Speaking of taste….

I don’t listen to many podcasts, but one I never miss is John Spong’s Texas Monthly podcast One By Willie, each episode of which features a guest talking about one Willie Nelson song that he or she especially likes. In a recent episode Buddy Cannon, who has ben Willie’s primary producer for the past decade and has co-written many songs with him, got into a conversation with Spong about the lack of radio airplay for Willie’s music these days — they discussed a song, “Something You Get Through,” that they both agreed would have been a big hit a few decades ago but remains largely unknown in this era of bro-country. Cannon said that he isn’t worried about that, that he believes that in the long run “the good will overpower the mediocre.” Maybe! We hope!

But what caught my attention was Cannon’s reason for being thus hopeful: He said, “People can only think they like something for so long.” I love that. People can only think they like something for so long. The power of mimetic desire, mimetic taste, isn’t infinite: sooner or later you’ll have to admit to yourself what you really like. And what a day that will be.