Fightin' words: 11 crowd-pleasing pop culture things we just don't get

We don't want to fight, but we need to get a few things off our chests. Know that alienated, dead-eyed feeling you get when all your friends are raving about something and you're so meh you want to melt through the floor?

That's what we're talking here. Things that are enormously popular. Preposterously so. We're not saying they're bad, at least not to the degree that others are wrong for liking them.  We don't even agree among ourselves that everything on this list should be here.

But, haven't you ever wanted to dis the world's biggest pop star or question the quintessential American breakfast meat? It's freeing. Join us. 

Adele

She’s a poor man’s version of Amy Winehouse. And her songs all sound so alike I can’t tell which is playing until I hear the chorus.  - Sara Frederick Burgos

Most YouTubers

Look, I love YouTube. I even love the concept of YouTubers as celebrities. It’s like all the greatest aspects of public access TV (remember TV? It was like this box that sat in people’s living rooms and it showed a lot of ads?) without most of the boundaries or limits. But I just don’t understand the appeal of many of the world’s most popular YouTube personalities. I mean, I love video games, but why don’t the rest of you realize how annoying PewDiePie can be? -- Britton Peele

DysFUNctional:

Since when is being "flawed," "broken" or "defective" cool? So many people are putting the "fun" in dysfunctional in their Instagram photos, but if I'm putting "fun" in anything, it may as well just be functional. I'm all for loving life and spontaneity, but even the most impromptu events don't have to be dysfunctional to be fun. ~S.M. Chavey

90 percent of the things Johnny Depp has done in the last decade

I love a good weirdo. Every time it snows, I think about Edward Scissorhands. But Depp’s versions of the Mad Hatter, Willy Wonka and the Wolf freaked me out in a soul-dead, I-want-to-leave-the-theater way. And I like the real Keith Richards better than Jack Sparrow. - Ann Pinson

The Rolling Stones

Confession: I’ve probably gone to more shows starring septuagenarian front-men than 20-year-old ones. My personal music collection is like an altar to the 50-plus set. I’ll even buy new stuff, most often out of pure loyalty. But, I’ve never been able to get the Stones for reasons I’m unable to fully articulate; let’s call it... a feeling of general ambivalence toward the original “bad boys” of rock-n-roll.  I respect their fans’ devotion, but I get satisfaction elsewhere ... practically everywhere else. - Brentney Hamilton

Snapchat

I don’t understand why you’d want to create content that doesn’t last, even if it’s just a quick conversation with a friend. Part of what I like about Facebook and even texting or email is that I can go back and look something up if I’ve forgotten the details. And I love Facebook memories, as they show you how far you’ve come in the past however many years, which is something you’ll never get from Snap.  - Sara Frederick Burgos

Unboxing videos (and similar phenomenon)

Maybe I’m just bitter that there are tons of kids getting money (and lots of free stuff!) to do nothing but open boxes on the Internet, and I’m not one of them. I understand why unboxing videos exist, but I don’t understand how they’re as big of a deal as they are. You know what’s worse, though? Grocery haul videos. Apparently there’s a large audience for videos of people just emptying their grocery bags and showing a camera what they bought at the store that day? What is the world coming to? - Britton Peele

Debating over whether country music is good or not

Either you hate it or love it, but no one's in the middle on country music. Haters say it's boring, fake and depressing--not to mention every song is essentially the same. Country fans fight back, defending it as relatable, meaningful and unique-- and primarily sung by attractive artists. Country music is fine, but why fight over it? - S.M. Chavey

Bacon

Somebody needs to say it. Bacon's fine. Some tastes better than others, depending on the quality and preparation. If you love it, like so much you want to marry it, that's cool. But, let's stop pretending it's a delicacy or that it makes everything better. - Brentney Hamilton

Caillou

I almost feel bad piling on to the rampant parental dislike of this offensively bland cartoon 4-year-old. Almost. The reason that he’s bald explains a few things: The character in the books the cartoon was based on was originally 9 months old, and creators thought he would be unrecognizable if he had hair. In other words, there is literally nothing else to distinguish him. He whines like most 4 year-olds, but has none of their charm. Unless you like him because your kid will watch him for a few minutes while you actually get something done. That, I get. -Ann Pinson

Drake

WTF. I do not understand why this is considered good music. Do people like him because he’s so great to look at? Maybe if I watched his videos on mute I’d like him better.  - Sara Frederick Burgos