I’m getting pretty tired of hearing that term thrown around for any music outside of the top 40. I guess all this resentment against “indie” music stems from the obnoxious need for some people to one-up their friends by finding the most obscure music possible. Yeah, it’s pretty annoying.
These people (usually termed “hipsters”) might be doing it for the wrong reasons, but they may be onto something. Listening to music outside of your normal tastes can really open your mind and change the way you approach music. I make a point of listening to weird music once in a while. Maybe it’s from a different genre or a different culture. Maybe it’s a new voice; a wobbly, creepy, or way-out-of-tune voice. Maybe the lyrics are profound or maybe they’re mindless babble. Sometimes it’s just the inexplicable feeling you get from a beat that catches you off guard, a single repeated note that is a symphony in itself, or a soaring melody that takes you back to a time and place. I don’t always like what I find. Sometimes weird music is really just weird music. But once in a while I come across a gem. Often times, they’re the ones that require a few doubtful listens.
There’s nothing wrong with top 40 or “mainstream” music. You’re just not as likely to find something new there. If you’re looking for weird music, you might find yourself digging for some hipster shit.
Over time, some of the weird stuff doesn’t sound so weird anymore. Maybe you’ll catch yourself singing along with that way-out-of-tune voice. Don’t worry, you’re not getting used to bad music. You’re not turning into a hipster. You’re just changing.
why should it ever be suggested that someone should listen to music outside of their normal tastes? functionally, that is accusing someone of having wrong (“bad”) taste in music. for those too pretentious to realize, nobody has bad taste in music. taste is measured with respect to preference, and preference is a personal disposition. telling someone their music taste is wrong is analogous to telling them they are feeling the wrong thing (e.g., they’re not truly happy; they’re not truly in love…). Yes, maybe with respect to your disposition theirs is incorrect, but why would you be so selfish to measure someone else in terms of yourself?
I’m not saying that stereotyping someone by their music tastes is necessarily fallacious; however, obviously this is only applicable in some situations. There exist certain artists whose music is so idiosyncratic that it is indeed difficult for people for whom this doesn’t relate to become more than casual listeners. To illustrate this, I will contrast fans of Neon Indian and Radiohead. Think of all the Neon Indian fans you know — how many of them don’t still retweet Hipster Runoff? Now think of all the Radiohead fans you know. Most likely, you are thinking of your entire social network, so it is thus impossible to add any implications to the sentence, “Oh, she likes Radiohead.” (Of course, there are Radiohead fans and there are Radiohead /fans/, but that’s for another essay.)
I understand that the point of this article is to suggest that it’s a good thing to “expand one’s taste” and “branch out”, but this carries the risk of self-identity suicide, so to speak. Deliberately searching for new bands is difficult territory unless your search is completely randomized, which it probably isn’t if you are “looking for weird music,” as advocated by this article.
Listening to music is nothing if not a personal, internal experience. Like any sort of medium, it is not inadvisable to dip your toes in other things, not necessarily to see if you like it, but to enforce basic cultural understanding. For example, not many people read Ulysses to appreciate the diction, but we accept stream-of-consciousness as a psychological plane. But, at least to me, it doesn’t seem right to attempt to change your own preference. What you consider yourself a fan of isn’t a conscious decision, and you’re old enough to listen to music you actually like.
I’m about to contradict the above four paragraphs by adding that the author of this article should stop getting angry if people tell her that death cab 4 qt is weird music and that she should be listening to more LMFAO.
hello there! thanks for reading and commenting.
i think i’ll just ignore that last part since the rest of your comment deserves some sort of reply.
why should anybody ever listen to music outside of their normal tastes? well, why should anybody ever try new foods or meet new people? it is to “expand one’s taste” and “branch out” as we’ve both said already. there’s just so much out there! i’m certainly not pretentious enough to think that i know all there is to know about music or food or people. i would never accuse anybody of having bad taste in music, especially since my own taste has changed so much over time.
i can’t completely relate to your Neon Indian vs Radiohead fans example. neon indians? hipster runoff? yeah i had to google those ones. hope you don’t judge me for that. anyways, i agree that it is difficult for people to relate to music that is way out of their usual tastes. i also agree that this makes it difficult to branch out and find weird music if your search is not completely randomized. i often find that when i search for new music, i end up with songs similar to ones in my usual tastes. how wonderful and frustrating!
