Thursday

No culture-merge

There are 2 distinct stages of relationship culture-merge:

1. You agree to like what the other person likes just to stay in the sunshine of their admiration. Sometimes you end up with an appreciation for the other person's cultural icon ("I love Jonathan Richman."), but sometimes you're just saying you do ("I love Hal Hartley films.").

2. You've decided to cement your lives together and you're combining the collection:

"We both have copies of 'Rain Dogs'. Let's take this one" (your old, ratty lp) "to Goodwill."

I'm not saying all books, records, cds and movies have significance, but the idea that one person has a collection of more significance than the other ... well, it's a slippery slope. Maybe it was the first time you heard Tom Waits and you remember how it took over your head, and, sure, the cd is going to sound a lot better than the lp, but it was the scratchy sounds of the lp that changed your life, not the superior bass and treble of the cd.

I'm just saying that when it comes to the point where you have these decisions to make and you're faced with the need to justify your feelings about a record/book/cd ("But that Warren Zevon record really did cure my migraines") you end up feeling both selfish and ridiculous, and, honestly, who needs that?