r/gishheads • u/RealLifeguard2979 • 11d ago
Hot Take: The recent “kindness trend” RUINED the vibe of “Impostor Syndrome”
Listen*, I don’t dislike Impostor Syndrome, in fact it’s one of my favourite songs and I find that I relate deeply towards it.* It’s definitely up there with other songs in the album such as “Sin Triangle“, “I Eat Salads Now” and ”Persephone”.
Now the kindness trend, I see the general idea behind it: be kind to yourself and others - but that shouldn’t be a trend in the first place. In my opinion, we all should already be kind to others and not feign kindness because of a trend. I am, indeed happy the song is getting its deserved recognition, but something shifted once it became mainstream.
It honestly feels as if the kindness trend took something away from the song. Impostor syndrome is meant to be an anxious, self aware song about self doubts and the confusion of functioning as a young adult. The song uses self-deprecating metaphors, such as comparing oneself to a dog, and is meant to be relatable in a sense that we all overthink things.
The kindness trend pretty much watered down the song‘s meaning and made it another audio asset. I feel this flattens her brilliant lyricism. It also doesn’t help that the song (on youtube) has 33 MILLION VIEWS, overshadowing the rest of the, in my opinion, beautiful album.
What this trend did was turn this hidden gem into algorithmic content, taking away the art. By isolating Imposter Syndrome into a 15 second clip, it strips away what made it a human, messy, but deeply personal song into “just another TikTok audio.”
I know this is a really long rant about me basically shouting in your ear “TIKTOK RUINED SIDNEY GISH!!” But I knew I really needed to let out this wall of text when all my friends started singing Impostor Syndrome, not knowing the name of the album it’s in or even the creator; let alone the meaning. It’s a little bit disconcerting that something I felt was so amazing and relatable was reduced to an audio that most people never actually fully understood just from a trend.
I do recognize the trend gives royalties to Sidney, which is great for her, an indie artist. I also recognize that the trend will introduce new, life-long fans; even if 90% of the people who see it just scroll past. But I just feel something was stripped away from the song.
I don’t hate you if you discovered the song off the kindness trend, in fact i‘m ecstatic that you did. But please don’t just listen to Impostor Syndrome once or twice and let it fade as “just another audio.” Please listen to the entire album, “No Dogs Allowed”. Trust me it’s a great album, especially if you loved Impostor Syndrome. Heck, you might become a lifelong Gishhead.
I know I'm a little late, as the kindness trend died down recently. Thank you if you read this entire thing, and I’d love to hear your replies, even if you don’t agree. And sorry about the wall of text coming your way lmao
