5 Things I hope to see & hear less of in 2012

2011 has ended. Now that it’s 2012 here are 5 things I hope to see & hear less of in 2012. They are, for lack of a better reason, things that just really pissed me off this year because they were constantly in my face and ears on account of they were considered popular. In 2012, I hope they go away.

1. Adele – Back in March of 2011 I was driving up to the Bay Area and I was listening to BBC Radio 1 and I heard Adele for the first time. I’ll admit, I liked her voice and her overall sound and then I dismissed her. That was until her album ‘21’ started blowing up Stateside and her voice was just about all I had heard. I began hearing ‘Rolling in the Deep’ on the Top 40 stations, then the easy listening ones, at baseball games, and finally on the local rock stations(?!). I’m sorry, what? I missed the part where Adele was considered rock. Now with ‘Someone Like You’ I’ve heard at least a snippet of it every single day as I tune my radio dial. I hate that song. The overexposure has caused me to hate Adele as well and it’s not because of anything she has done, it’s all on the radio/media’s part. I blame them completely. Now, there are a few Adele songs that I like, ‘Chasing Pavements’ being one of them, but you never hear that on the radio. Will Adele be less of a factor in 2012? Early on, no, but as the year progresses I’m sure the gushing love for her will wane and people will move on to the next big thing in pop music. God help us.

2. The Foo Fighters & Red Hot Chili Peppers – This one is more of a ‘I hope to hear less of these guys forever’ because let’s face it the amount of radio play these two bands get is ridiculous. Now that they each have a new album out I feel more inclined to listen to anything other than these bands when their songs play.

A. Let’s start with the Foo. I do enjoy a good Foo Fighters song, ‘Monkey Wrench’ and ‘Everlong’ immediately come to mind but there was a period when they churned out an album every 2-3 years but it felt like they never left. They would release a single then that would get played out and then another and then another and then another and then before you know it they have another album out with another single and another and the cycle kept repeating and it came to a point where I just said ENOUGH! ALL OF IT SOUNDS THE SAME!! How do these guys keep winning Grammy’s when their sound has not evolved? I’m annoyed as all get out and to top it all off they just released another album and, what feels like, three singles all at once in ‘Walk’, ‘Rope’, and ‘These Days’. Ugh, go away already. Less is more. I appreciate the break you took between your last album in 2007 until now but c’mon, I’m sick of it.

B. RHCP. My freshman year in college I lived down the hall from a guy who would play his bass along with the Chili Peppers and at first I didn’t mind, but then I found out that all he played along with and listened to was the Chili Peppers. Couple that with the release of their double-album ‘Stadium Arcadium’ (ugh) and you have the perfect storm for me to begin to loathe the Chili Peppers for life. Like the Foo Fighters, they have a new album out and also like them I hate the songs they play on the radio. ‘Rain Dance Maggie’ is a perfect example of this mainly because it’s a gibberish title, which is what they are about, but I that song is just plain awful. I’m sick of the Chili Peppers and their jumble of words to make rhymes about California. I get it you’re from Los Angeles, congratulations, just let me enjoy ‘Californication’ and ‘Blood Sugar Sex Magik’ and leave me be. I don’t want new Chili Peppers and the constant play of their new crap has lessened my liking of their classics because I’m tired of their sound. By the way, I used to like the Chili Peppers. Used to.

3. Food Trucks – It’s convenient (if you can find it)! It’s fast (sometimes)! It’s gourmet (but causes heartburn)! It’s fusion (because no one else puts Mexican & German food together for a reason)! It’s a damn food truck. These things popped up everywhere over the last year with menus ranging from macaroni & cheese to lobster and sometimes both. Food trucks need to go away. I don’t want to stand in a line in the rain or in the hot sun waiting for a sweaty guy or girl to make me a bleu cheese and bacon slider when I could be sitting down in a restaurant with air conditioning and having a sweaty guy or girl make the exact same thing. That, and I don’t want to have to drive somewhere different every time to get food I like. Contribute to the local economy, buy some real estate and open up shop. Until then, stay off my streets.

4. Angry Birds – ‘WTF is an Angry Bird?’ is a question I asked my friend one day and he showed me a game – not on his phone (because he doesn’t have the game) but a video clip of it. Damn, that shit is annoying. I can see how it’s addicting but I am tired of seeing those Angry Birds everywhere. From Pistachio ads to iPhone/iPod ads to t-shirts and plush toys I cannot escape them. Hopefully 2012 brings a different kind of bird flu.

5. Pop-House Music Fusion – I’m a fan of House music and I tend to like some Pop songs but lately, and especially in 2011, there was an influx of pop stars collaborating with DJ’s to create songs with catchy beats and house influences that instantly become hits because they are easily accessible. Whether it’s Rihanna (feat. Calvin Harris) ‘We Found Love’ or Flo Rida’s ‘Good Feeling’ it’s all over the place and tainting the water supply that is good House music. If you want to listen to good House music try Vitalic or Junior Jack. The stuff they play on the radio is easily digestible and instantly forgettable. Here’s to hoping 2012 fades out this Pop-House trend.

Will these disappear or lessen in prominence 2012? Probably not. But a guy can hope can’t he?