Musical Taste

Today we are gonig to talk about music, and the way it involves people. I am not talking about musicians, although they are included in this group. I am talking about everyone-you, me, the guy in the cubicle next to you, or the lady who brings sneakers and and ipod with her for her lunch break. The type of music people listen to can say a lot about that person. That works both a positive and negative way. For instance, if you see a guy walking down the street in all black, wearing a Korn shirt...well you will have certain preconceived notions about that person. Or if you see a guy with long hair and a tye-died Grateful Dead shirt, you can be assured that 65-70% of people who walk passed him decide he is a stoner without ever knowing him. I know you do it, and I'm guilty of it too. Passing judgement on people based on what they listen to or how the music effects their appearance can lead to pegging people as something or someone they are not. Lets examine some types of music listeners.


(The number of people Master P has made say, 'UUUUGGGGHHHH,' is staggering)

First of all, let's talk about the people who, when asked what type of music they like, respond with, "I listen to everything." I would have to say this is the most popular answer when asked to name the type of music a person enjoys. This statement is misleading to say the least. For instance, I listen to many different kinds of music, but I don't listen to everything. I would never put something like Kenny Chesney or The Strokes on my ipod, because I despise that music...when means I do not listen to everything. Even though my musical tastes are deep and varied, I do not claim to listen to everything. People that do are either too ashamed of what is really in their cd player, or perhaps they claim to listen to everything because they are part of a second group...The Non-Listener.

Lets face the facts; it would be hard to go through an entire day on Earth without hearing some form of music. Whether its on a commercial, in an elevator, or in a mall, music is everywhere you go. I would guess that humans aren't even aware of how much music they hear during the course of the day. That being said, there are still a number of people who claim they don't listen to music. They don't have album collections, no mp3s...nothing. They have no interest in hearing music at all. To me, this is mind boggling. Granted, I can't understand that because I like to listen to a lot of music. But it just seems to me that if you can't enjoy a great song, you are missing out on a lot in life.

Another point is what I eluded to before; you can't judge a person by their album cover...as it were. Judging by appearance, you wouldn't think that I was into rap music that much; but I challenge you to find someone as knowledgeable about it as I am. You also wouldn't guess that someone who enjoys rap would enjoy Frank Sinatra and Louis Armstrong just as much. There is different music for all occasions. Whether you are getting ready to go out to a club or bar and need to hear some southern rap, or you are relaxing on your porch on a warm summer evening listening to a little classic rock, music can usually play into a mood or feeling you are having. Why do you think movies have soundtracks? Why do you think football teams listen to Welcome to the Jungle before they take the field? Music effects us in ways plain words can't compete with.

With the incredible popularity of iPods, music has become as portable as people are. You would be hard pressed to drive through a city without seeing several people with white wires running up to their ears. The increased portability of music has led to people turning into Music Snobs. Yes, before any of my friends fire off an email to me...I am guilty as charged. As far as I'm concerned, my iPod is the shit. It is not complete by any means, and it is high time for me to upgrade since I filled my 20 gig months ago. But I am very happy that my iPod covers a vast array of music...not everything of course, but there is a lot there. You know you have a good selection when someone in the office says, "I want to hear that song 'Sandman,' and within a minute you can queue up The Chordettes classic. (Mr. Sandman...bring me a dreeeaaam...old school shit baby.)

(CCR=Creedence Clearwater Revival...I hope you all knew that)

I guess the point of this whole thing was this: You don't listen to everything, if you listen to nothing I feel bad for you, and according to me, I have the best musical taste ever. Final. Peace.