose of the art form--how we use it in our everyday lives--dictates or influences our standards and tastes. If you merely eat to fulfill your daily calorie requirements, it doesn't matter if you eat steak or boxed mac n' cheese. If you see cooking as a creative endeavor and eating as an emotional experience, the necessity for complexity and variety becomes more apparent.

Sent by c8ic8 | 12:41 PM ET | 01-24-2008

I'm the exact same way. Though I love a well made film I will pretty much watch whatever, whenever. Music, not so much. If it doesn't fit into my snobby little opinion of what's good then I can't tolerate it for long.

Sent by Arian | 3:08 PM ET | 01-24-2008

Linguists and neuroscientists are establishing more and more than the right brain's homologue to the left brain's Broca's area is the processor of musical syntax. Anything that is deemed "ungrammatical" musically is generally tossed out and unappreciated, even resulting in certain electrophysiological responses (similar to those the sentence, "the horse raced past the barn fell" might elicit). But films? From the schmaltz to the art-house, tear-jerking to the cynical, they're visual art forms which don't have one brain space.

And of course, your (and certainly my) musical Broca's area has learned to accept, cherish, and necessitate wandering and recombinant musical voices. So we'll accept nothing less. Cheers to that.

Sent by Jason R. | 8:28 PM ET | 01-24-2008

I get pretty stuffy about beer and coffee. I don't watch any TV and few movies (I prefer older movies when I do) but I'll read just about anything and probably enjoy it.

Musically I'll take a taste of any scene and sometimes find myself enjoying things that I never would've guessed I would like. That being said I have a few genres that fall into the "automatic loser" category and a few others that I'll probably automatically like as long as they're presented with at least *some* skill and talent.

HH

PS: So if you're in a coffee shop and I come in and unpack my ukulele are you going to leave?

Sent by Howlin' Hobbit | 6:34 PM ET | 02-11-2008

I'm the total opposite. I more often refuse to watch a mainstream movie or TV show than mainstream music. I guess to my ears, it's really hard to make bad music. Music is a mystery to me -- like how easy it is to make three chords sound so beautiful based on how they are played. Ninety-nine percent of the time, if someone is up on stage or recording a song, they have something I lack: the guts to perform. And chances are, if they've gone that far, they aren't tone deaf or clumsy musicians.

But a bad movie or TV show can have so many bad elements. Bad acting, sets or writing are like listening to someone singing really off key while misforming a B7 chord. Bad movies and TV usually contain multiple sins. I don't think the same can be said for bad musical performances.

Sent by Stacia | 9:38 PM ET | 02-11-2008