If you ask ten people or so what kind of music they listen to, I would wager than about five of them will say, "Oh, I like all kinds of music." You know what I think? I think they're liars, that's what. Nobody listens to all kinds of music. There is something out there that makes you say, "I swear to God, if I have to hear another Boston song, I will commit an act of arson." Or, bagpipes. Lots of people hate bagpipes. Not me though; if I could figure out a way, I'd have bagpipes play (in this order) Auld Lang Syne, You Might Think by the Cars and Happy Birthday every year on my birthday. (My birthday is on New Year's Day, which explains Auld Lang Syne.)
But more than Boston, I think I am tired of the Eagles. I honestly can say that if I hear Take it Easy on the radio one more time I am going to burn down a gas station. Or library. But then again, this isn't about me, because I definitely do not listen to all kinds of music. I'm actually a little ashamed that my near encyclopaedic (I chose the British spelling to be extra pretentious) of classic rock music has not translated into an interest in current music. I'm working on it, though, I promise.
People who say they like all kinds of music probably don't really care that much about music as an art form. That's my conclusion. If you are equally at home listening to, say, Ashlee Simpson as you are Miles Davis or Eric Clapton or Juice Newton or Parliament or Ricky Martin, really, can your opinions on music be trusted? Can your opinions on anything be trusted? This has been a pretty italics heavy post so far.
Here's what I have to say about this whole ordeal: just man up and commit to music. The crazy thing is you don't have to be monogamous or anything! Why is this so hard? Are you worried that when you run for Congress, somebody's going to be offended you forgot to mention you like reggae? I am offering two possible actions that I think are reasonable the next time somebody says that they like all music: simply walk away, mid-sentence, or punch them in the side. I have a Peaceful Easy Feeling that this will work out great.
4 comments:
I think most people just dont want to go into detailed discussions on their varied tastes. If I say "most classic rock, nothing with too much pop or twang, and some more modern stuff" you get the idea.
I could go into a long description of how I can stand some rap, and really like Jet, and used to be all about styx (but have reformed), Like Zeppelin and the Who, but not everything they did, Listened to the latest RHCP album a little too much for the first month after i obtained it, Liked The Killers' Mr Brightside, but cant get into the new album, satisfy my inner nerd with mc chris, occasionally find myself enjoying a song for a little while and suddenly realize it falls into the country genre, know pretty much all of Cake's lyrics, and get lost in a variety of electronica while coding....
But its much easier to say - "I like a lot of stuff - If you like something, maybe I'll listen and see if I like it"
This post had too many commas.
I can't believe I finished that post without mentioning my worshipping of GNR and Slash. I deserve to be shot.
I think that's pretty much the consensus about The Killers. I couldn't tell you where else I heard that, but I've heard it. Looking at what you said, I'd say you could get away with saying that you listen to Bluesy and Quirky Rock. I was considering using Sweet Child O' Mine as the bagpipe song in the main post instead of the Cars, too.
Irrsinn,
The quick answer is that not everything is good. Sure, even though I don't consider myself a country fan there is a handful of artists that I don't mind and even one or two that I like. I can say the same thing about rap. But as a genre, I wouldn't say that I like either one, and wouldn't want to give the impression that I do. I say that I like to listen to rock, blues and Irish music because I like vastly more from them than I dislike. But again, I have some electronica/fusion, Radiohead, punk, Spanish language and Kanye in my music rotation, too.
I think the biggest thing is that there is just so much music out there that by saying, "I like everything" I find it difficult to believe that you can really appreciate the depth of a particular genre. Of course, I was exaggerating a bit too. But when I hear someone say, "I like all music" the first thing I think is that it's more of a casual thing where it's more of a vehicle for a beat or background noise rather than a transmission of emotions. Maybe that's an unfair judgment, but that's mostly at the root of my opinion.
The use of the word "crunk" makes me laugh. I mean in general. "Off the hook" is another slang that makes me laugh, too. The Tiger will occasionally carry around a sign at the football games that says "Get Crunk" and I will chuckle each time it happens.
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