you're at a party, and being the music aficionado you are, the first small talk line you throw out is "so what kind of music do you like?"

the second they answer, whether you admit it or not, you will judge this person based solely on their choice in music. how could you not?

for me, someone who answers, "i really love nickelback actually, i have tickets to their show next weekend," will be inherently inferior to someone who answers, "i dig a lot of be-bop, dizzy and bird would be my faves, although i actaully tend to enjoy a good hunk of neo-boppers like marsalis."

don't lie -- admit you do it too.

the question: is this wrong, and are you a jerk for doing it?

you could argue that if, say, they're a big movie bluff, and you say your favourite movie is "Pearl Harbour", they'd judge you right back. and certainly you don't deserve to be judged based solely on your taste in film.

I never ask people what kind of music they like (at parties), because I know I will not be able to say anything positive about it anyway. So I just steer clear of the subject. Even if they ask me, I will just say "a bit of everything" and change the subject immediately.

me too. don't tell anyone that though, i was hoping somebody would reply seriously to this thread.

See, I am a worse musical snob than that. I don't go to parties where there are a lot of people with shit musical taste. If someone at a party that I went to said they were into nickleback it would be a very strange moment and I would probably think they were joking. I don't think it has ever happened to me (not since I left school that is)

Once a few years back I had a bunch of people over at the house, and I said, "Who wants to hear some doom jazz from Germany" -as I played "Bohren & Der Club of Gore". People thought I was nuts. Learned my lesson. Thats why I visit these stupid forums!

Good thing though is that I like enough mainstream music also to keep up with the best of em'. I also like American Idol

Nobody I know in real life listens to most of the music I like

I used to be pretty opinionated about people with their music - stereotyping - but I feel that I've dropped that now. If someone says they listen to music I don't like then I normally don't talk to them much about music and move on to another topic. If they say they like music I like then I'll probably talk about it more with them. But I probably wouldn't really bring up the topic in the first place.

Anyway, yeah I think it's not good to judge people on their listening tastes. Sure you can normally pick up how someone might act by the music they listen to but then you might also get a suprise too. Normally if you listen to someone as being an idiot, they'll turn out being an idiot (in your opinion through your listening).

People, in the U.S. anyway, are generally as ignorant about music as they are about politics, social issues etc. Music often defines how deep or shallow a person is. And you will often find that those who know much about music, know a lot about other things as well. If I ran into the most beautiful woman on the planet, got to know her, and she ended up wanting to marry me, I would not and could not go through with it if she didn't have musical depth.

People who decide what kind of music they like by listening to the radio or watching MTV are often the same people who decide to vote for based on watching CNN or Fox News. It seems that way to me, anyway.

I still tend to ask the question (I just can't help myself), but I'm not really lookin' for the type of music so much as how passionate they are about the music they do like. If they show true interest in whatever they listen to then I feel more comfortable about challenging them in a conversation. "Oh, you like them, well have you heard of these guys?" To me enough interest in the music they like is almost a challenge. What can I show them that they would like, but still broaden their horizons? It doesn't always work out, but when it does I feel I've done my sacred duty of passing along the word. I think more people would listen to a bigger variety, but just don’t know where to start.

However, through the years I have found that if anyone ever answers my query with,�A little bit of everything.� Then I know they are avoiding the question and I should stop while I’m ahead.

I still tend to ask the question (I just can't help myself), but I'm not really lookin' for the type of music so much as how passionate they are about the music they do like. If they show true interest in whatever they listen to then I feel more comfortable about challenging them in a conversation. "Oh, you like them, well have you heard of these guys?" To me enough interest in the music they like is almost a challenge. What can I show them that they would like, but still broaden their horizons? It doesn't always work out, but when it does I feel I've done my sacred duty of passing along the word. I think more people would listen to a bigger variety, but just don’t know where to start.


I wish I had your attitude. Seeing as I don't, I must admit that I'm a snob, musically. If someone says they like Creed, Nickelback or Three Doors Down, I often withdraw from them. I don't even give them a chance because it disgusts me that they would let corporations decide what they listen to. Not saying that it's right to think this way. Just being honest. Maybe I'll mature past this point some day.