A Little Bit Country

At the moment I'm not drinking. It would seem strange for me not to use alcohol as a way of integrating into my new surroundings, but I've decided to go with good old-fashioned charm instead. There are actually three legitimate reasons to me currently being a teetotaller. Firstly, as I have aged the after-effects of drinking have become a little too painful for my fragile body to handle. I'm fully aware that I shall be deemed weak for this and I am prepared to take your mockery.
Secondly, not being employed at present I feel it necessary to protect my savings. Again, with age comes sensibility. And thirdly, and probably the more important reason is that I have no idea which beer to drink. Coming from a country where beer consumption is completely divided upon both regional and sub-cultural lines, being concerned about choosing the correct beer is an instinct. I'm unsure whether a similar cultural practise occurs in Canada, but at present I don't want to take this risk. I think it is fair to say that most Quebecois would prefer a beer brewed locally, however I am still left in doubt about which is the beer of my sub-cultural peers. I guess this requires further investigation.
At the present though I seem to be functioning quite well without alcohol. This evening I went to see Alt.Country poster-boy M Ward. I must stress that my attendance of the gig was purely for social reasons. My friend Ed from Melbourne was going to be there, as were friends of my flatmate who live a few streets over from us. I have little time for this sort of music. Whenever I see Uncut magazine I let out an audible groan of disdain. There are certain rules I have for my musical consumption - I don't like old music. I don't like music made by bands who listen to old music. I don't like music made by people who wear shorts. I don't like music made by people who come from regions of the world that don't have 4 seasons. But most of all I don't like Country music (Alt. or otherwise). I hate the sound of harmonicas. I hate the sound of lap-steel guitars. There is no aspect of my life, or context I would find myself in, where this music could be deemed appropriate. It says nothing to me about my life (and yes I realise the irony of quoting The Smiths when I said I didn't like old music. There are exceptions). This could seem like urban snobbery on my part, and well, it is. If we don't look down on our less sophisticated brethren how will they ever know how to vote properly, what fleeting trends to follow and where to find a good Oriental/Peruvian restaurant? Despite recognising the flaws in my ideology I have no desire to change. I think my musical taste is broad enough to escape any accusations of narrow-mindedness.
That said, I didn't hate the M Ward gig as much as I thought I would. I didn't change my thinking, but didn't reinforce it either. I did have a good time chatting to my friends though, and as that was the point of the exercise I think the evening could be deemed a success.