I’m not sure how we get hooked on our favorite types of music. I learned early on that my musical tastes were not at all inherited. Of course, I like to think that I am so open-minded that music in all it’s forms should appeal to me. Well, that’s silly.
I think musical tastes is sometimes broadened by passive listening. Movies have all types of music in them. Sometimes a little unintentional exposure hooks you into something new. At the same time, I suppose, movies are also powerful purveyors of stereotypes. And, just like with everything else, it’s easy for us to treat areas we have little knowledge of or interest in with stereotypes. For example, those who turn their nose up at American Country music probably think of it terms of twang, cowboy hats, and the clichès about losing your woman, your truck, and your dog, and then recall the least persuasive appealing memory of those icons.
I always rolled my eyes at the college course titles about appreciation of the arts, but it makes more and more sense to me. If you don’t appreciate some form of art that other people adore, you may not know enough about it. I confess I’m taken in by those Time-Life (and similar) nostalgia music collection infomercials. It’s a great way to see what—well, at least Time-Life says are the essential songs of a particular kind of music at a particular time in history.
Well, anyway, is there a particular kind of music you once thought you detested or at least didn’t care for that you had an epiphany about? In other words, how’s your musical tastes changed since you were a kid?
