Annoyed when asked to describe music tastes?

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marshall
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01 Feb 2012, 11:03 pm

I don't really like being asked. I like a subset of "arty" pretentious music that hipsters listen to mixed with other random assorted music. :P



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02 Feb 2012, 4:22 am

Henbane wrote:
I wouldn't even know where to begin to describe what I like. Apart from anything else I don't understand genres and labels and suchlike.


Same here. I like what I like. I like songs for the lyrics, not so much the style of the music-whatever that is.


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02 Feb 2012, 6:15 am

I can pretty much have some form of meaningful music conversation with anyone. When they say "Oh, I like everything" it's usually more like the Blues Brothers quote "Oh we've got both kinds: Country AND Western!".
My "everything" is usually a bit bigger and often contains at least some of the music they like. I know the difference between Beethoven's middle and late string quartets (I have the sheet music, too), I can tell you why Necromantheon is the first band in years to GET Thrash Metal, I can (or at least could) play several of Dave Gilmours guitar solos half convincingly, and I know why Hamza El-Din is considered one of the finest Oud players. I can talk about Azeri composers (Isn't Fikret Amirov's Nizami just devine?), and I saw Miles Davis in concert (oh f*****g YES!). I love black and death metal. Even the church burning satanist s**t (I AM Norwegian, after all), but I don't paint my face like a corpse to go see Satyricon or Immortal...
My biggest holes would have to be Hip-Hop and rap, although I have and like some albums (and Lauryn Hill at the PinkPop festival in 1999 is on my top five gigs ever list). I once owned every Frank Zappa album ever released, minus the original pressing of Läther.

I could go on, but I hope my point is made. I love music.

But I really hate being asked the question, because frankly, I'll never be as fluent in any of these as the devoted monochromatic fans.
And I hate feeling superior. Because I'm not.

Genres are useful for talking to the one-dimensional, and for finding new music. But mostly I differentiate music like this. Good Music and Shite. Motorpsycho is Good Music, Tone Damli Aaberge is shite. Simple, really.



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02 Feb 2012, 6:28 am

abacacus wrote:
If someone has to ask what my music tastes are, they are generally quite stunned.

My shirt has the logo of a metal band on it. My jeans are black. I am wearing work boots. Chances are my headphones are currently playing a song in to my ears.

It should be pretty obvious that I am a metalhead.


I like it when people don't assume that kind of stuff about me...I look like a punk, and people are usually surprised to hear that my favorite genres are classic country, soul and musical scores (in that order).



marshall
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02 Feb 2012, 7:18 pm

169Kitty wrote:
Henbane wrote:
I wouldn't even know where to begin to describe what I like. Apart from anything else I don't understand genres and labels and suchlike.


Same here. I like what I like. I like songs for the lyrics, not so much the style of the music-whatever that is.


Hmmm... I'm the opposite. Lyrics are always secondary to the music itself. I don't care if I can't even decipher the lyrics.



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02 Feb 2012, 7:29 pm

Shut 'em up with one word:

"Eclectic."


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abacacus
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02 Feb 2012, 7:33 pm

justalouise wrote:
abacacus wrote:
If someone has to ask what my music tastes are, they are generally quite stunned.

My shirt has the logo of a metal band on it. My jeans are black. I am wearing work boots. Chances are my headphones are currently playing a song in to my ears.

It should be pretty obvious that I am a metalhead.


I like it when people don't assume that kind of stuff about me...I look like a punk, and people are usually surprised to hear that my favorite genres are classic country, soul and musical scores (in that order).


I enjoy looking a bit stereotypical. It keeps me from having to explain things a lot.

It also messes with peoples heads when I act completely different then they think I will.


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02 Feb 2012, 10:13 pm

Bun wrote:
in fact people tend to be either TOO alternative or too not-adventurous musically for my liking, it's hard for me to find someone like me.


I feel the same way.


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Chevand
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03 Feb 2012, 4:20 am

Annoyed? Actually, on the contrary. I rather enjoy discussing my tastes with other people. I'm not embarrassed by what I listen to, and I'm a huge music geek, so a music discussion is one of the best ways to break the ice with me. If someone doesn't like what I like... hey, live and let live, you know? More often than not, though, I've found people generally like the music to which I introduce them-- which is a rather awesome feeling. :D


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02 Mar 2012, 10:57 pm

The problem is when this question is used in small talk. Because it's no place to discuss interests or what bands you admire. If people actually want to discuss the music, that's fine.


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izzeme
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03 Mar 2012, 6:13 am

if i get asked this; i usually get that hipster feeling.
"oh, you dont know the music i listen too and probarbly find it boring"
"tell me anyway"
"firstly, anything that's not on the radio or MTV"
"you're weird"
*mental facepalm and 'told you so'*



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05 Mar 2012, 1:13 pm

Doesn't annoy me at all; it's sometimes a mental game comparing bands/genres in my head when I have nothing to do. I enjoy ranking albums by bands, listing favorite songs, etc.

I agree with the earlier post that most either go too underground or too mainstream though. I have a balance.


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05 Mar 2012, 2:12 pm

I hate it. They ask, so I say something vague like "metal mostly, and some rock"

And then I get stuck with 1 of 2 people:

1. Someone who does not listen to anything I do. Conversation ends there.

2. Someone who is REALLY into metal, and names loads of bands that /I/ don't know. Conversation gets awkward.


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05 Mar 2012, 5:38 pm

SanityTheorist wrote:
Doesn't annoy me at all; it's sometimes a mental game comparing bands/genres in my head when I have nothing to do. I enjoy ranking albums by bands, listing favorite songs, etc.

I agree with the earlier post that most either go too underground or too mainstream though. I have a balance.

Yeah, it's almost counter productive to only stick to the mainstream or the underground. Because it means you'll never feel free to enjoy music from the other "pole".


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07 Mar 2012, 7:55 pm

Mayel wrote:
Yes, but because I don't know how to answer. I like a lot of different things and always have phases where I listen to one genre, one era, one album, one artist/group,..etc. So I wouldn't know how to answer sincerely and just say I listen to different things but that's not really conversational so I ask back.


Don't actually talk about your opinions.

Just be polite and friendly.

That's not social, bro.


That's what the internet's for.