This article has been imported from chorus.fm for discussion. All of the forum rules still apply. Harry Styles dropped this quote in a recent interview with Rolling Stone when asked about his fan base: Asked if he spends pressure-filled evenings worried about proving credibility to an older crowd, Styles grows animated. “Who’s to say that young girls who like pop music—short for popular, right?—have worse musical taste than a 30-year-old hipster guy? That’s not up to you to say. Music is something that’s always changing. There’s no goal posts. Young girls like the Beatles. You gonna tell me they’re not serious? How can you say young girls don’t get it? They’re our future. Our future doctors, lawyers, mothers, presidents, they kind of keep the world going. Teenage-girl fans—they don’t lie. If they like you, they’re there. They don’t act ‘too cool.’ They like you, and they tell you. Which is sick. All Time Low’s Alex Gaskarth tweeted his agreement. When I was younger I was way too self-concious about the kind of music I liked and told my friends I liked. I was constantly afraid of being made fun of or called names. I felt judged if my pop-punk bands were too “pop,” so god forbid I tell anyone I liked Madonna or The Bangles. It’s great to see more artists speaking out about this, because we have to break this stigma that if young women like a band that’s somehow worthy of criticism. Expand - View Original
Good post. I got a TON of shit from my punk/hardcore friends that I was in a band with when I mentioned I really enjoyed Lydia, at the time of "Always Move Fast" becoming popular. I think the exact quote was "Dude, that shit is for girls."
Imma repeat my public service announcement and say that anyone who is digging Harry's solo stuff should check out the last few 1D albums. Srsly his quote is personified just by all the people surprised about what his solo stuff sounds like, even tho that influence has been apparent in their music for a while. So many people never gave the boyband thing a chance but if you listen to Happily, Through The Dark, or Walking in the Wind and still dont vibe with it idk what to tell you!! Where do Broken Hearts Go too! Even if someone doesn't jam to 1D, I don't think Harry's solo stuff is that far off from it. Seems like a natural progression
Teenage girls catch a lot of shit for doing normal things like being music fans. There are probably more than a few young girls who read this article and felt that their musical taste was validated for the first time. That's really, really cool.
All of the replies I typed up to this sound like stan trash lmao, so I'll just say idk what that has to do with anything he said and... no? Around Midnight Memories they took more control of their music and image but they've never claimed complete control
I wish someone would've explained this stuff to me much earlier. I feel like a lot of people miss out on meaningful relationships with music and people because of the concern over these types of labels. This quote is Fantastic and made me feel like my daughter and son are growing up in a better, safer world than I did, which is great.
This is the kind of thing I really would've liked to hear as a teenage girl. The stigma of being a music fan while young and female never changed the music I chose to listen to but it did influence how I thought about myself and my ability to think critically about music. Idk I'm not a 1D fan, never listened to this dudes solo stuff, but even now that I'm grown I really appreciate him saying this.
Great quote. I can't stand people acting like young girls being excited and passionate about something is shameful or somehow devalues it.
They're the ones in line early for the show, buying merch, asking for pictures, singing all the words, jumping up and down having fun. That's amazing.
Harry's statement reminds me of a bit from this rolling stone article, an interview with Julian Bunetta who did a lot of the writing on Made in the A.M.: I think it's really encouraging and assuring to see that a lot of the people who are involved with the 1D machine all seem to share this idea that it's really nobody's business what someone enjoys and they're not going to compromise what they're making just because it might not be regarded as "cool" on the whole. It makes people happy, that's what they want to do, end of. I am armed with Bunetta's quote at all times, ready to pull it out whenever someone raises their eyebrows and says, "wait, you like Pinegrove, Arctic Monkeys, and One Direction?" Yes, I do. And now I have two quotes at the ready.
Admittedly I more or less used to have the same mindset as the one Harry is criticizing. I mean... this place use to be a breeding ground for that mentality. Good on him.
I love him. I was fairly fan-girly to some bands growing up, but I always had his mindset. I didn't really care what anybody else said, music was the one insecurity I didn't have for whatever reason. I don't think there is anything wrong with being passionate and overly excited about a band or musician.
1D was never appealed that much to me, but I am digging/semi-excited about Harry's solo stuff (I enjoyed Zayn's debut for the most part), so I think I may take your advice here. Also, the cover story was a really cool read.
I personally really enjoy the band Walk The Moon. I asked a friend if he'd like to go with me to their show and he said no because they seem like a "girly" band. I just don't understand why it has to be that way. Yes, there was a ton of younger girls there, but I don't feel any less of a person for enjoying their music because of that.
It depends what you want tbh! Their first two albums I think are kinda the boyband cliches. I love boybands so I like them, but those albums are more bubblegum pop and fun that way. Midnight memories is where the rock influence starts (some songs more directly influenced than others lol). I think FOUR is their best work tho! The bonus tracks off Made in the AM are also solid.