Stereotypes, Failures & Other Uninspired Endeavors, Including Dinosaurs and The Spice Girls

Recently, I’ve had an epiphany of sorts, in relation to my musical listening abilities. I haven’t necessarily determined a more appropriate way of listening. Rather, I am beginning to interpret musical genres in an entirely new fashion. First, It’s no secret that I’ve always been a bit of a pompous moron, abrasively holding my ground on some foolish stance, spouting off on what I enjoy musically. This might not change, but I am at least making an attempt to evolve. Some things are just set in stone, like when someone says they’ve never heard of Jerry Garcia. That’s just a deal breaker. Sayonora! The interesting enlightenment that’s fortified, is how there’s no need in berating the music I don’t like. Besides Nickleback, because that’s clearly just entirely unacceptable music. Furthermore, If I don’t like the Metal genre I can simple avoid it under most circumstances. It’s interesting to think about why we spend so much time talking about things we dislike instead of focusing on the things we enjoy. I’ll be the first to admit I spend far too much time preoccupied by the flaws of humanity, yet it gets me nowhere.

It’s vital to understand that music is a form of communication, furthermore, it makes sense to acknowledge that we all communicate on different levels, in different dialects, and in different languages. So, maybe my unearthed annoyance with metal music is simply a failure of my interpretation of that specific language. When it’s layed out as such it makes it much harder to show animosity towards metal music. Like cultural relativism for the world of music.

Stereotypes are another issue that I’d presume have a much greater impact on our musical enjoyment than most people imagine. Once again, I’m as guilty as anyone else for perpetuating stereotypes and making fun of people who listen to country music. Immaturity is a cause for an abundance of issues, and beyond that, ignorance can be a life long condition. Take a moment and think to yourself about a band you might enjoy but are publicly antagonistic of the band. This may be due to some perpetrated societal issues like evaluation apprehension—which is basically one’s concern of how they might appear in the eyes of others. Somehow we end up creating entire genres of music that have been deemed inappropriate and sometimes without ever listening to the music. Rap is bad because they swear and other arbitrary utterances. This scenario will continue to be unique to the individual and groups, depending on the social setting and location, different opinions may be derived. Country music is popularly embraced in Nashville and may be repulsive in a different area, such as Russia. But what do I know, maybe Russians love country music? I kind of doubt it, but maybe? Anyway, can you see where I’m going with this?

Finally, I’ll use the Spice Girls as my prime example of stereotypical failure. When I was in middle school they became obnoxiously popular. Honestly, I didn’t care for the majority of their music but there was one slower song, “When 2 Become 1” that really got to me. Being the emotional sap that I am, I was moved by the sadness of the song at only 11 years old (which I think is pretty unusual) but I never acknowledged this enjoyment to my peers due to the fear of being shamed. How often does a similar scenario take place throughout our society? How often do you manipulate your musical taste depending on the setting? As with most people, you might act differently around a friend than you would with your boss? Does this style shift happen similarly within the musical spectrum? Is there a place you can aspire for, thus appreciating and accepting more musical opportunities into your own personal spectrum? We can treat music the same way we treat individuals. Treat others the way you want to be treated. Learn about another ethnicities, and other genres. Explore and respect something new you would have never imagined listening to. It’s an adventure, you might as well take the ride.

If you’d like to engage in some more ridicule here’s the link to that devastating Spice Girls song:

Finally, the following is a link to something you might not have heard before. Go ahead and indulge on the other side of your tastebuds: