What Meatloaf and Beer Have Taught me about Audiophiles


Recently in life and online I've had some curious observations about human behavior I thought I'd share.   To begin with, I have recently discovered that a surprising number of My Fellow Americans do not like meatloaf.   As a meatloaf maker and meatloaf cognoscenti I was absolutely astonished at this.  Some people who otherwise like burgers and the like hate meatloaf.  

If you make meatloaf and love it your immediate reaction to this is "but you haven't tried _my_ meatloaf."  That's our natural knee jerk reaction because we just can't imagine.  Related to this I have a bartender.  We'll call him Calhoun because his name is Calhoun.  An otherwise respectable fellow who knows beer and tequila better than most.   I would go in to see what the latest rotation of Indian Pale Ales were.  About once a month they'd get some new "dessert beer."  That is a brew made to taste like a sweet food substance.  The least offensive of which were peanut butter and the worst strawberry shortcake beer.  Calhoun would proceed to push me to sample these unholy abominations every time he could. 

Of course I'd tell him "I don't like flavored beers." Which was partially a lie as a coffee or espresso flavored beer would probably be divine.. but we digress.

Sometimes he was so adamant that the latest beer flavor was the one that would change my mind I'd go ahead and try them.  Of course, they were invariably disgusting. 

My point to all this is that being on both sides of this argument.  It's really hard to accept that our fellow audiophiles don't like something we feel is sublime and we will push our fancies onto them in the hopes of enriching their lives for the better.   It's hard for us to respect that someone else can love music and the stereos that play it and yet not have found their happy place the same way we have.

By the way, I use the Betty Crocker meatloaf recipe and add a tablespoon of chipotle powder.  Amazing. 

erik_squires

Food for thought.

I like meatloaf, but l don’t make a meal if it.

This post is just nuts…….. l had to double check l was still on the right site and double check…..yes you read that right, right?

 

And after reading all this l think l need a drink.

Seriously this has been so funny and has made my day.

 

 

@misc-audio. Easily the best damn post I’ve ever seen on this forum. Meatloaf? Love meatloaf, even bad meatloaf! IPA’s? Who ever thought of that junk? Hipsters? Well, yeah! Adding crap to beer? Well, then you just don’t like beer! Not to say others can disagree, but what audiophile doesn’t? Comparing meatloaf to audiophilia is a genius touch….the IPA gambit is something else. Highest praises here!

Meatloaf rocks! Best restaurant meatloaf I had was at the Collegiate, aka the Jet, in Alfred, NY, in 2019. A thick generous serving with a buttery mushroom gravy, amazing mash potatoes and a choice of veggies. With a huge apple pie ala mode, $20.

 

This thread reminds me of Jerry Garcia’s description of the Grateful Dead-"Not everybody likes licorice, but the people who like licorice really like licorice.”

Pass the ketchup, please.

 

I have had meatloaf in a 5 star restaurant and it was dang fine indeed. I have recently been enjoying my wife's organic ground turkey meatloaf and it is right up there, that good. I was doing a beer app at one time and tried, far more than one each, 600 new to me beers in one year and many were awful no matter how expensive or highly praised and only a few were outstanding. I like your analogy as it makes sense, we all have different taste based on our individual lifetimes of culture, exposure, and I think just plain differences in our DNA.  I have since stopped drinking alcohol, 17 months and not a drop and do not miss it. Part of that is having kidney issues and also after a lot of research finding out how beer, wine and others have some seriously unhealthy ingredients in them and not regulated or have to tell us about it. I am finding I just do not care to drink any longer and likely never will again.

Same goes for audio, makes sense, we all are a big different in our perception and taste, if one can be happy with a low budget system, great for them, if another loved to go after the best, to them, they can no matter the cost, great as well.

Rick

the civility, class and warmth of these comments is repulsive. Can we just go back to be ourselves?