vulture asks

Vulture Asks: What Pop Culture Did a Roommate Ruin for You?

Photo: Maya Robinson and Photo by Stacy Kranitz/Corbis

March 11 (a.k.a. 3/11), was 311 Day, a day when 311 fans celebrate their love of 311. (It was also the day on which the band released their eleventh studio album, Stereolithic.) I know this less as a 311 fan and more as a man with PTSD, a man who cringes every time he hears a single note from a 311 song. This is because my sophomore year college roommate played the band constantly — and I mean constantly.

It would be a mistake to say he was a fan of 311’s music. No, to him, 311 was music. As much as the biggest music nerd you know listens to music, that is how much he listened to 311. 311 songs were the only songs he played on guitar. Though he never before showed an interest in the fiber arts, he designed and then made a latch hook 311 rug. To be clear, my attitude toward this is “I’m not even mad; that’s amazing!” Do you, 311 fans. I’m not one to begrudge people for what they listen to in their own homes. It’s just that when you have roommates, especially ones that live in the same room as you, you’re a prisoner to their tastes, whether they only listen to 311, exclusively watch Charmed, or feel the need to marathon the Police Academy movies every weekend. What did your roommates (college or otherwise) watch or listen to so often that you now shake at the sheer mention of it?

Vulture Asks: Pop Culture Ruined by Roommates?