Embrace your taste in music

There’s something that people do regularly that really bothers me on an intrinsic level, even… There’s something that people do regularly that really bothers me on an intrinsic level, even though I often catch myself doing it, too. It’s so common that most people don’t even think anything of it, and if they do think about it they usually think they’re justified for it.

I’m talking about judging other people based on their tastes in music.

Like I said, I think everyone has done it at some point in life. We’ll be riding in friends’ cars or sitting in their rooms, and the CD player or computer or whatever will suddenly start blasting “Get the Party Started” by Pink, and the person will blush and hit the “next” button and mumble something like, “My sister uses my computer.” And all the meanwhile we’re thinking, “Man, does she actually like that song?”

I bet everyone reading this has had that experience or something similar to it. And we’ve also probably been the friend who was embarrassed, frantically stabbing the “change” button while our computer happily pumps out the Greatest Hits of Kenny G, oblivious to the social mortification it’s causing. And then we have to come up with some excuse as to why the song is on our computer in the first place, because we could never actually admit to liking something that lame. Right?

Wrong. At least, that’s what I think. People should be allowed to like whatever music they like without having to justify or defend their reasoning. I don’t see how anyone has any place to judge anyone else based on musical tastes for several reasons.

First, everyone is entitled to his own opinion as to what’s good and what isn’t. However, that doesn’t mean that everyone has to share his opinions, especially when there’s no reason to. What good does it do to tell someone you think his taste is terrible? Very little, I suspect. If you saw a book on someone’s bookshelf, would you go up to him and say, “Hey, I think that this book of yours is stupid, and you should read this one of mine instead”? Doubtful. So why do it with a CD collection?

Second, musical taste is not usually an important aspect of a person’s personality, at least in my experience. A lot of people, though, seem to think that it matters a huge amount. In fact, let’s play a game. If I were to say that some of my favorite bands included Nine Inch Nails, Rage Against the Machine and System of a Down, what would you think of my personality based on that?

My guess is that you’d think I’m some angry, rebellious goth-punk weirdo who only wears black and hates the rest of the world, while writing sad, sensitive poetry in a leather-bound journal I keep chained to my belt. However, if you’ve ever actually met me, you’d know that that’s about as far from the truth as possible – my wardrobe is actually a tasteful selection of earth tones and button-downs.

Back in September 2007 I went to see Tool at the Petersen Events Center, and when I was recounting the experience afterward, one of my friends said to me, “That’s funny, you never really struck me as a Tool kind of guy.” What on earth does that mean? I’m not allowed to like a particular band because it doesn’t fit your view of my personality? Stereotyping musical taste is just that: stereotyping. To label someone’s personality based on whether they listen to emo or rap or whatever is about as wrong as labeling them based on his ethnicity. Finally, who really cares what music other people listen to anyway? I’ve never been in a situation where country vs. rap has played a pivotal role in my decision-making process.

I don’t think I’ve ever considered dating someone and then thought, “Oh no, she likes AFI, we’d never work out.” Musical taste is, in most cases, about as inconsequential a factor in a person’s actions and personality as the type of haircut they have. Unless the person is a career musician or a record critic, what music someone listens to probably doesn’t make any difference at all in the long run.

Now don’t get me wrong, I think there’s some terrible music out there. But somebody out there likes it, and who am I to tell him that his taste is crap? Just because I don’t like someone’s preferences in music doesn’t mean I can tell him the music is bad. It’s not my prerogative to attempt to change someone’s behavior or “save him from the dark side.”

Go ahead and listen to your Avril CDs or Nickelback B-sides and enjoy it and admit that you enjoy it. I might not agree, but I promise that I’ll keep my ideas – and my ears – to myself.

If you have Kenny G on your computer and aren’t afraid to admit it, e-mail Richard at rab53@pitt.edu and tell him about it.