I really don't understand how a lot of people say they only like certain types of music genres and why they can't seem to appreciate an artist's strongpoints despite a weakness they may possess. Like for starters, I'm probably the only individual I know that likes Britney Spears as well as having a Beatles & Jay-Z stash of albums. Some of the greatest stories, to me, have been told through country music. Nine times out of ten there's always a clear message within the lyrics. Why can't it all be appreciated instead of insisting we don't like it before giving it a chance?

My second gripe deals with virtues & vices. Any sane Britney fan will tell you that she isn't and was never the greatest vocalist. When people buy her albums it's not like we expect to hear some exceptional High E Above Middle C type of note. That's not what drew us to her. What did was her charisma, that stage presence, the ability to put on a show and be an incredible entertainer. In her prime, I'd stack her up against almost anyone. But her detractors nevertheless can't see that for some reason. Or they don't want to see it. Whitney Houston put a pen to a pad I believe only once or twice in her career but so what? It was about her voice. Yet I've heard critics say that it dampens her legend - even arguing, for instance, that she shouldn't be inducted in places like the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame solely because of it. What I'm getting at I guess is that if you look at an artist close enough you'll often find something they excel at. Even Forehead (Rihanna). No she can't sing and can't dance and has no stage presence but she can craft a pop tune for the Top 40. And the Barbadian accent that overlaps it makes her a unique on the charts.

Does anybody get what I'm trying to say?

[Edited 11/24/11 20:43pm]

There are so many reasons. I'm just thankful that I had parents who introduced me to music other than Mariah, Whitney and others. I had a father who was rooted solely in jazz, techno and hip-hop, whereas my mother was rooted into R&B, blues and gospel. But there are so many reasons why music listeners don't have eclectic taste. We live in a world now where the number of music stores have gone down and the digital stores have been increased. We also have an industry that has dumb down the fabric of most musical genres and the average listener and buyer has become limited to one artist, whereas there a several artists who has already done it 1000 times better than them past or present. Is it the music charts? Is it the decrease of music programs in the educational programs? Is the the sensation for Billboard and Soundscan numbers? Or has the idea of musical inspiration become limited (parents, TV programs, etc.)?

I thank God I didn't become a zombie. My tastes are definitely more eclectic.

Timmy84 said:

I thank God I didn't become a zombie. My tastes are definitely more eclectic.

Yeah. I just always felt that I didn't need to be spoon fed by an industry that was so narrow-minded by individuals who probably don't even know or care anything about music. They are just for the money. But thank God I didn't get sucked up by the hype.

I listen to anything that sounds good. I make all types of music too.

You would have to address the underlying psychological, cultural and socio-economic issues to really answer that question

musicjunky318 said:

I really don't understand how a lot of people say they only like certain types of music genres and why they can't seem to appreciate an artist's strongpoints despite a weakness they may possess. Like for starters, I'm probably the only individual I know that likes Britney Spears as well as having a Beatles & Jay-Z stash of albums. Some of the greatest stories, to me, have been told through country music. Nine times out of ten there's always a clear message within the lyrics. Why can't it all be appreciated instead of insisting we don't like it before giving it a chance?

[Edited 11/24/11 20:43pm]

This is me and i'm really tired of the mainstream vs indie mess if it sounds good to you listen to it and ignore the ones that don't like it. I always was a fan of many styles and genre's of music I never could relate to listening to just one thing. I was raised on the oldies so it will always be a part of me but I still listen to artists in my generation and will continue to do so. There is some good music out here.

babybugz said:

musicjunky318 said:

I really don't understand how a lot of people say they only like certain types of music genres and why they can't seem to appreciate an artist's strongpoints despite a weakness they may possess. Like for starters, I'm probably the only individual I know that likes Britney Spears as well as having a Beatles & Jay-Z stash of albums. Some of the greatest stories, to me, have been told through country music. Nine times out of ten there's always a clear message within the lyrics. Why can't it all be appreciated instead of insisting we don't like it before giving it a chance?

[Edited 11/24/11 20:43pm]

This is me and i'm really tired of the mainstream vs indie mess if it sounds good to you listen to it and ignore the ones that don't like it. I always was a fan of many styles and genre's of music I never could relate to listening to just one thing. I was raised on the oldies so it will always be a part of me but I still listen to artists in my generation and will continue to do so. There is some good music out here.

Yeah I agree with this too. I love Kanye West, The Beatles, Alicia Keys and even though I have a few quibbles about them, they have my respect and admiration. This whole indie vs. mainstream thing is so bias and messy because someone of Alicia Keys stature might have more musical ability than some indie band, but the difference is that you're getting one side of her as an artist while this band gets the critical praise and their album is just doesn't appeal. But she still has great music and better appeal. It's just a shame that this idea of politics in music is messy. But I do feel that there is music out there that deserves to be pushed more than these folks being pushed in the industry. Shameful. But appeal is a big thing. It just is.

