I’ve always believed that what music someone listens to says a lot about who they are as a person. I have spent many hours curating playlists that I deem worthy enough to showcase, so I know firsthand how much music says about a person. People have tried to fight me on this, saying that music shouldn’t be an indication of someone’s traits—and I understand—I just think that by thinking that way, you are choosing to not see the full picture.
If you think I am harsh for using music taste as an indicator of what kind of personality one has, you are forgetting about how often others have judged friends, family and even strangers on their taste in the arts. If you show someone a bad movie after raving nonstop about how good it is, there’s a chance that person will no longer trust your judgment. The same could be said for the opposite; if you put someone on good music, they will trust your judgment forever.
“But Layna, just because someone’s opinion is different from yours does not make it wrong!”
I think everyone is entitled to their own opinions, and just because our interests differ, it does not make one of us right or wrong. I’m simply pointing out that music taste says something about you, and if you can’t match my freak, I cannot help you!
I once met someone who never listened to music. Ever. It made me realize that people who do not listen to music are out there, and for whom he was, it made sense. He had the mentality that it was a time waster to listen to music when he could be doing something “smart” instead.
One major reason for this thought process is the overlapping of music and politics. There’s an explanation for why you know which way country listeners lean politically. You can correlate a political party to different genres of music, since both politics and music are rooted in conflict and harmony. Pumped Up Kicks, for those of you not in the know, is a heavily political song about gun violence in the United States. Music can be a healthy medium to express how one feels on the inside, and music concerning political issues can be listened to and understood by many. Or maybe it’s my degree talking, who knows?
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention those who listen to music simply because they enjoy it. Music was made for us to enjoy, and by golly, if they didn’t surpass expectations on that front. Music makes you feel, music unites people, and for some, music is as necessary as the air that we breathe.
So, after all that rambling, why does music taste matter? Music taste matters because it can help you connect to other people. Music taste matters because it can allow people to trust your judgement a bit more than they did before. Music taste matters because connecting to those around you is vital and socializing is important. Let’s be honest: having good taste in music is important, so no one is asking you to turn it off when you have aux.