Mansplaining Music
After countless experiences I have had with men asking me if I know that song or if I know that band, I took to the internet and to my friends to find stories about "mansplaining" music to women. And the stories I found did not disappoint! Check out my list below for times men were funny, memorable and downright stupid when mansplaining music to women.
"Once, I played a blues scale and this man is like 'see this is why, you don't know blues like I do'."
"The other day I was at a show with my friend and this guy across from me took an interest in my opinions on music. By 'took an interest' I mean he decided to tell me how everything I was saying was stupid and I obviously didn’t know what I was talking about, but since he was older and a man he understood music way more than I could ever."
"I was talking to friends and we were planning their set for a cover show. We started talking about classic metal and what our favorite metal bands were. A man in the group comes from across the sidewalk and says 'Wait, classic metal. Psh, name five bands.' My face turned into a look of disgust and I straight up said 'You did not just ‘name five bands’ me.' He then changed his tune and said 'Oh oh, I meant who are your favorites? What vibe are we talking?' I said 'uh huh' and then started talking about my favorite bands. I mentioned AC/DC and he said 'Oh, did you know they had a singer before Brian Johnson?' I pointed to the Highway to Hell shirt I was wearing and said 'Yeah, I’m a Bon Scott girl.' He got embarrassed and walked away. "
"I am writing for a music blog in an era when practically all information about anything and everything is just a Google away. I interview musicians fairly often — more often than your average person about town. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been mansplained to in this context."
She elaborated with:
"Knowing I write for a music blog, some male musicians have felt the need to tell me:
– the definition of a chorus
– the definition of a guitar riff
– that Willie Nelson is a musician
– that the Who exist
– that the Replacements exist
– that Bob Mould exists/Hüsker Dü existed (Bonus: included the phrase 'I’m sure you’ve never heard of them' and pronounced it 'husker doo')
– that so many other household-name musicians exist or existed (It would be depressing to name them all. OK, fine, one more: Prince. Yes, Prince.)
– that a bass guitar is different from a guitar
– that the bass and drums are part of the rhythm section
– that harmony is a thing in songs
– the guitars need to be tuned
– that guitar strings aren’t actually string like cloth strings
– that rock shows can be loud (the phrase “you can’t even imagine how loud it gets” was used)
– that opening bands are generally not as famous or popular as headliners at big shows
– how record players work (no real details, just that the song is “on the record” and gets “made into sound by a needle”)
– how the song 'Hey, Jude' goes
Dudes, I know. It’s my job to know."
"Telling me my amp is too tiny, to put my power supply underneath my pedal board."
"Once I was at a bar with my best friend who is also into music and music history. We were talking about proto punk bands from Detroit like The Stooges and MC5. We were discussing how not many people talk about influential Detroit bands were. This drunk man proceeds to butt into our conversation and say 'Listen; if it didn’t come out of the Bay Area or New York, it’s not punk.' We started to tell him we thought he was wrong and why, but he wasn’t having it. So we just started roasting him until he got the hint we didn’t want his input. But not before he told us he saw Weezer at Coachella."
"I’ve had a male artist explain to me what a cowbell is. A cowbell! Is it really necessary to explain to a writer an instrument that’s name is literally comprised of the two words that entirely describe the object?"
Michelle Zauner from Japanese Breakfast got mansplained on Twitter and responded with this fire comeback:
(Via Twitter)
And MOTHICA replied with her own DM...
"One challenge that has...annoyed me...over the years...There's a lot of mansplaining...you know...the sound guys... always a guy...They just don't trust you. They don't think that you know what you're talking about. Like you don't know you're technical jargon. And that can be really annoying"
One woman said on Facebook via "Fierce Femme Sounds" (https://m.facebook.com/watch/?v=218625982341186
Musicians Gracie and Rachel aired their grievances via Under the Radar:
Rachel: “Here’s the tech rider, which explains in full detail the sound we’re going for. Gracie’s the singer/pianist and I’m the violinist.”
Sound Engineer: “I love the violin!”
Rachel: “Me too!”
Sound Engineer: “You sing as well?”
Rachel: “Yes, I sing background harmonies, but really my voice is my violin and it should sit equal to the keyboard in the mix.”
Soundcheck commences and our violin-loving sound engineer puts the violin offensively low in the mix. It doesn’t happen just a few times, it happens almost every time. We try not to blame them. The idea of a string player being front and center with a minimal vocal role is a somewhat new format in the indie-pop scene. So we explain that. Repeatedly. But it is often a presumption that the sound person knows better than we do what we want and so it becomes a push and pull scenario with limited time to dial things in, making it harder to do our job the way we know it needs to be done.
On top of this frequent conflict, we have become accustomed to showing up to the gig and being presumed to be the opener when in fact we are not, and then have to ask repeatedly to have our name on the marquees next to our male counterpart’s name. Beyond the fact that we are women and have had to work a little harder, okay, a lot harder, to be represented fairly and accurately out there in this already-challenging field, we struggle with the common assumption that we don’t know what’s best for us. Mansplaining, you might say? Too often we come across these subtle yet divisive presumptions which sustain these disadvantaged ideologies.
(Read more: https://www.undertheradarmag.com/blog/soundtracking_the_resistance_-_gracie_and_rachel_on_music_industry_misogyny)
"A man asked me if I knew of Pink Floyd...at a Nick Mason show!"
And finally, "Do badly played Bon Iver songs before sex count?"
Yes, yes they do.
(Justin Timberlake as Bon Iver on SNL)
Did anyone ever try to tell you about George Thorogood?
hfjsjnfmsknfn This reminded me of the time I was showing my manager New Order for the first time at work (he had never heard of them). He opens up YouTube and happens to click on the video for Bizarre Love Triangle first. I immediately notice that they used the remix version for their music video, and say, “Huh, I guess I never noticed this was the remix.” He very smugly replies, “Uh, no, actually, this says ’Official Video.’” …. You’ve never even heard of the band dude, take the self confidence down a notch.