People who dislike classical music- why?

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Music is my biggest interest, and classical music is my favourite type of music. I'm curious to hear from the other side- those who dislike it.
I've heard a lot of classical fans say that it's because of stupidity, but considering the numerous highly intelligent people I've known who happen to dislike classical music, I'm pretty sure that's not it.

people listen to music for different reasons. i don't believe there is a direct positive link between intelligence and musical preference, in terms of classical versus everything else. what is important to remember, is that there are "big T" [thrill-seeking] people who love danger and stimulation, and "little t" people who are the exact opposite, who flee from danger and towards safety and succor. each camp would be expected to like different types of music. for example, you can probably count relatively few GIs who put classical music into their Ipods, whereas for retiring hermits, if they were to be into any kind of music at all, it would be as unobtrusive and calming a sound as possible. i myself am in the latter camp. from my own army experience, i was the only classical music lover i knew. hard rock as practiced in the last 35 years or so is just destructive to my sense of well-being. it makes my thoughts scramble, my head ache and my heart pound, largely due to the anapestic beat which is de rigieur in modern hard rock music.
now if you were to ask a hard rock fan what they saw in such music, they would probably say words to the effect that the music stimulates them, energizes them and makes them work harder and play harder. plus, the pronounced anapestic rhythm acts a bit like a jungle drum, psychoaurally exhorting them to MOVE MOVE MOVE/STROKE-STROKE-STROKE in rhythmic sympathy. but for me the loud rhythm and crashing chords feels like a jackhammer atop my head, pounding me into the ground with alacrity.
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just my 2-cents' worth, adjusted for inflation

Just to be clear I'm definitely not one of thouse who dislike classical music but I don't think that it has anything to do with intelligence any-more then liking mint over toffee ice-cream. Some of the most intelligent people I know hates all music altogether, full-stop. Anyone could listen to a piece of music and say whether they like it or not, it has no bearing on intelligence. Intelligence probably only comes into it when you have to explain in some meaningful detail whether you like it or not.

But to return to your question, why do some people not like it? Simple: they haven't listened to enough of it!

Could be just personal preference? Different types of music appeal to different people - though I think it's an exaggeration for someone to say they dislike an entire genre of music.

People generalise. Jazz is a good example, people like to hate that. Anyway I think less and less in terms of genre as I get older. You can define music in countless ways, but what matters is whether it sounds good.

Why do I like the stuff that I like? There's no answer, really.

Yes, classical music is wonderful. I especially like Vangelis, Bach, Beethoven and many others.

I think in some sense, it does have to do with intelligence, but more so to do with MATURITY. Every single person I've ever met who sneered at one type of music over another - and I'm not talking about merely having preferences - I'm talking about closed-minded "I like this and everything else SUCKS" - every one of those people was reacting to the music they hated the same way NT bullies react to us.

It's all about being unwilling to even try to wrap you're head around something that's different than what you're used to. Something that might require you to learn a little bit about a subject or area that you never gave any thought to before. Anytime you reject something just because you refuse to take the time to absorb it and understand it, you are intentionally keeping your mind small. Every piece of information, experience or art you can come to understand and appreciate widens your mind a little and makes you a more complex person, and if you're going to intentionally block that out, at least be honest enough with yourself to admit you are choosing to remain limited in scope - clinging to your own ignorance.

When I was younger, I turned my nose up at several musical genres and thought I was an elitist snob, but I was just a closed-minded @ssh*le. I still have favorites and other types I'm not crazy about, but I've found if I just give it a chance, there's something to be found in every genre that I can enjoy (even if it's a guilty pleasure I hate to admit that I like). Sometimes I can enjoy something simply becaue it's soooo abysmally bad that it amuses me.

I can appreciate it, but generally speaking it makes me sleepy.

I don't call myself a fan of classical music, although I do like some bits of it a lot - especially anything dramatic and moody. Unfortunately, when I think "classical music" I imagine something quaint like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjAm_XEodAY ...which does absolutely nothing for me, besides making me want a nap. On the other hand, if more of it was like this:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_jRI7rPzMI&feature=related[/youtube]...then I would much more readily call myself a fan. Maybe those who don't want to give classical music a chance can't get past the former.

I completely agree with Leander. I absolutely love movie scores but stuff like his first link, "quaint" classical music, I just don't usually enjoy listening to.

I haven't heard enough classical music to know for sure whether I like it or dislike it. I'm too busy with other genres to really make an attempt to delve into it.

However, I did take a music appreciation class a few years ago in college and I enjoyed a couple of the classical pieces we were introduced to. I'll be damned if I can remember names, but there was one darker piece that I really liked. I'm open to recommendations.