Hi all.
This is a tad long but it’ll give you a bit of an idea on what I’m all about, at least when it comes to music preferences. If it’s sounds a bit formal that’s because I wrote it for uni last year. Enjoy.
I have a confession to make. Nestled between Something For Kate and Texas in my CD collection are two, yes two, albums by Take That. In my defence, one is a greatest hits and together they only cost me about six dollars. Before you scoff, roll your eyes and shake your head, ask yourself, what’s your guilty pleasure? Your personal preferences? What gives us our taste in music? Is it social conditioning, rebellion, laziness, peer pressure, personal experiences or a combination of all of these? (Christenson and Roberts 1998, 80)
When I think about it, I shouldn’t like the music that I do. My musical taste is a mass of contradictions. I find it challenging when asked to describe the sort of music that I like. I’ll give almost anything a whirl before ruling it out. However, I just cannot stand country and western music. On the other hand, I do own a Daisycutters EP, and I can handle a small amount of Johnny Cash (but that’s only because he’s a legend).
I just don’t have the time or the patience for ‘music’ that comes out of talent quest television programs (Idol, I’m looking at you). I can’t help but think of that as synthetic and therefore bad. Come to think of it, screamo doesn’t do much for me either. I also can’t listen to ‘Jesus music’, but that’s only because I was raised Catholic and became an atheist. Not exactly an easy transition. (Cline 2009) As I say, I’ll listen to almost anything, as long as it’s good.
I could never be lazy when it comes to music. It’s too important. I was asked recently what I would choose, to be blind or deaf. Without any hesitation, I responded “blind”. I didn’t have to think about it. A world without music is too terrifying a concept for me. I certainly don’t do things simply because everyone else does, so that eliminates peer pressure. (Christenson and Roberts 1998, 28) So where does that leave us? Social conditioning. The way in which we are raised. The external influences that we come into the most contact with. But why is that? To try to figure it out, we have to go back to the beginning.
Parents are the main influence in the early years of life, so it’s not surprising that their musical taste is reflected in the child’s. The child may model their taste after their parents or they may rebel against it; either way the parents play a strong part. (Christenson and Roberts 1998, 82; Einarsson 2007) In my case, it’s a blend of the two. It’s not a happy coincidence that I like the Hilltop Hoods just as much as like Regina Spektor. My mother has a fairly eclectic taste in music also. Her favourite artists are Santana, Van Morrison and Carole King. We both like Duffy, Jamie Cullum and Crowded House. I’ll never understand Kenny Chesney and she doesn’t get Bloc Party. I guess that’s what made me open to anything. When you grow up taught that being judgemental is not okay then it makes sense.
What about personal experiences and our own interpretation of music? I have had several sad occurrences in my life, and have not had the opportunity fully deal with them. This is most likely what laid the groundwork for my enjoyment of ‘sad’ music. Sacks explains this theory well. “…there is…a deep and mysterious paradox here, for while such music makes one experience pain and grief more intensely, it brings solace and consolation at the same time.” (2007, 301)
Identity has been described as “a set of ‘meanings’ applied to the self in a social role or situation defining what it means to be who one is.” (Burke in Andes 1998, 215) I don’t think I have forged my identity because of music. I think the music made me who I am. If my mother hadn’t played music to me from when I was still in the womb, then it’s possible I would be studying medicine, not music.
For my entire life, there has always been music in my world. I named my dog Janis, and that was when I was three years old. My identity has arisen from the diverse music that I have been exposed to in my almost nineteen years. Music is my passion and my intended career. However, because the music I have grown up surrounded by has been such an eclectic mix, I do not identify with any one particular sub-culture, but rather the broader music culture. (Sardiello 1998, 122-123) As a result, my identity is not one that confines me to a certain stereotype; which would disconnect me from a wide range of musical experiences. Rather, it is one that is ever changing and still emergent. If this were not the case, then my cultural life would not be as rich or rewarding as it is. If this pattern continues, my identity will not be locked into a particular niche, even in old age. This reveals itself as a facet of my identity, in that it thus far has been a constant characteristic; one that I am in control of.
Well, I like a little bit of everything thanks to my mother. I enjoy sad music because of my personal experiences. I’m not a fan of country and western because everyone has to rebel against something. I like Take That(in moderation), and I’m not ashamed of that. What does all this mean? It’s just what makes me who I am.
So what’s your guilty pleasure? Say it proud and play it loud.
Andes, L. 1998. Growing Up Punk: Meaning and Commitment Careers in a Contemporary Youth Subculture. In Youth Culture: Identity in a Postmodern World, ed. J. Epstein, 212-231. Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishers.
Christenson, P. and D. Roberts. 1998. It’s Not Only Rock&Roll: Popular Music in the Lives of Adolescents. New Jersey: Hampton Press.
Cline, A. 2009. How To Be An Atheist: Simple and Easy Procedure to Become an Athiest. http://atheism.about.com/od/atheismatheiststheism/a/BecomeAtheist.htm (accessed June 10, 2009).
Cohen,S. 2001. Popular Music, Gender and Sexuality. In The Cambridge Companion to pop and rock, ed. S. Frith, W. Straw and J. Street, 226-242. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Einarsson, H. 2007. Becoming Free of Your Parents and Social Conditioning. http://everydaywonderland.com/articles/becoming-free-of-your-parents-and-social-conditioning (accessed June 10 2009).
Ryalls, E. 2007. Emo Subculture: An Examination of the Kids, Music and Style that Form Emo Subculture. NCA 93rd Annual Convention, TBA, Chicago, IL, Nov 15, 2007.* http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p187580_index.html (accessed June 4, 2009).
Sacks, O. 2007. Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain. London: Picador.
Sardiello, R. 1998. Identity and Status Stratification in Deadhead Subculture. In Youth Culture: Identity in a Postmodern World, ed. J. Epstein, 118-147. Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishers.
