nerdygirl wrote:
I think general knowledge of music and musical experience affects taste more than neurology.
It depends on what you're used to.
If someone is used to eating homemade from-scratch Macaroni & Cheese, they're not going to like the boxed version much.
But, in my personal experience, I think my cluelessness growing up and being really out-of-touch with the world of "popular entertainment" was related to AS and did affect my musical tastes at least somewhat. I still am out-of-touch, and my kids keep me current (sort-of.)
I did a lot of roller-skating in 1984-1986. I am very familiar with popular music from that time because it was always played in the rink. I even like/d some of the songs. But, I would have never become familiar with them without the roller rink. Those songs did not help me define my overall taste in music, but I still get a good feeling when some of them come on the radio if I am in a store. I might even sing along.
I think the internet will be changing things more & more, as listeners have more control over what they listen to. The internet offers unlimited choices whereas, in comparison, radio stations have a limited selection based on what they think their listeners want to hear, or based on what the record companies are promoting. How often does the same exact song come on on the radio throughout the day. I don't even turn the radio on. It's much better to just listen to music on the internet. Kids these days are becoming familiar with music from before their time and from all over the world.
I think that's a good thing.
Growing up in the 90s, I listened to a lot of the popular boy bands, rock bands, hip-hop groups and country artists of the decade going forward into present day, but, at the same time, my dad would play a lot of the music from when he was growing up like hard rock, heavy metal, hair metal, disco, R&B, classic country, and even pop from back then. So not only did I grow up with Backstreet Boys, Evanescence, Keith Urban, Miley Cyrus, Usher, Shania Twain, Linkin Park, and Rascal Flatts but I also became quite familiar with The Beatles, Judas Priest, Journey, U2, Heart, Lionel Richie, Whitney Houston, Def Leppard, Poison, Queen, Elton John, and many more. I'm pretty sure that the argument could even be made that growing up during the Disney Renaissance and watching the movies that came from Disney at the time gave me my love for Broadway musicals.