Why are we so obsessed with musicians' passengers?

There is never a lack of speech. Not in politics, not in sports, and certainly not in online music circles. When it comes to the latter, on any given day, there's a topic du jour, whether it's one asshole (Ben Shapiro) rapping with another asshole (Tom MacDonald) or a hardcore band kicking out a member for secretly feeding estrogen to his bassist. However, one point of interest seems to emerge on an oddly regular basis: the passengers. Just yesterday (March 12), a blurred image from 1999's Pavement Rider once again sparked thread after thread analyzing the merit of musicians ordering snacks and a case of beer from venues, leading many to wonder: Are we really doing this again? Why are we so obsessed with musicians' riders?

For those unfamiliar, a rider is a list of hospitality requests made on behalf of a touring artist. They are sent to promoters and venues who, in turn, may fulfill all, some or none of the requests. (Think Van Halen requesting that there be no brown M&Ms backstage.) Most of the time, these are not contractual obligations, although of course the more famous the artist, the more pressure they can apply to ensure the green room has exclusively colorful M&Ms.

Pavement might be the latest band to go viral for their rider, but they're not the first to get caught in the social media crossfire. Jack White's inclusion of a homemade guacamole recipe on his biker caused a lot of digital laughter, and an unknown DIY group was put into explosion for simply having a passenger when, according to the original poster, they might have had difficulty selling tickets.

But why do these posts generate so much engagement? Riders are extremely common when it comes to live events; Both pop stars and indie bands have their own. So why is a practice that almost every band in your Spotify library does so interesting?

Well, for starters, it's a great opportunity to immerse yourself in front of strangers, and doing so in front of strangers is the Internet's bread and butter. Jokes and one-liners are a trap for posters, and the idea of ​​some rich, famous, entitled artist begging for a handout or a low-level indie band acting like a big shot is fertile ground for hot takes.

And, of course, whatever. Complaints on the Internet are nothing new and are not necessarily always unjustified. But in the specific case of the cyclist, there are certain nuances that permeate the criticism. Behind laughing at [REDACTED]By ordering six hot vegan meals, there's the implication that touring musicians should rough it, sleeping in vans and scraping by with nothing but the force of their will until they make it to the big moment.