When I looked out my residence hall window in late February of this year, I was slightly unnerved by all the cars conglomerating in NIU’s student parking lots to see John Mayer perform at the Convocation Center. Even more disturbing is to notice the smaller crowds which are drawn into such establishments such as Java 101, The House Cafe, and especially Otto’s Niteclub.

Otto’s is actually where I spent the better part of my Friday night, and while I turned my head around to the open floor I asked myself: Do so many people really appreciate the sounds of Mayer and the pop icons more than good rock? Don’t get me wrong, you’re all entitled to your own tastes, but amidst the swill of agents, booking dates and single releases there has to be some room for originality.

On Friday night, I was able to sit down with The Arrivals, a Chicago punk-rock band consisting of Issac Thotz (guitar), Ronni Dicola (drums), Patrick Costello (bass) and “Lil” Dave Merriman (guitar). The group of guys, who will soon be releasing their new album, Marvels of Industry, were straightforward when it came to answering questions.

“We wanted to write like the Buzzcocks and The Misfits, and be as cool as Nation of Ulysses,” Merriman said. “It seems stupid to be another band just doing the same thing.”

Dicola said he likes listening to blues and old Motown. Thotz said music, like life, is something you shouldn’t get too serious about.

To me, the points seemed more than valid. Too often these days I roll my eyes when I turn on MTV or VH1 and hear singers treating every song as a rock opera. About six months ago I saw a Green Day/U2 collaboration and wondered what had happened. Of course you can listen to what you want, but how many more bands will pump and pander to the disenfranchised youth market, and I’m citing bands like My Chemical Romance and Evanescence for committing that crime. Please, someone, anyone, give me something to dance to!

Sitting across the room from me, and leaning forward just slightly while he spoke, Costello commented on the nature of the music. “You kind of still need to have the altruistic spirit,” he said.

Costello said music can help people find a community of like-minded individuals to relate to.

I was digging for those answers and Costello did say that explaining any idea behind music would seem “fabricated,” but my opinion is still that music is the same as any other form of art or expression. Difference and diversity is what makes anything worth exploring, and the ties made through diversity, those “like-minded” people you can find, are the best reasons to begin that exploration.

This interview with The Arrivals demonstrates one simple lesson. When I look around at the popular and the advertised, they all seem the same. Sure there’s some room for opinion and taste, but opinion and taste go out the window when everyone is saying the same thing. How can anyone expect to do better when the status quo is the only thing acknowledged? If you want a true example of idea clash and collaboration, then I implore any person to go beyond presented conventions and do a little digging in the realm of ideas.