The Songs We Loathe

[Asher]

Do you know one of us in real life?

I'm not as extreme as you, and i think i've mentioned it before, but i've been told by both my GP as a teenager and the psychiatrist i had for a bit in my late teens that i was somewhere on the spectrum. It really shouldnt surprise anyone here

[Asher]

Actually, I think I'd better elaborate, jacking my own thread or not. I generally refrain from letting it be known I'm an Aspie to people IRL until I've already gotten to know them very well. This is not because I'm ashamed of it--I'm not--but...how shall I explain?

The popularization of psychology has led people to think that the label of a disorder is a much more powerful thing than it really is. Shrinks think of AS (or pretty much anything else) as a set of behaviors which are observed together to varying degrees in certain people. The tenuousness of diagnoses which many critics of psychology deplore is just a natural reflection of human individuality. This, to my way of thinking, ought to be encouraged. I've met a number of other Aspies, and there's remarkable diversity among us with regards to even the most basic things. And just so you know, I first had Imagine quoted at me by a dude on an Aspie Pride forum I dropped in on (then left almost immediately, because I found the mix of self-righteousness and self-pity nauseating).

Laypeople, by contrast, have an aggravating tendency to regard a diagnosis as a convenient box to keep people in to avoid dealing with them as people. Once they have the name, every action runs the risk of being viewed through that lens and discarded, as though "the Aspergers" is a little goblin on my shoulder who occasionally overrides normal human behavior. So my objection here is not the implication that I am Spock (tiresome as that impression is), but the way that you, Asher, have almost unconsciously elected to use the diagnosis as a weapon. I don't like a song you like, and I have Aspergers, so what you would ascribe to bad taste or listening to the wrong version or missing the message in a normal person, in me is most likely just a case of my being too socially retarded to appreciate it.

Of course, the reason you feel that way is because you're gay, and homosexuals are so wrapped up in their own memories of teenage awakening that they don't understand how other people feel.

I've went to schoo lwith and worked with a couple fairly extreme aspies, and im probably on the specturm myself (not as extreme as you), and I wasnt trying to be offensive. frequently the aspeis miss the emotional subtext, that'sall.

[Asher]

I tried but failed to find a thread I started a long time ago. at least I think i started it here. It was about how much I hated small talk. I really realy hated it. Like anxiety related stupidity about it.

I've built all kinds of coping mechanisms over the years that make social communication for me a far more cerebral activity it is for most people (i actually map out and try to predict dialog trees in my head in real time so im rarely put on the spot to answer something iv'e not prepared for). I also actively monitor my eye contact and regulate it such to be warm but not creepy.

As a result of such much active thought in my social situations i've gotten quite good at it. it's why I nail job interviews - every conversation i have is probably like a job interview for most people in that they need to very carefully analyze the whole discussion and respond appropriate with 'correct' answers

I'm not sure if this makes any sense to anyone but me

People mistake me all the time now for charismatic and gregarious in person (seriously) but it's only because i'm skilled at deception and playing a role and saying what people want to hear and talk about

[Asher]

Back when I was really young they didn't ever really diagnose aspergers of any kind but I had to see a bunch of specialists for what turns out to be early symptoms.

[SlowwHand]

You should be a spy.

[Asher]

I thought I talked about CSIS before. that's one of the reasons why they were interested actually. people on the spectrum pay frequently extreme amounts of detail to the environment so they can cerebrally process cues most people subconsciously deal with. it's actually a great trait for analysts

They werent trying to recruit me as a spy-spy though. Though that may be fun, it woudlnt be right for me. I've got anxiety issues with change and unfamiliar surroundings and breaks from habit/routine

[Heresson]

I dislike True Colours. This song annoys me. I also hated I believe I can Fly. Not that they are so bad, but they're cheesy beyond extent. They're still much much better than 99,9999% of hip hop/rap etc.

[SlowwHand]

Better than most hip hop/rap? That's a really high bar to clear.

[Asher]

SugaR ray -- all awful

[Elok]

Eric Clapton

Hey, he was the essential third member of Cream. That's something. I mean, do you like their cover of "Crossroads?" And as for Asperger's, as somebody diagnosed with it, let me tell you, there's something to it. I don't regard it as something "wrong" with me as such, but there is something that makes me different from the usual.

Asher, you do realize you have no way of knowing how extreme a case I am, right?

[Saras]

Imagine is a John Lennon song, not a Beatles song.

QFT. Christ, Elok...


edit: Everyone seems to think "Octopus's Garden" is the worst song on Abbey Road, but that's just wrong. This is the worst song on Abbey Road...



**** you, Lennon.

And **** you, Yoko, for somehow sneaking this piece of **** onto The Beatles: Rock Band.

Covers better than originals -

[Tuberski]

SugaR ray -- all awful

10 seconds down is a decent song.



ACK!

[Tuberski]

Any song by any American Idol winner.

ACK!

[SlowwHand]

Carrie Underwood?

[Drake Tungsten]

Asher, you do realize you have no way of knowing how extreme a case I am, right?

Dude, you don't like "Layla" or "Something". That's pretty damn extreme.