Indefense Of Mediocrity

In the last couple of days, while driving around, I have been listening more than usual to KBCO, Boulder's homegrown major radio station.

It's an occasionally-infuriating experience. I can get past the obligatory hourly Bob Marley song, which apparently proves that Boulder, despite being a city full of white folks, is...I don't know. Hip? With it? Okay with black people, and their "black culture"? Who knows. Anyhow, I can deal with that.

But, one night, I heard 'Birdhouse in Your Soul', which I'm pretty sure I've only ever heard on a college radio station before. This was followed up by Cake's 'Going the Distance', which made for a truly sublime twofer, at least as far as I am concerned. After that, though, came one of those songs that send a shiver to your soul. I don't know what it was. It sounded like it was someone who wanted to sound like Jamiroquai, only it wasn't Jamiroquai, because it really, truly, sucked. And when I say 'sucked', I mean 'sucked, in such a way that repeated exposure to this song would definitely qualify as an 'enhanced interrogation technique' for the Bush Administration.'

I was a little disappointed, but it led me to thinking a bit. I'm sure that there is someone out there who has a similar opinion about TMBG. For that matter, although I have trouble imagining it, I'm sure there's someone who thinks Cake ought to be used to break Osama Bin-Laden, if ever we catch him. And, probably, since at least one, if not both, of those people have absolutely horrible taste in music, at least one of them probably really liked 'wannabe Jamiroquai.'

And that's the point. Sort of. As someone who fancies himself somewhat of a snob in certain matters (beer, food, coffee), I believe there is a serious downside to globalization and mass commercialization. The single thing that massive corporations seek to provide at every point is a consistent experience. Starbucks wants to give you a good cup of coffee, but almost more important is that, every time you go to any Starbucks, anywhere in the world, you get the same cup of coffee.

That consistency is a major selling point of the big chains, but its also a drawback. The only way to ensure that level of consistency is to aim a bit lower. Obviously, making the best of anything is hard - if it was easy, everyone would do it. So, it takes extra effort, extra money, to be the best. And, sometimes, you'll miss, because it's hard to be the best all the time. And sometimes, the risks you have to take to try and be the best fail horribly, and you end up well below average.

So, to ensure that consistency, you can't aim to be the best.

Sometimes, you can try to be very good. And, indeed, Starbucks makes a fine cup of coffee. But it will never be the very best. For my money, I'd rather visit a local shop. Sometimes, you'll end up with a lousy cup of coffee. But, once in a while, you'll get something truly sublime, the sort of thing you'll never get in a Starbucks.

Much the same with KBCO. They try and be unique, and interesting. Sometimes, their tastes will overlap with yours, and you'll absolutely love it. Sometimes, they'll be completely the opposite, and you'll hate it.

But, considering that the alternative is the direction radio is rapidly heading - a monotonous landscape of dreary stations playing the same, dull, 50-song playlist - I'll take KBCO any day.