My Music and Your Music

Music posts are always fun for me.  I really like trying to pick out appropriate words to describe things you hear when listening to a song, and the emotions they elicit.  Maybe I don't always get the point across and perhaps the conclusions I draw are way off-base, but it's fulfilling when I can look back and say, "Yea, I remember that album" with a fond tear in my eye.

Well, maybe not a tear, but perhaps just a nostalgic, goofy grin.

Sometimes, I like to think that the enthusiasm I have for a certain group might inspire a reader or two to check out the website, buy their album, or maybe even acquire it from a colleague.  Not that I think everyone will like it right off the bat, but it's nice to hype something every now and then.  Musical taste is a very subjective thing these days.  No one agrees with every band on another person's list and why should they?  Shareable digital music really does create an interesting dilemma though.  How much cross-pollination is too much and when does one get sick of another person's musical persistence?

I can't say I'm as incensed as this writer at the proliferation of public musical displays.  Having gone over Last.FM's networking possibilities, I think that it's fascinating to see what inspires others.  At the same time, since musical taste is subjective, who's to say one person's iTunes list is any better than the next person's?  There have been blogs read that claim their musical tastes to be utterly unique, diverse, and important.  There have been people expressing their undying love for guilty pleasures like N'Sync and even those British stalwarts, Westlife.  I find the latter to be more inspiring, especially if they're passion really belies the questionable disposition of such a musical choice (haha).

What the writer really lambastes is the ubiquity of music these days and how readily available it is to the public's ears.  Putting your own musical selection out into the ether can be frustrating in some cases (why must people be so proud of themselves?), but I believe it can also be laudable that one is brave enough to do so.  Annoying as it may seem, I think it's an impassioned display that's warranted for those few who are proud enough to do so.

Really, I'm not here to say that I love every type of music and my playlists are king.  What I am here to say is to let your music sing out.  If Queensryche is what makes you who you are or if every time you hear Ace of Base you shed a tear, you're entitled to shout it from the heavens.  Just don't claim you're any better than your neighbor just because all your favorite bands are small, independent, whiny emotastic, garage-dwelling slackers.