My wife absolutely adores ye olde shit-tonne of things that are unbelievably dorky. But I adore her, and she tolerates all the things I like that are unbelievably dorky.

Every single person I knew that listened to RATM in the mid-90s was an angsty teenager, myself included. None of us were tossing molotov cocktails and the WTO or arming rebels in South America. We were sububan white kids empowered by Zach De La Roca screaming “FUCK YOU I WON’T DO WHAT YOU TELL ME”, which in our cases…

To Bring You My Love was my first PJ album too. I like Rid Of Me better now, but I think The Dancer will always be my favorite song.

That’s exactly right. The idea of finding someone whose tastes overlap entirely with your own is a fantasy, and finding a connection and love with another person is about so much more than entertainment choices. The “demean someone else for what they like” instinct is just mean-spirited and is revealing about that…

This whole article smacks of internalized misogyny. 

Because a narcissist wants to control all of your reality. Anything that you enjoy that does not involve them, is a threat. They want to be your only source of joy. If you were to enjoy reading all by yourself, that would give you * gasp!* a piece of emotional independence. They can’t have that! You’re theirs. You…

Girl, same. My ex husband still tries to control my happiness, lately it’s telling the kids that I could only buy the new SUV I just bought (first vehicle I have ever bought completely on my own, at 34 years old!) because of him. I don’t talk about him to them, but this time I had to set that record straight.

People like that are actually incapable of being loving partners. They feel that they are inherently better than you. They seek to control & demean to make them feel better about themselves. It’s a warning sign. Stay away from them. 

RatM has some really good songs though. Killing In The Name of DEFINITELY holds up, and is verrrrrry relevant. Also, the thing I dislike about the ‘angsty’ label, is that you’re saying that the anger felt was disingenuous, not real, or not justified. Sure that may be true of some of the fans, but Zach De La Rocha…

Yes, making fun is one thing but why the need to make you feel bad about liking an artist, writer, show, movie, etc.

I’m sorry the person you were when you were younger embarrasses you so much now, but that does not make this album bad, it makes your perspective shallow.

This is why they are now exes. Everyone should be allowed to have whatever dumb likes & hobbies they want to. It’s one thing to lovingly poke fun at a partners interest for which you simply cannot comprehend the appeal. It’s something else entirely to be demeaning to the point of shame.

My stupid ex did the same to me, even reading now makes me feel stupid.

I kind of wish those little girls had a cool older sister or aunt who would have hooked them up with Liz Phair instead, but Alanis is definitely better than the mediocre, “be quiet and smile more” conformist nonsense that’s otherwise pushed on women.

Same here - I have a lot of respect for Alanis Morrisette, but I have absolutely thought her music was garbage from day one. I was already a fan of PJ Harvey, and Rid of Me was such a work of genius. Like, if you need raw music that still holds up, from a brilliant woman artist, start working on her discography.

I saw a picture of PJ in a pink catsuit in the pages of Spin magazine. I had no idea who she was, she just looked really cool and badass. So I bought To Bring You My Love and that was it for me, I fell in love. Never heard anything like it before.  Kind of makes me wish I could go back and listen to it for the first…

There are very few albums from this era that hold up.

Girl. No. This is a bad take and you should feel bad about it.

Is it possible your husband ruined it for you with his attitude?  My ex made me hate things I loved by ridiculing me/them.  

I never liked her music though her aesthetic was cool. Try some Kristen Hersh or PJ Harvey!