It never fails. You are driving through campus on move-in weekend and you see a douche-bag in a horizontally-striped tank top outside his frat strumming one for a circle of sorority girls. Or you are working on your novel in a coffee shop and a white-guy-with-dreds douche is pounding one and reading free verse poetry. They are the dreaded douche-y instruments. Try as you might, you can't escape douche bags, nor can you escape the fact that they all play one of these five instruments, and invariably always have it with them, ready to be played. I want to talk about the 5 Douche-iest instruments in the world.
Let me give you a disclaimer: Not all of these instruments are inherently douche-y. Many of them (except for 1 notable exception) can be used to make wonderful music, that is not in the least bit douche-y. However, for whatever reason, these instruments draw a disproportionate amount of douche-bags who are eager to impress woman or generally appear cool. Thus, they are the 5 douche-iest instruments of all time.
#5 The Mandolin
The mandolin's douche-yness is a relatively new development. For many decades it was simply a cute little twanger used along side slide guitars, and stand-up basses. It was like a less-redneck banjo. But with folk and blue grass music's meteoric rise in popularity over the last 10 years, the collateral damage is that mandolins have fallen into the hands of douche bags. The type of douche most likely to play a mandolin is an urban hipster who has romanticized rural-southern culture and has purposely and self-consciously dressed himself in the signature style of blue grass musicians. This is not to be confused with the non-douchey southern guy who just genuinely likes folk music. They both have beards and wear flannel shirts, but you can tell the difference when the douche bag says "Merle who...?" when asked about Merle Haggard.
#4 Moog/Synthesizer/Keyboards
I am pointing the finger directly at myself on this one. This instrument can add a unique variety of sounds to any song. Unfortunately, untalented douches like myself will sometimes join bands under the guise of being the "keyboard player" when in truth they are the unskilled-but-well-liked friend to the band. The real band members will tolerate the keyboard player because he is nice, or is a pretty face or has engaging stage presence. While there are many talented piano players that play the keyboard/synthesizers in rock bands, there are many more people like me who just pretended to play an instrument to trick people into thinking they are musicians.
#3 Steel drums
Perhaps the most regrettably douche-y instrument on the list. Some great bands have used steel drums periodically. Bob Marley. The Clash. The Police. Unfortunately the steel drum has been hijacked by douche-nozzles ranging back to OAR in the early part of the centry to Magic! and their particularly douche-influenced song "Rude". This would be an example of bad bands trying to appear relevant by appropriating a psuedo-obscure instrument for their own pop music ends.
#2 Acoustic Guitar
The level of douche-yness increases significantly with this entry. Some of the greatest signer song writers have twisted our hearts in knots with nothing but an acoustic guitar. And some of the biggest douche bags in the universe have tried to imitate them in cringeworthy performances around a fire. Or on a beach. Or while sitting on the hood of their car. Or at the farmer's market. Or...
#1 Bongos...dreaded bongos.
Simply the douche-iest thing on the planet. Unlike the other instruments on this list which have redeeming usages throughout the history of music, bongo drums have exclusively been used by douche bags 'round the world for millions of years. I am sure the earliest cave-douches spiked up their hair with wooly mammoth fat, popped the collar on their animal pelt shirt and started playing bongos to impress the woman he planned on hitting over the head with a club later. As college campus's seem to be hot beds for douche activities, bongos can be found everywhere...on the quad, on the porch of the frat house, or just outside the Sculpture and Painting building. It takes no talent. It makes a bland sound. It looks good paired with a soul patch...It is the DOUCHIEST INSTRUMENT IN THE WORLD!!!