i wouldn’t consider branching out as “self-identity suicide” though. i do not feel obligated to like everything i hear and my personality does not change every time i find something new. however, as my personality changes, i do find myself identifying with different music.
yes, listening to music should definitely be a personal experience and it is a great way to gain a basic cultural understanding. well put! you can’t consciously decide to become a fan of certain music, but i often wonder what personal, social, and emotional factors subconsciously motivate my choices. hmmm
the time i spend listening to new music is but a fraction of the total time i spend listening to music. i’m not saying that there’s anything wrong with listening to genres you like, just that it doesn’t hurt to try something new once in a while.
why should it ever be suggested that someone should listen to music outside of their normal tastes? functionally, that is accusing someone of having wrong (“bad”) taste in music. for those too pretentious to realize, nobody has bad taste in music. taste is measured with respect to preference, and preference is a personal disposition. telling someone their music taste is wrong is analogous to telling them they are feeling the wrong thing (e.g., they’re not truly happy; they’re not truly in love…). Yes, maybe with respect to your disposition theirs is incorrect, but why would you be so selfish to measure someone else in terms of yourself?
I’m not saying that stereotyping someone by their music tastes is necessarily fallacious; however, obviously this is only applicable in some situations. There exist certain artists whose music is so idiosyncratic that it is indeed difficult for people for whom this doesn’t relate to become more than casual listeners. To illustrate this, I will contrast fans of Neon Indian and Radiohead. Think of all the Neon Indian fans you know — how many of them don’t still retweet Hipster Runoff? Now think of all the Radiohead fans you know. Most likely, you are thinking of your entire social network, so it is thus impossible to add any implications to the sentence, “Oh, she likes Radiohead.” (Of course, there are Radiohead fans and there are Radiohead /fans/, but that’s for another essay.)
I understand that the point of this article is to suggest that it’s a good thing to “expand one’s taste” and “branch out”, but this carries the risk of self-identity suicide, so to speak. Deliberately searching for new bands is difficult territory unless your search is completely randomized, which it probably isn’t if you are “looking for weird music,” as advocated by this article.
Listening to music is nothing if not a personal, internal experience. Like any sort of medium, it is not inadvisable to dip your toes in other things, not necessarily to see if you like it, but to enforce basic cultural understanding. For example, not many people read Ulysses to appreciate the diction, but we accept stream-of-consciousness as a psychological plane. But, at least to me, it doesn’t seem right to attempt to change your own preference. What you consider yourself a fan of isn’t a conscious decision, and you’re old enough to listen to music you actually like.
I’m about to contradict the above four paragraphs by adding that the author of this article should stop getting angry if people tell her that death cab 4 qt is weird music and that she should be listening to more LMFAO.
hello there! thanks for reading and commenting.
i think i’ll just ignore that last part since the rest of your comment deserves some sort of reply.
why should anybody ever listen to music outside of their normal tastes? well, why should anybody ever try new foods or meet new people? it is to “expand one’s taste” and “branch out” as we’ve both said already. there’s just so much out there! i’m certainly not pretentious enough to think that i know all there is to know about music or food or people. i would never accuse anybody of having bad taste in music, especially since my own taste has changed so much over time.
i can’t completely relate to your Neon Indian vs Radiohead fans example. neon indians? hipster runoff? yeah i had to google those ones. hope you don’t judge me for that. anyways, i agree that it is difficult for people to relate to music that is way out of their usual tastes. i also agree that this makes it difficult to branch out and find weird music if your search is not completely randomized. i often find that when i search for new music, i end up with songs similar to ones in my usual tastes. how wonderful and frustrating!
i wouldn’t consider branching out as “self-identity suicide” though. i do not feel obligated to like everything i hear and my personality does not change every time i find something new. however, as my personality changes, i do find myself identifying with different music.
yes, listening to music should definitely be a personal experience and it is a great way to gain a basic cultural understanding. well put! you can’t consciously decide to become a fan of certain music, but i often wonder what personal, social, and emotional factors subconsciously motivate my choices. hmmm
the time i spend listening to new music is but a fraction of the total time i spend listening to music. i’m not saying that there’s anything wrong with listening to genres you like, just that it doesn’t hurt to try something new once in a while.