Never has music not been a part of my life. To think about it never taking a hold of me in the way that it has is actually a strange thought, as not a day goes by that I don’t listen to at least one whole song. As I have grown throughout the years, my music taste has evolved to encompass a variety of genres. The types of music that have rooted themselves in my heart over the years can be traced from several different origins- from the songs on my dad’s CD's, to those that played on the radios in my parents’ cars, and to those I have discovered through media platforms- all of this music is a part of my identity. The latter statement of that sentence is probably said by everyone, regardless of his or her musical tastes. But here’s something I have noticed: some musical interests are held higher than others; some people are seen as more respectable for having a certain taste in music than those with others, and to this I ask, why? I have given this thought, and, having the great knowledge in music that I have acquired over the years, I decided to lay out several steps to help one develop an admirable and high-esteemed taste in music.
The first step people should take in developing their music taste is to think about how they would like to portray themselves to the world around them. During this process, people should push what they consider to be their true identity to the back of their minds and think solely about what would make them look cool and unique to others. “Mainstream” artists and groups are absolutely prohibited. Nobody wants to be seen as a crazy fanatic who likes to stalk the hotels of popular boy bands or whose social media accounts are devoted to pop artists. Nor does anyone want to be seen as lowly and tasteless by listening to rap and R&B, with all its explicit and violent lyrics. A person should instead try to stick to “alternative” music, perhaps indie rock, or maybe something edgier, like progressive metal. Listening to such examples of musical genres would allow people to gain respect from more esteemed people and groups of society, such as hipsters and punk-rockers. Whether or not a person has a true liking for a certain genre is not important, and a person’s true self-identity should not be taken too much into consideration during this process.
After picking one of the aforementioned alternative genres to devote his or herself to, a person should then develop a persona that aesthetically revolves around their chosen music taste. Lying is key in this process, specifically so that a person’s high likability among others is ensured. An important step would be to become a consumer of merchandise of such alternative artists and bands, even of those that the consumer does not personally listen to. One cannot risk having to hear someone else say to him or her, “Ew, you like that artist?” or “Ew, you actually listen to that band?” upon seeing that he or she listens to or flaunts an unacceptable band or artist’s piece of merchandise. These statements and other similarly negative regards automatically discredit a person’s uniqueness and originality. Music should be listened to to make good impressions on others; the main focus of a person developing his or her taste in music should be that he or she can gain as much admiration from as many other people as possible... right?
Wrong. This is what I truly believe: music is made for allowing people to not only express themselves but to also build upon their self-identity. No person should have to be ashamed of their music taste, regardless of how “mainstream” or “underground” it is. Trends in music are constantly changing as well, and so a person should not have to limit themselves to what they have been following or have been listening to. On a personal note, music holds a special place in my heart, and it makes up much of who I am as a person. If a person does not have the same ability as me to listen to and enjoy the music that they want to, what is the point of having music in our world at all?
