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Tell us about something that doesn’t interest you in the slightest

by 149 Comments

Whenever a thread gains a little bit of traction, as sure as eggs is eggs, someone will post about how they have absolutely no interest in the subject and probably never will. I have done this myself, I am sure of it.

What propels us to do this? I wonder if it’s because we read a bunch of posts on a thread about (say) Lena Zavaroni and some psychological peer pressure kicks in to have an opinion, any opinion.

It’s as if you are in a pub and everyone in your group is having a long, detailed and spirited yatter about the genius of the deceased M!HMEAMHM. You try to change the subject but it’s Lena this and Lena that. Noticing your lack of engagement, then they fall silent and look at you and ask directly what YOU think. If you’re anything like me, you will say to them “Honestly, I literally have ZERO interest in her or her music! I never have and I probably never will!”.

That is fair enough.

But when you overhear a group conversation that doesn’t interest you – would you make a point of joining the group just to tell them that you’re not interested in what they’re talking about?

If that sounds like you, then this thread is right up your street.
Go on, tell us about something that doesn’t interest you in the slightest. Get it out of your system.

2

Comments

  2. Rugby – union, league, Aussie rules, whatever
    Competitive cycling
    Boxing
    Superhero movies
    Reality TV
    GB News
    Angela Rayner’s tax affairs
    Everything Van Morrison’s done since 1971.
    Lists.

  3. Jeff Beck.

    Johnny Concheroo, I think it was, started a thread saying ‘everyone had an opinion about Jeff Beck’. I felt compelled, compelled I say, to comment ‘I don’t’, to which I got a fabulously cold ‘Thanks for that’, which made my entire comment worthwhile, attention-seeking little scrote that I am.

    • sub comment to swipe past
      What propels us to do this? I suppose, because this site is many things to many people, for some it is like ‘Early Doors’ or, I imagine, (because I’ve never seen it, just absorbed its influence), ‘Cheers’ – somewhere where no conversation is completely private (apart from the prostitute’s boudoir that is personal messaging).

      I’m not sure if dropping a dismissive comment on a thread is anything more then just signalling. We who’ve been here decades (!) know by now many of the usual crew’s tropes, sweet spots, and by omission, no-go areas. (You won’t find any comments from me on a sports thread. You will find me boring for paragraphs on meta threads like this). But for the hundreds and thousands of newbies who flood the site every day, a little signaling helps them to understand which topics and themes tantalize our optic nerves.

      Also, yes – ‘psychological peer pressure to have an opinion, any opinion’. If you don’t post or comment, you’re effectively lurking, which makes the Afterworder invisible. The community, the Massive, comes from active contribution, even if not always very constructive.

      • Yes. This final point.
        If there were a predominance of AW threads that didn’t interest you and you therefore ignored them all completely, you’d run the risk of self-relegation to lurkerdom, unless you were inspired to start a thread of your own.
        Not being inspired to post a new thread is common enough and not valid grounds for criticism when you express a negative opinion on someone else’s thread.
        Additionally, I don’t see a parallel in this Blog/Forum (Blorum) with being an outsider eavesdropping a discussion and therefore not being qualified to comment. We are all in the one group here, if present, and entitled to have our say. Without ever labouring our point, of course.

      • I got in big trouble on FB last year when my secondary school teacher pal was on a union strike march. She posted that unless wages were increased, teachers and students would be faced with “less opportunities” to develop.

        I’m no language teacher, but shouldn’t that be “fewer opportunities”? I asked.

        Major sense of humour failure… I had to apologise and remove my comment as fellow teachers piled on.

              • I really mean him no malice, but I just can’t help myself, can I? No, of course he want a prefect, just one of the ‘senior members of the club’. Maybe that’s not much better. I don’t want to annoy Junior.

                • Not annoying me Sal. I think there are 2 sort of camps on the blog. Some who reckon once a post is up, it’s up and anyone can respond how they feel. Fair enough. Others which I think would have included the old Mojo/Concheroo and probably me if I’m honest, is that the effort put into a piece should be respected and responded to accordingly. That sounds a bit pompous and does him and me a disservice but hopefully it conveys the general tenor of things.
                  ….Anecdote. When Mojo switched to Concheroo I was unaware. After quite a few posts from the newer Concheroo, I messaged him and said ,you know there is a bloke ,also in Perth West Australia who has really similar interests to you. I think you’d really get along. The reply I got was “Tis I Mojo ! I still chuckle about that.

                  • ” I think there are 2 sort of camps on the blog.”

                    I’m afraid I’m very much in the first camp. In fact, to be honest, it would never even have occurred to me that the second camp existed. I’ve always thought that, as long as one is friendly and polite (which the majority of people here are), any old waffle, no matter how irrelevant or irreverent, was welcome.

                  • Thanks for the good natured response, Junior. I did actually respect the long form pieces Mojo Concheroo posted – dispatches from the early years of rock’n’pop. I responded to what I thought was ‘just’ another blog post.

                    Thanks also for the anecdote. In trying to remember the blighter’s names, I googled and, other than Muddy Water song lyrics, I did find this (first comment):

                    A call to lurkers

      • I was never part of his circle in the complex AW Venn Diagram, so our paths rarely crossed. Posting that comment was a bit provocative, and I can completely see why he might be upset at the lack of respect for his efforts.

        Mind you, having got little more than tumbleweed for many of my musical researches (Maggie Rogers being only the latest), I’ve long realised posting here is most healthily approached as an activity to amuse the writer – any response, however terse and snark-laden, is a bonus.

        Also, I wasn’t nitpicking, I was teasing. It’s important not to take ourselves too seriously..

          • I’d be delighted if you chose to put down a few of your impressions – after giving it a good listen, of course. I’ve heard it so much now, the tunes sit rent-free in my head, but I’d love to read another’s perspective.

    • Think I preferred Are Friends Electric.

      I am looking forward to the day when I no longer need one. Lived for many years without one. They are a money pit and a luxury. Know people who still have 2 despite one or more of them working from home or being retired. I don’t get it

      • I’m moving house next week and one of the reasons I’m really looking forward to the new abode is that I’ll no longer have to be car reliant. I’ll still keep the car for use when necessary (getting to airport, hospital, other towns etc), but supermarket, restaurant, bar, market and beach will now all be within walking distance. Can’t wait.

        • Good. My current retirement plan is to live in a city with decent public transit, maybe Toronto. It is much more expensive but I will save on the considerable cost of owning a car and will rent out or sell my parking space as I will likely be in a condominium building. Will then use a car share service when necessary for short trips or rent a car for longer ones.

      • A car is not a luxury when local public transport is crap (and seems to be getting worse) and one’s knees and ankles are wearing out.
        OTOH, the money pit comment is accurate enough. I’ve just had to fork out for two new tyres and replacement of a leaking power steering pressure pipe, necessitating the front of the car being removed to get at it and then reassembled. Total bill £724.
        I’d like to go electric, but can’t afford to.

    • Actually, now you’ve got me started…
      Chess
      Cricket
      Wokeism, and any other made-up aspects of the culture wars
      Opera
      The royal family. Any royal family.
      Madeleine McCann
      What happens to us after we’ve been incinerated at the crem
      Going on a cruise
      Fashion
      Anything that I am told is the latest ‘must have’

  9. I have but 5 words on this post: “But what does Retro think”, knowing that is the wood upon which this fire burns. I know this to be true, confirmed by the times my addition can sits sweetly at the bottom, for ever more, a conclusion effectively closing the discussion. Heck, this even has happened when I am the instigator of the post, so if that isn’t proof, what is?

  10. Tap dancing. Horse racing. Everything that Hildegard Von Bingen has done since 1171….

    There have been many topics mentioned in which I have no interest at all.

    But if there’s a topic that someone here really burns for, be it Albanian, pre-war postage stamps,
    The Golden Age of Bolivian Animation or the Polyphonic Puffins of the Faroe Islands. I am quite convinced that I could overcome my initial reluctance and give the thread a read.

    Lack of interest is not carved in stone.

  11. Probably a combo of the above …

    Formula 1 (and all cars in general), rugby, tennis, horse racing.
    Any TV programme classed as entertainment (esp. Reality TV and comedian panel shows).
    Peter Kays stand up (but I love Phoenix Nights).
    The complete spectrum of LGBT activism and all its current additions.
    Fashion.
    The Royal family.

    • I don’t know Peter Kay, but talking of rubbish stand up, I watched Jimmy Carr’s Netflix show recently. I was shocked at how bad and not remotely funny it was. So shocked I had to check out another of his shows on YouTube to see if it was any better. It wasn’t. Excrutiating. How on earth did he get successful?

    • Collectorism is absolutely rife here at the AW Blorum. An indulgence of the moderately-to-well-heeled, of which I am not one.
      I no longer indulge in the collecting of Stuff, having given it up long ago, but I do tend to accumulate Stuff. There is a fundamental difference.

        • I’ve just acquired a 5th CD shelving unit, pretty much identical to the 4 that I already had, but of cheaper construction. By the time I’d placed all of the existing overflow into it, I’ve got space for another 10 CDs before there’ll be overflow again.
          And these are just the single-artist CDs. The vinyl LPs, 12″s and 7″s, the CD compilations and the magazine converdiscs are separately filed in yet more shelving.

  14. A lot of stuff here about prog and folk doesn’t interest me in the slightest, however I try every hard not to go on those threads and tell everybody that it is all shit or that things were better in some mythical bygone age.

  15. Tricky, as lack of interest can easily morph into active dislike.

    Sport, with a special mention for football
    Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, Harry Potter and any other fantasy / superhero movies
    Heavy metal and all its various sub-categories
    Reality TV
    Keith Lemon
    Football, did I mention football?
    Dance in all its forms
    Body piercing, tattoos and other forms of self mutilation / adornment – special mention for men under 30 with beards (straying into active dislike territory there)
    Taylor Swift
    Fishing
    Social media
    Football

  16. No, I wouldn’t contribute to a thread about something that doesn’t interest me and I wouldn’t consider that to be lurking, it means you have other interests.

    This thread is interesting to me (obviously).

    • Speaking as an actor, I would say that the privately expressed opinions of my colleagues are as interesting as those of any other profession.
      Those who find themselves pressed into a public statement of their innermost thoughts are on a hiding to nothing. Best be like the great Gambon, and just make up a load of old shit for your own amusement; and to discourage further interrogation.

      • The problem is luvvies like Emma Tiresome and Benedict Cumofitmate rarely wait until they are “pressed into making public statements” before opening their gobs and showering the rest of us with their ill-informed insights about what is wrong with the world.

        BC’s helpfully pointing out that climate change is a bad thing (who knew?) while cheerfully trousering shedloads of money for doing voice overs for expensive Jaguar and MG cars is an excellent example.

        ET who famously flew 5,400 miles to lecture the rest of us at an Extinction Rebellion demo is another. Dear, dear Emmy would, of course, rather fly cleanly – but then wouldn’t we all?

        Their excuse for their eco-friendly windmill virtue signaling is that they are trapped into their high-carbon footprint lifestyles by something called “the system”.

        • I find it remarkably disempowering. Celebrity culture permeates the climate process, and detracts from the far more radical notion that everyone should have a voice, everyone’s perspective is vital, and people in positions of visibility are there as much through privilege and happy accident than any innate superiority.

  20. Work related:
    Linkedin- sometimes I think it might be the worst thing in the world, other times the funniest
    Networking
    Jargon
    Meetings
    Emails
    Many colleagues, particularly those active on linkedin

  21. Sport, esp. football.

    The last time I went to a BBQ, a couple of fellas came over and asked “You see the match last night?”

    “What do you know about Ethiopian jazz?” I replied.

    They walked away.

    • I thought I’d take my time on this one… and then forgot my No. 1 fingers-in-the-ears, ‘not listening, not listening’ subject. If anyone comes into a local society I belong to asking about it, I move them onto someone else, and go out and clean the windows.

      Second World War.

  26. RSD.
    SDE.
    45 RPM remasters.
    Complete sessions box sets (with a few very rare exceptions).
    Beatle books.
    Bowie books.
    Springsteen.
    Soccer. Particularly Premiership Soccer.

  27. Eurovision, ELO, Abba, Queen. AC:DC, the Beatles, Football, Wordle, anyone and everything I have a perverse and pointless prejudice against. But I reserve the right to besmirch such posts with my vitriolic trollery, provided I make myself snicker.
    I like posts about bagpipes, tents, beer, embarrassing ailments and Chumbawamba, preferably all within shared context.

  28. As commented above, it is actually hard to distinguish lack of interest from active dislike!

    For instance, I sometimes hear examples of musical genres outside of my usual listening that are great, but I have no interest in pursuing it further mainly due to time constraints and other interests that I do love. Call it laziness or lack of curiosity, but that’s just me.

    Most things that I have no interest in are indeed things I actively dislike for a variety of reasons, possibly because I simply can’t watch it, like two people punching each other in a boxing ring. Then there are more nuanced dislikes, like I have no interest in watching people in loud shirts play darts, but I like playing it in a pub sometimes.

  30. Local news on the TV. When I was growing up in the North East, BBC Look North was the most tedious thing. Roadworks in Fenham, council corruption, job losses in a warehouse etc etc. All worthy of a presenter standing in the pissing rain somewhere in the arse end of the toon telling you about it.

    Same when I left home. BBC London News. Rat plagues in Newham, council corruption etc etc.

    Who gives a flying

  33. I’ll throw in another one – gardening in general and the Chelsea Glower Show in particular. I’m glad the show is there for those who enjoy it, by the appeal of paying to go to a crowded place to look at mocked up gardens eludes me.

    • I have no interest whatsoever in gardening. My late dad was a very keen gardener, to the extent that as well as the front (roses mainly) and back (veg, fruit and flowers and a bit of lawn) gardens of our 3-bed semi, he had two adjoining allotment patches, one for fruit bushes and one for vegetables. My sister got the gardening gene but it bypassed my late brother and I.
      I live in a flat in a block with lawns and shrubbery plus the occasional tree round about, all well-maintained by professionals.
      During the latter years of my working life I spent a lot of time driving a company van between maintenance jobs. Radio tuned to BBC R4 because listening to other people’s music choices irritated me. One of the programmes I enjoyed, even without any interest in gardening, was Gardener’s Question Time. A nice restful listen with an excellent team of engaging presenters.

      • I also have little interest in gardening beyond mowing the grass and keeping the border plants – they beat looking at a brick wall or a fence – under control. Outdoor housework, I call it.

        Mrs F comes from a line of professional horticulturalists and has the knowledge, but not the ability, so my role is limited to “where do you want the hole, and how big?”

        Invasive caterpillars have killed the hedge in our front garden so I spend half an hour each morning digging up some dead hedge plants while I listen to podcasts. It beats going to the gym.

        I also listen to GQT. I ilke listening to the Food Programme as well, even though I can’t eat any of it.

  34. The majority of other peoples’ opinions. I mean I don’t know that much but I know enough to know that many are wrong, Ill informed, unaware of the full facts. Any story in the news that you are knowledgeable about will be found wanting. Ignorance is rife.

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