DO YOU “LIKE” SOUNDGARDEN AND AGNOSTIC FRONT?

Live on I-5, the new Soundgarden release of old live recordings, and My Life My Way, the new Agnostic Front album, are now both streaming on Facebook. I haven’t had a chance to listen to either one yet, although I’m sure they both provide their own unique pleasures.

Of course, you have to hit the “like” button and tell all your friends that the band is you-approved in order to hear the music. And I find this trend very interesting. I’m thrilled that bands are finally ditching MySpace, but I am curious if the “like” button really helps music to spread virally, or if it discourages casual fans or maybe even potential fans — a.k.a. “the most important market, since they’re not guaranteed to get the album/go to the concerts/buy the merch/etc. anyway” — from checking out the music.

I know there’s something wholly illogical about the concept of people not wanting to click the “like” button. It’s not like it takes a whole bunch of effort, or subscribes you to countless spam e-mails, or anything like that. But I do think it’s possible that there are people whose neuroses are such that they just don’t want that thing on their page that says “Johnny likes Lake Bukkake” or whatever, for any one of the following reasons:

• They take their Facebook page way too seriously and don’t want it to say that they like any bands that they only feel lukewarm on or have not heard and therefore do not wish to endorse.
• They are too image-conscious to admit to liking certain bands in a public forum.
• They are too stupid to know that you can “unlike” something as quickly as you can “like” it.

And probably other reasons I’m not even considering because I don’t have OCD and therefore my mind can’t even comprehend this shit.

So, I ask you, oh my beloved readers: Does that “like” button ever discourage you from checking something out? And do you even click through on those “like” links on your friends’ pages in the first place, or do you need a more serious recommendation than that (e.g., verbal, a “Dude check this out!” e-mail or text, etc.)? I don’t have a dog in this fight, I’m just being inquisitive.

Oh, and you can mosh to Agnostic Front here and feel feelings to Soundgarden here. Let me know how they are so I know which one to check out first! Both albums come out on Tuesday.

-AR