What's your problem with Lindsey Stirling?

First, I want you all to reread the title of this post, except with the same tone of voice that Rory uses when she says, "What's your damage, Heather?" right at the beginning of this clip. Because that's how it sounds in my head.

Also, I just love Lorelai but that's another post for another day.

Here's the thing about Lindsey Stirling. I'm sure I'm gonna like her. From what I hear she's a hip hop violinist. Which is a weird enough combination that I know I'll like it. I already like Vitamin String Quartet which is like pop plus classical. Plus people keep telling me how cool Lindsey is.

But I refuse to listen to her. At least not on purpose. If she happens to come up on one of my Pandora stations (Yes, I still use Pandora. See below.) that's one thing. But I won't deliberately listen.

This is indicative of a real trend in my life: I tend to resist new things unless I'm the one who discovered them. Back in the olden days--which is how Jack, one of the kids I used to nanny for, refers to any time before he was born in the mid-2000s--Spotify did not exist. And I was one of the first of my friends to use Pandora. Then a few years later when Spotify did exist, I heard about it from someone else, and by that time I was already entrenched in my Pandora-listening ways and I refused to make the switch. I hadn't come up with this Spotify notion on my own, so I was sticking to my guns. Still am, I guess. Although now it has more to do with having no idea how Spotify works and not caring enough to learn.

Similarly, I don't take reading recommendations. In fact if someone tells me to read something, that's a pretty good guarantee that I will never read that book. Or at least not for a very long time. And it's no reflection on how much I like the person. In 2006 a boy I had a good-sized crush on told me I should read Three Cups of Tea. When we talked about it, I agreed with him that it sounded awesome and I fully intended to read it very soon.

I finished it last month.

I am also not typically an early adopter. I didn't get a smart phone till six months ago. That was mostly about not seeing the need and also being too cheap to pay for the data plan.

So at first that's what I thought was going on with Lindsey. I hadn't come up with the idea of listening to her on my own; she was recommended to me. So the odds were already against her. But unlike paying for a data plan, getting into Lindsey's music won't cost me anything. I'm not planning to buy her album ever, even if I do like her. I'm don't buy music unless I really, really, really love it. So at most I'd waste an hour watching her YouTube videos.

Finally I realized what was really going on. Jumping on the Lindsey bandwagon won't cost me money. But it will cost me something. Something big. It will cost me my California identity. Apparently Lindsey Stirling has become a clear symbol in my psyche that will indicate to me that I've crossed over to the . . . well, I won't say the dark side. That's a little harsh. But the . . . other side, at least.

See, people in California have never heard of Lindsey Stirling. People in Utah totally have. She's a Utah celebrity. Just like these Kirby Heyborne, Hilary Weeks, and all those Utah people who have been on SYTYCD.

If I start listening to Lindsey, I'll officially give up my California-ness and become a full-fledged Utahn again. Sigh. And I'm just not ready to do that yet.

Sorry, Utah peeps. If it's any consolation, I'm sure I'll give in eventually. Just like I really will switch over to Spotify one day. And I really did finally finish Three Cups of Tea.