2008 Woodie Awards
Stop whining about Gaelstock
Adrian Garro
Issue date: 5/1/07 Section: Opinion
Every year I hear it, and this year has been the worst of my four years here.
"Ew, they got (insert band here) for Gaelstock? That sucks!"
No matter who it has been, be it Rooney, Cake, Pepper, or this year's Phantom Planet, the resounding buzz I hear around the halls and from my friends is an annoying whine, as if people are surprised SMC wasn't able to get U2 or Kanye to play at the football practice field.
Seriously, people, what do you expect? Fall Out Boy? Better start saving up, $250,000 is a lot of money. The Fray? Nope, they are too busy playing cavernous venues such as at the Bill Graham Civic. The reality is that Saint Mary's, and especially Program Board, do not have enough money to get someone that everyone would love.
Therein lies the problem: there is not an artist or band that every single SMC student would like. To expect that would be ridiculous. And considering that students routinely get hammered the weekend of Gaelstock, it doesn't matter if Diamond Dave was up there playing "Smack That" or if someone plugged an iPod into a Mac and hit "shuffle". The drunk kids would still have a blast.
If you do not approve of bands like Phantom Planet or Pepper, then don't bother going to the show. The complaining and ignorant condemnation of Program Board is what bothers me. Expecting them to be able to get a "huge" band is just stupid.
One frequent thing I hear during the whining sessions concerns the "Well I pay $50,000 bucks to be here, use that to get someone good!" tirade. That also is not a solid argument, since that money, while astronomically high, is not allocated for events such as Gaelstock. I am sure people would much rather keep a few extra thousand dollars than pay it to have some flash-in-the-pan two-hit wonder play behind a fence in a grass field at Gaelstock.
Sure, Phantom Planet may not be anyone's first choice for this year's Gaelstock band, but oh well. Despite the O.C. song that everyone either loves or hates, the band actually has some decent music. Get past the whole O.C. thing and give the band a chance. I bet they themselves do not like to be pigeonholed as the "O.C. theme song" band, so do not encourage that. Give them a chance; you might like what you hear.
So stop the needless and pointless complaining.
Get over it.
If you think you can change things, join Program Board and find out just how it all works before arbitrarily pointing fingers and being negative. It really does not matter who plays the show, since people go just as something to do. For those of you who go to see a good show, enjoy. And for those of you who do not want to go, don't. It's your choice.
Just stop whining about it.
"Ew, they got (insert band here) for Gaelstock? That sucks!"
No matter who it has been, be it Rooney, Cake, Pepper, or this year's Phantom Planet, the resounding buzz I hear around the halls and from my friends is an annoying whine, as if people are surprised SMC wasn't able to get U2 or Kanye to play at the football practice field.
Seriously, people, what do you expect? Fall Out Boy? Better start saving up, $250,000 is a lot of money. The Fray? Nope, they are too busy playing cavernous venues such as at the Bill Graham Civic. The reality is that Saint Mary's, and especially Program Board, do not have enough money to get someone that everyone would love.
Therein lies the problem: there is not an artist or band that every single SMC student would like. To expect that would be ridiculous. And considering that students routinely get hammered the weekend of Gaelstock, it doesn't matter if Diamond Dave was up there playing "Smack That" or if someone plugged an iPod into a Mac and hit "shuffle". The drunk kids would still have a blast.
If you do not approve of bands like Phantom Planet or Pepper, then don't bother going to the show. The complaining and ignorant condemnation of Program Board is what bothers me. Expecting them to be able to get a "huge" band is just stupid.
One frequent thing I hear during the whining sessions concerns the "Well I pay $50,000 bucks to be here, use that to get someone good!" tirade. That also is not a solid argument, since that money, while astronomically high, is not allocated for events such as Gaelstock. I am sure people would much rather keep a few extra thousand dollars than pay it to have some flash-in-the-pan two-hit wonder play behind a fence in a grass field at Gaelstock.
Sure, Phantom Planet may not be anyone's first choice for this year's Gaelstock band, but oh well. Despite the O.C. song that everyone either loves or hates, the band actually has some decent music. Get past the whole O.C. thing and give the band a chance. I bet they themselves do not like to be pigeonholed as the "O.C. theme song" band, so do not encourage that. Give them a chance; you might like what you hear.
So stop the needless and pointless complaining.
Get over it.
If you think you can change things, join Program Board and find out just how it all works before arbitrarily pointing fingers and being negative. It really does not matter who plays the show, since people go just as something to do. For those of you who go to see a good show, enjoy. And for those of you who do not want to go, don't. It's your choice.
Just stop whining about it.