# So I Came Out This Week... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 20, 2008, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-came-out-this-week/460705 "2008-08-20T19:02:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bubastis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d07c76/32.png) [@bubastis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bubastis)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-came-out-this-week/460705/1 "2008-08-20T19:02:05Z")
So this week I finally admitted to myself and to those closest to me something that I’ve known for some time, something that I was afraid to admit for fear of how I would be accepted. I’ve tried to deny my true feelings for years, but when it came down to it, I decided that I’d rather admit who I am and deal with peoples reactions than live a lie. So I gathered those closest to me and gave them all the news; I like Coldplay. Wow. It’s just so refreshing to say it out loud; I like Coldplay. I like Coldplay! It’s such a weight off my shoulders. For years I tried to shake my feelings about them, feeling to myself that there must be something wrong with me for liking them. Socially, it became more and more acceptable to like Coldplay, with thousands of people gathering for concerts and appearances. Hopefully I’ll be at the next Coldplay rally, to make up for lost time. My family and friends all reacted in different ways. I told my parents first; my mum didn’t seem to mind, although I’m not sure she fully understands what it means to like Coldplay. My Dad was more taken aback; he always loved good music, really a huge fan of the Beatles, the Kinks and the Who… I guess he always hoped his son would follow his interests, so it must have hurt him to learn I liked Coldplay. He asked me this; “Do You Buy their music?” I said yes. “Do you buy it, or illegally download it?” I said I bought CD’s, in a shop. “That’s ok… Look, you’re my son, and I love you. I don’t mind what music you listen to; as long as you do it safely. I don’t want you to pick up a virus on your computer”. I told my sister; she thought it was HILARIOUS. “OMG! That’s SO wild! Wow, I know some Coldplay fans where I work; I’ll introduce you to them!” I said hey, don’t do that. Don’t assume that just because I like Coldplay, and they like Coldplay, that we’re gonna immediately click. I’m not looking to meet other Coldplay fans right now. Still, she kinda has too many Coldplay stereotypes in her head. We’ll be walking down the street; she’ll be pointing at people; “Does she like Coldplay? Does he like Coldplay?” I say, look; I can’t tell just by looking at them. That’s a myth; there is no such thing as Coldplaydar. Its things like that that piss me off; peoples misconceptions about Coldplay fans. People just automatically think of the flaming Coldplay fan, the real in-your-face, annoying guy with an equals sign drawn on his hand in marker, who sings Trouble at karaoke. Look, most Coldplay fans hate that guy too; he does not represent us. Nor do we care much for teenagers who get drunk and pretend to like Coldplay to get a reaction from their friends, or to shock their parents. Find some other way to attract attention, children. Now, my friends in the city had no problems with me liking Coldplay, but where I come from it was a different matter. I come from a rural little town, set in its rural little ways, populated by lots of small-minded Bon Jovi fans. Just the other week, a fellow Coldplay fan was attacked outside a nightclub by a Bryan Adams groupie; of course “no-one seen it happen”. It’s probably because the town is mainly roman catholic, and they cling onto the fact that the bible says it’s wrong to like Coldplay (even though they base that on one very, very tenuous connection, one throwaway sentence about the devil in the form of a Serpent, ruining mankind with an apple). So, I told my friends I liked Coldplay. One friend, she said; “You know what? I knew!” I said you did not know! ………….So, how did you know? “Well, when I was round your house, I found a stash of magazines; Q, NME, Rolling Stone, all with Coldplay features and interviews. Plus, you’ve got tape on your fingers”. Another friend, he didn’t take to it too lightly. “Oh, you like Coldplay? Since when. You and me, we went to loads of gigs. We went to see good bands, like Arcade Fire, or MGMT, or Interpol. You said you liked those bands, man! Was that all lies? Suddenly, you like Coldplay? Look, I know the record industry is going through a bit of a slump. And I know you never really got over the break-up of Soundgarden. But things will pick up! You’ll find a good band! I’ll tell you what we’ll do; we’ll go out this weekend, go to a festival, there’ll be lots of great bands there. we’ll get you a good band to listen to, and you’ll forget all about this Coldplay nonsense”. I told him its just not like that; I can’t help what I like, and I like Coldplay. I told him lots of people like Coldplay these days; lots of celebrities are Coldplay fans, although most don’t admit it in case it affects their career. So, he accepted it, but he didn’t really welcome the fact. Me and him are really great friends, so I guess he’s worried that people will think that he likes Coldplay too. People are strange like that. They’re curious about you, but when you talk to them, they don’t want to know. Sometimes, they’ll timidly ask; “So what is it you like about Coldplay?” I’ll say well, I think the lyrics are good, I think Chris Martin is a good singer… “Ok, Jesus, forget I asked man, fuck!” Still, nothing was as tough as telling a good friend of mine; because he really, really hates Coldplay. For years, he’d be driving along and if Coldplay would come on the radio, he’d be all “Fuck Coldplay! They suck, man. They’re the poor man’s U2, and that Chris Martin is a stuck up whinging cunt” And if I was with him, I’d sheepishly agree, even though it broke my heart to hear Coldplay described as such. In fact, this guy hated Coldplay so much, and was so vocal about it, I started to wonder if maybe deep down, he too was a Coldplay fan, but was confused and didn’t know how to handle his feelings, so they manifested as anger. I told him I liked Coldplay. He didn’t take it well. “Fuck, man, what the fuck? You hate Coldplay! We laughed at Coldplay, together! What the fuck? Is this whole fuckin country turning into Coldplay fans? And here; I hope you don’t have any funny ideas about me, man. I hope you don’t think we’re gonna listen to Coldplay from now on!” I said Jesus, man, what the fuck. I said I liked Coldplay, not that I’m a rapist. What am I gonna do, lock the doors and throw on Parachutes? He said; “What else, man? Who else do you like? Keane? Snow Patrol? Wait… you probably like James Blunt!” And I just slapped his face. I said look, whether you like it or not, you have to admit it took guts for me to tell everyone I like Coldplay. I know I was opening myself up for a lot of flack, I knew I’d be called lots of things; arty wanker, student, guy with no taste in music… but don’t EVER assume that because I like Coldplay, that I like James Blunt too. People who like James Blunt are the SCUM OF THE EARTH. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-came-out-this-week/460705/2 "2008-08-20T19:39:04Z")
_Sniffs_ _fights back a tear_ that was beautiful! ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-came-out-this-week/460705/3 "2008-08-20T19:51:01Z")
If I thought they’d inspire such literary mastery in my own writing, I’d be tempted to like them also. But that Chris wotsisname is such a whiny git. And isn’t James Blunt a euphemism? ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-came-out-this-week/460705/4 "2008-08-20T19:56:16Z")
_braces self, grits teeth, shuts eyes_ Some of their songs are pretty catchy. _Speed of Sound_, _Clocks_–they’re not half bad. ---
**Author:** ![bufftabby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/77aa72/32.png) [@bufftabby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bufftabby)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-came-out-this-week/460705/5 "2008-08-20T20:19:25Z")
You disgust me. I know I don’t like Coldplay. I tried them once, and it just made me sick inside. You should be ashamed of yourself. [Quote=bubastis] What am I gonna do, lock the doors and throw on _Parachutes_? [/quote] My favorite part, easily. Okay, okay, I like 80s hair bands. A _lot_. We’ve all got our little secrets. Just don’t sing any Coldplay lyrics, to me, okay, man? I don’t wanna have to fight you, 'cause you might enjoy it (since it would give you something to whinge about with YOUR BOY CHRIS MARTIN while YOU SING TOGETHER!!!) ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-came-out-this-week/460705/6 "2008-08-20T20:27:26Z")
Jeepers, **Bubastis** , I either live in a more liberal area than you, or a MUCH more repressed one. It never occurred to me that I needed to hide the fact that I’ve got Cold Play in my iTunes. Of course, I don’t discuss it much either. Sort of like the elephant in the room that everyone’s trying to ignore, I guess 😉 Let’s not dwell too much on the fact that I got it by sharing iTunes libraries with a co-worker (and me a married woman… nobody tell Typo Knig, 'kay?). (get your minds outta the gutter. I poked around his, and he poked around mine. Er, iTunes libraries, you perverts! And I liked it so much I had to have it for my very own… Even paid for it. Wait… this isn’t sounding quite the way I meant it to sound…). ---
