Spring Break
JHU music fans refuse to explore other genres
Issue date: 2/21/08
I also spoke with Scott Yin, a senior and another metal head. "I like very extreme forms of music," Yin said. "I like a lot of metal, different types of heavy metal, like classic metal, thrash metal, speed metal, death metal, black metal. I also like the extreme forms of rap music like gangster rap."
Yin defended his seemingly exclusive tastes, saying, "Music is all based on music. Taste is all based on personal opinion. Something that is not rap or metal I already have a bias toward because I probably have a pretty good idea what it's going to sound like and I know that I don't like that particular type of music."
Listeners also tend to associate different styles of music with different periods in their life which strengthens their attachment to a particular genre. Sophomore Stu Sweeney, a country fan, said that he listened to country music because he spent much of his life overseas and country music reminded him of his hometown in Texas. Noah Haddaway, another sophomore, listened to alternative rock, mostly through particular local radio stations, so he associates that style of music with his childhood.
Personal taste may drive listeners' choice in music, but the culture that surrounds different styles is also a major factor. Genres such as punk rock and rap foster the division of listeners by creating a cult-like group of followers who unify in their dress, their speech, and sometimes even their beliefs.
Sweeney said, "I went to school with a lot of people in Connecticut, and it was mostly kids from Greenwich and New York and they were extremely rich and extremely preppy, but they all listened to hardcore rap. They were all trying to put on this 'Oh yeah. I'm down with 50 Cent and Jay-Z' and all that s---, and I thought, 'you guys are a joke.' But they just wanted to seem cooler, so they listened to all that s---. I definitely think that people listen to it because they want to associate with the culture rather than its musical value, which in some cases it doesn't have."
Yin defended his seemingly exclusive tastes, saying, "Music is all based on music. Taste is all based on personal opinion. Something that is not rap or metal I already have a bias toward because I probably have a pretty good idea what it's going to sound like and I know that I don't like that particular type of music."
Listeners also tend to associate different styles of music with different periods in their life which strengthens their attachment to a particular genre. Sophomore Stu Sweeney, a country fan, said that he listened to country music because he spent much of his life overseas and country music reminded him of his hometown in Texas. Noah Haddaway, another sophomore, listened to alternative rock, mostly through particular local radio stations, so he associates that style of music with his childhood.
Personal taste may drive listeners' choice in music, but the culture that surrounds different styles is also a major factor. Genres such as punk rock and rap foster the division of listeners by creating a cult-like group of followers who unify in their dress, their speech, and sometimes even their beliefs.
Sweeney said, "I went to school with a lot of people in Connecticut, and it was mostly kids from Greenwich and New York and they were extremely rich and extremely preppy, but they all listened to hardcore rap. They were all trying to put on this 'Oh yeah. I'm down with 50 Cent and Jay-Z' and all that s---, and I thought, 'you guys are a joke.' But they just wanted to seem cooler, so they listened to all that s---. I definitely think that people listen to it because they want to associate with the culture rather than its musical value, which in some cases it doesn't have."
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