"You probably haven't heard of it"

[ImBigBob]

I see this phrase get tossed around a bunch by people making fun of hipsters (I haven't actually met any hipsters, so I have no idea how accurate it actually is). In that context, it's a way of feigning superiority, since if something is popular to the masses, then it must be generic.

However, I've found myself saying the phrase a lot simply because most people HAVEN'T heard of the shows, games, movies I like. And it's frustrating. I mention I'm into video games, so people ask me what my favorite game is. When I say it's Persona 4, they have no idea what it is. If I say it's a role-playing game, they have no idea what it is. And to someone who barely plays games, I have zero point of reference, except for comparing it to Final Fantasy, which is waaaaaay oversimplifying it. And hell, I've met people who've never heard of Final Fantasy.

Of course, it goes the other way, too. A coworker asked me if I liked Call of Duty, I say no. One of them asked me if I was too "cool" for Call of Duty. No, I just think it's a crap series. Popularity hasn't stopped me from liking The Avengers or Gangnam Style. But people make assumptions about me because they haven't heard of whatever I like.

Thank god for conventions, which seem to be the only place where I can tell someone I like MLP and no one bats an eye.

 

[DugMachine]

Yeah pretty much same boat. When asked if I game I say PC and you know the only game on PC is WoW. Yup, that's the only one.

...I mean I did play the shit out of that game for 6 years but that's besides the point >_>

 

[Shadowstar38]

Friend: Hey Shadow. What are you doing after school?

Shadow: Going to play some Magic the Gathering with a couple guys.

Friend: What the hell is that?

Shadow: 0______0

BULLSHIT!

 

[Mel Theofficegamergirl]

My entire web series is based on retro games people probably never heard about. Obscure games that were never ported over, etc. I don't usually bring them up in normal conversation though.

When people ask about my taste in music...well I have eclectic taste to say the least. It's all over the place. Yeah, a lot of bands they've never heard of and a few that they do. I never use that line though. Also, I'm NOT a hipster...just someone who enjoys seeking new and unusual things to experience and share.

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

When asked if I game I say PC and you know the only game on PC is WoW.

Yeah, I hate going to EB, too.

 

[The Wykydtron]

Yeah I get that whenever I say Persona 4 is my favourite game ever. It's annoying since you can't explain the plot without massively oversimplying it and making sound horrible in summary.

Try it, it just doesn't work.

I get this over some anime/manga as well, not that I read some super obscure MLG amazingness all the time but i'll say that my favourite manga is The World God Only Knows and my favourite anime is probably Code Geass. Which is best described as the mainstream of the not-quite-mainstream.

I'm watching Angel Beats now (on episode 3, looks pretty promising) solely because one guy said something about it on a recommendation thread. THE OPENING IS SO HYPE!


It's literally just Angel playing a piano... HOW IS IT SO GOOD?!

 

[klown]

I do it a lot with music, because I listen to a lot of European bands, and I am in a State where people think no music ever could come from other country.

"Oh what are you listening too?"
"Die Toten Hosen"
"Who are they?"
"A German punk rock band"
"Did they start in America?"
"No..."
"Then how could they be punk rock"

This is when I stop responding and walk away.

 

[axlryder]

Yeah I get that whenever I say Persona 4 is my favourite game ever. It's annoying since you can't explain the plot without massively oversimplying it and making sound horrible in summary.

Try it, it just doesn't work.

I get this over some anime/manga as well, not that I read some super obscure MLG amazingness all the time but i'll say that my favourite manga is The World God Only Knows and my favourite anime is probably Code Geass. Which is best described as the mainstream of the not-quite-mainstream.

I'm watching Angel Beats now (on episode 3, looks pretty promising) solely because one guy said something about it on a recommendation thread. THE OPENING IS SO HYPE!


It's literally just Angel playing a piano... HOW IS IT SO GOOD?!

that bit of animation at 1:16 is very nice. One of the things I love about anime is how evocative simple actions feel when they're animated and framed in a certain way that you just don't get in other types of animation. Of course, the indulgent use of flare and glow effects don't hurt either. Nice use of color too.

as to the OP: generally I just say something is obscure, so people know they probably haven't heard of it without me having to explicitly point it out. Outside of that I simply avoid talking about things I KNOW they wouldn't have heard of, but sometimes it's fun when people surprise you. Just the other day my very "preppy" female co-worker and I had a conversation about how we used to watch Murder She Wrote as kids.

 

[Vault101]

I have to say that to most people in regards to what music I like

one of my favorite films is Muriels wedding which I'm sure many non-autralians have not heard of

 

[Mark D. Stroyer]

Seeing as I happen to be an Internetter, a Paragon of nerd culture living in Middle of Nowhere, TX, I run into the problem...basically for everything. So I simply revel in obscurity.

I play Magic, I listen to Progressive Rock, watch Sci-Fi, reference Classical philosophy and ancient literature next to Scott Pilgrim, I can diatribe on everything from transmissions to superheroes to quantum physics, and I wear an N7 hoodie and/or SR2 hat everywhere that are never recognized, with shoes bearing Stephanie Brown colours just because I like it.

Even guns only connects with half the audience.

So I've been doing this a long time.


Something being popular doesn't mean it's good. Something being popular doesn't mean it's bad. It just means that perceptions of it are exaggerated.