**Author:** ![Sunrazor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sunrazor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunrazor)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-came-out-this-week/460705/7 "2008-08-20T20:37:10Z")
I’m so conflicted about this. On the one hand, I understand that this is something you have no control over, and that being out about it can only make things better and simpler for you. And I support you, really, I do. Coldplay is a real band, it has real fans, and you’re one – that’s a legitimate musical choice. But then I think about my own son and how I would feel if he came to me and said he liked … Coldplay. I would still love him, always, but I’m not sure I’d want to be around him. I know, that’s hypocritical, and maybe in time I’d come to accept him. Wow, just so many different emotions. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-came-out-this-week/460705/8 "2008-08-20T20:40:00Z")
I kinda like their new song being played on the radio now, viva la vida. Does that make me Coldplay curious? ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-came-out-this-week/460705/9 "2008-08-20T20:42:23Z")
I think the bodhisattva would say - All human beings like music, they just can’t agree on which genre is best. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-came-out-this-week/460705/10 "2008-08-20T20:46:10Z")
This would be kind of funny if Coldplay wasn’t the biggest band in the world right now with a stack of legitimately great songs as long as my… ahem. So no apple for **bubastis** ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-came-out-this-week/460705/11 "2008-08-20T20:47:12Z")
I guess I won’t mention my DJ Tiësto collection. Or the Roĝer Borĝes. Or Altered Images. Or Wolfmother. Or Nana Mouskouri… ---
**Author:** ![Walpurgis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7ea924/32.png) [@Walpurgis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walpurgis)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-came-out-this-week/460705/12 "2008-08-20T21:00:49Z")
I mean, outwardly I’m very laissez faire - everyone should just listen to whatever music that makes them feel good, I don’t care. But myself, I was always a little too, well… I accepted others listening to it, but I’d never do it myself. It’s just not who I am. Sure, I have two albums in my playlist but it doesn’t mean I’m a Coldplay _fan_. We all know what Coldplay _fans_ are like. And that’s not me. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-came-out-this-week/460705/13 "2008-08-20T21:18:16Z")
I came into this thread thinking you had admitted to the world that you were a pervert. I was right. Regards, Shodan 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-came-out-this-week/460705/14 "2008-08-20T21:29:03Z")
Wonderful. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-came-out-this-week/460705/15 "2008-08-20T21:31:53Z")
[QUOTE=Sunspace] Altered Images [/QUOTE] Ain’t nothing wrong with Altered Images. Claire Grogan…_swoon_ ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-came-out-this-week/460705/16 "2008-08-20T21:32:34Z")
[sub]Um, I like Snow Patrol. [/sub] I will go back in my room now and die of the shame I didn’t know I was supposed to feel. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-came-out-this-week/460705/17 "2008-08-20T22:00:39Z")
tsk,tsk,tsk. I always knew there was something seriously wrong with you as a Human being. 😉 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-came-out-this-week/460705/18 "2008-08-20T22:01:39Z")
Coldplay? No dude, don’t worry. Coldplay bashing is done. It’s ‘cool’ to like them now, especially after Chris Martin was on **Extras** and then recently on, I believe, **Colbert**. ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-came-out-this-week/460705/19 "2008-08-20T22:03:54Z")
Off to Cafe Society. (That’s where we put all of you abominations.) ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-came-out-this-week/460705/20 "2008-08-20T22:12:03Z")
[QUOTE=Cat Fight] Coldplay? No dude, don’t worry. Coldplay bashing is done. It’s ‘cool’ to like them now, especially after Chris Martin was on **Extras** and then recently on, I believe, **Colbert**. [/QUOTE] You mean he’s ‘hobnobbed’ with Ricky G? In that case, I quite like that one that mentions a colour! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-came-out-this-week/460705.md?page=2)