While I was away, eye magazine managed to sneak in this article about Asshole Chic -- Toronto indie record stores are apparently soaking in it. First of all, you do have a choice if you're an indie music fan in Toronto. You don't have to directly deal with anyone if you don't want to. I rarely do. No offense to any of the nice people who work in these stores, but most of the time I'm not there on a pleasure trip. Music buying for me is quite often a business trip. I know what I'm looking for and I know where to find it. Surgical strike completed, I pay and I'm gone. Even if I'm just browsing, I want to be alone while doing so. I won't take the time to stop and chat. And guess what? Just as sometimes I don't want to talk with the staff, I wouldn't expect them to always want to talk with me. Does this coldness make me an asshole too? Am I so far into my own introspective Asshole Chic that it makes me an unpleasant presence in their stores? I highly doubt it. So, is there a double standard here? If the consumers are assholes, then it's OK because the customer is paying the money, wants his or her money's worth, wants quality, the customer is always right. If the staff are assholes, then it's not OK because being an asshole isn't OK. Huh?

I've never experienced firsthand dissing via Asshole Chic. Not one time ever. I'd chalk it up to my taste in music being impeccable and impervious to such scorn, but then I'd be guilty of asshole chic and that's not what I'm trying to do here. I'm not saying it doesn't happen because I've seen it happen to others, and I've also seen the insults start flying once the customer left the store, so I've no reason to assume this hasn't happened with me too. But why should I care? Do I need the curiousity or approval from the cool kids (the staff "clique") to feel good about my purchases? This isn't junior high, I've got no interest in getting nods of consent from the cooler kids who sit at the lunchroom tables at the front of the caf. If you want to buy Dump's album of Prince covers, then BUY IT and if the staff think it sucks, screw them. They just have a funny way of showing their displeasure with records they don't like. They work in a record store, you know.

As an addendum, I'd note that attitude is everywhere. It's in bars, restaurants, and office buildings. Wading through bureaucratic crap at universities is so entrenched, it's practically part of the education you receive while attending the institution. But the attitudes at these places aren't Asshole Chic. They're just assholes.