 

[Stasisesque]

one of my favorite films is Muriels wedding which I'm sure many non-autralians have not heard of

That's quite a big film in the UK, or at least it was 15 years ago. Strictly Ballroom too. I think it helps that Muriel's Wedding is "the other ABBA film" and ABBA's pretty huge worldwide.

OT: I don't think I've ever heard myself say, "You've probably never heard of it," though I find myself explaining in depth where people would have heard/seen/played whatever it is I'm mentioning. There are a lot of bands I've never heard of, but I might have heard their music.

Perhaps because my tastes lie in classics, and classics are pretty well known. That said, I like my obscure knowledge as one of my favourite TV shows is Pointless, a game show dedicated to obscure facts.

 

[Chairman Miaow]

I have to say that to most people in regards to what music I like

one of my favorite films is Muriels wedding which I'm sure many non-autralians have not heard of

My girlfriend and I watched that recently. Really? Favourite? REALLY?

 

[repeating integers]

I do it a lot with music, because I listen to a lot of European bands, and I am in a State where people think no music ever could come from other country.

"Oh what are you listening too?"
"Die Toten Hosen"
"Who are they?"
"A German punk rock band"
"Did they start in America?"
"No..."
"Then how could they be punk rock"

This is when I stop responding and walk away.

...

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but didn't Punk start off as a British thing?

Even if it didn't, I can't fathom how anyone could say something like that. I'm not a logical guy, but that's... nonsensical. Owaddafuq?

I actually do have superior taste in music (especially compared to The Escapist, seriously you guys) but that's not why I say that.

Because (as you frequently boast) you visit websites full of other people who also think they have superior taste in music?

I say it because, a lot of the time, it's true.

But it pisses me off when people use it for things that are obvious. On a few occasions on this forum I've seen things like "Ty Segall, you probably haven't heard of him" or "Porcupine Tree, you probably haven't heard of them". Guys? That's kinda like saying "Kylie Minogue, you probably haven't heard of her." If you're going to lord over me with your esoteric tastes at least double check that they're actually esoteric.

I dunno - of those two "obscure" artists, I haven't heard of the first one and know little about the second(though I'm always in the mood for new stuff, what're they like?). But hey, we live in a world where a lot of people haven't heard of things like the Arctic Monkeys - let's face it, us interwebz-freaks may have heard of them, but to the rest of the world they are esoteric.

On an unrelated note, have you heard of Sparklehorse or Doctor Steel? I like those guys, it'd be nice to find someone else who knows of them.

I play Magic, I listen to Progressive Rock, watch Sci-Fi, reference Classical philosophy and ancient literature next to Scott Pilgrim, I can diatribe on everything from transmissions to superheroes to quantum physics, and I wear an N7 hoodie and/or SR2 hat everywhere that are never recognized, with shoes bearing Stephanie Brown colours just because I like it.

Wow. I want to punch you in the neck. I mean, I know I'm not Mr. Likeable, and I can live with that. Part of being a douchebag means that my standards for quality are lowered. But even with that you failed to pass the test. I barely even know why. Those things, individually, aren't so bad (okay "I can diatribe on everything" is pretty bad). But altogether they spell out "Neck Punchable".

Come on, dude. You trying to get banned or something?

 

[Vault101]

] My girlfriend and I watched that recently. Really? Favourite? REALLY?

..............yeah?

we got a problem here?

 

[JonnyHG]

I actually do have superior taste in music (especially compared to The Escapist, seriously you guys) but that's not why I say that. I say it because, a lot of the time, it's true.

You're joking, right? You know that taste in music is subjective....right?

 

[Benni88]

You can turn "You probably haven't heard of it" into "They're/it's not very well known".

That way you save yourself the audacity of assuming that the other party doesn't know what you're on about, whilst retaining the description of the article at hand.

 

[floppylobster]

] My girlfriend and I watched that recently. Really? Favourite? REALLY?

..............yeah?

we got a problem here?

The mother figure in that movie is so tragic. It's a good film ("non-Australian" speaking).

But to add my own - for ages I've been trying to get anyone to respond to mentions of "Lock's Quest" on Nintendo DS and "Little King's Story" on the Wii. Has anyone played them? Anyone heard of them?



EDIT - Just to add to that - "Lock's Quest" was nominated by GameSpot for "Best Game No One Played".

And EDGE Magazine gave Little King's Story 9/10 (not that they're a bastion of good gaming reviews but they don't give out 9 easily). 37,000 units sold in North America.

 

[JdaS]

I do it a lot with music, because I listen to a lot of European bands, and I am in a State where people think no music ever could come from other country.

"Oh what are you listening too?"
"Die Toten Hosen"
"Who are they?"
"A German punk rock band"
"Did they start in America?"
"No..."
"Then how could they be punk rock"

This is when I stop responding and walk away.

Wow... Just... I don't even...

I have this problem with music. Punk makes my dick rock hard and as I delve deeper and deeper into the genre the bands I listen to become more and more obscure. I have a friend who's less inclined to look for new music, so when I berate his penchant for watered-down, MTV-approved baby's first punkster bands, I'm automatically a "hipster elitist".

Then there's the ACTUAL hipsters who come to me at parties/shows/bars to comment on my shirts.

"Hey dude, Descendents, totally cool, yeah! Skate punk's where its at!"

Wanted to kick him in the back of the head.