^^

I haven't listened to pretty much anything mainstream since the mid 90's. Am I aware of it, yes, and Im open to it, yes but for the most part Im seldom impressed or care. Im called a music snob regularly by my friends and new people I meet and I wear that as a badge.

Hell Ive walked away from some potentially great one night stands, cause the first thing the boy did was put on madonna.

[Edited 11/24/11 22:04pm]

Proudly eclectic over here.

I don't see how people can like only one form of music. That's like saying you like only form of artistic expression. Like "I only like Renaissance paintings or Byzantine paintings...but I hate French Impressionism."

My mind just cannot work like that. It's all art...to appreciate it fully...you must see and hear it all.

So we all have eclectic tastes in music? Fine!

PANDURITO said:

So we all have eclectic tastes in music? Fine!

And you like what you like I don't see whats the big deal whether if people listen to a limited set of music or a wild variety. As long as the enjoyment factor is accomplished, to hell with the process.

I think you guys need to get off your high horses and accept the fact that not everybody is as passionate about music.

Because people only limit themselves to what is acessible. Also, people have their reasons for why they listen to the type of music they listen to in the first place.

You have some people who listen to music based on the popularity and accolades of it

You have some people who have only listened to a certain type of music for most their life or majority of the time and assume that is the only best music because that is all they know

You have some people who only care for just that one style of music and maybe have tried other styles but just prefered that one.

There are many reasons as to why people are not eclectic with their music taste. I think however, the most general reason I have personally noticed is most people are not aware of the various other genres and artists that are at their fingertips they just have to look for it. People rather limit themselves to what they can easily access because it can be easily judged and not hard to find. Also, most people dont have a brain to think for themselves and allow other people to determine what they should and should not listen.

I just thank God I do have an eclectic taste in music and listen to the music I love because I enjoy it and not for anyone else...

Harlepolis said:

PANDURITO said:

So we all have eclectic tastes in music? Fine!

And you like what you like I don't see whats the big deal whether if people listen to a limited set of music or a wild variety. As long as the enjoyment factor is accomplished, to hell with the process.

I think you guys need to get off your high horses and accept the fact that not everybody is as passionate about music.

Agreed. It ain't that deep.

Because 60% of the population is a simpleton john doe and only likes what's in the charts

[Edited 11/25/11 11:26am]

in my house, you can find Beatles, Chic, Madonna, Sepultura and Basement Jaxx, and that's only one example...

eclecticism or DEATH , lol

and to answer the OP question: many times we forget that the world is full of simple people (and that's NOT an insult), with simple/rigid tastes...

[Edited 11/25/11 12:13pm]

lazycrockett said:

I haven't listened to pretty much anything mainstream since the mid 90's. Am I aware of it, yes, and Im open to it, yes but for the most part Im seldom impressed or care. Im called a music snob regularly by my friends and new people I meet and I wear that as a badge.

Hell Ive walked away from some potentially great one night stands, cause the first thing the boy did was put on madonna.

[Edited 11/24/11 22:04pm]

I would too. I'd be embarrassed that it even got that far.

Harlepolis said:

I think you guys need to get off your high horses and accept the fact that not everybody is as passionate about music.

Yeah, some people don't care about music at all. My cousin doesn't own one record, cassette, CD, etc. She doesn't even have a radio, except the one on the alarm clock. I have other older relatives that don't own any music either. To some people music is just something playing in the background, sort of like elevator music. It doesn't mean anything to them. It's like some people like to read and others don't.

What's wrong with liking certain genres of music and not others? I don't think that shows that you can't think for yourself at all. I think it would be kind of mindless to just like every different kind of music. I actually think it shows you are a thoughtful person if you have certain tastes in music as to what you like and what you don't.

I'm not talking about just liking pop music on the radio, which I agree is kind of limited. But I don't think you have to love every different genre of music equally. It would be weird if you did.

I personally prefer alternative/indie rock, pop dance, acoutic singer/songwriters and trip hop/laid back electronica.

I really don't care for R&B, rap/hip hop, jazz, pounding house/techno and country music. It's not that I"m not aware of those genres. I've heard them and I just don't like them.

Glindathegood said:

What's wrong with liking certain genres of music and not others? I don't think that shows that you can't think for yourself at all. I think it would be kind of mindless to just like every different kind of music. I actually think it shows you are a thoughtful person if you have certain tastes in music as to what you like and what you don't.

I'm not talking about just liking pop music on the radio, which I agree is kind of limited. But I don't think you have to love every different genre of music equally. It would be weird if you did.

I personally prefer alternative/indie rock, pop dance, acoutic singer/songwriters and trip hop/laid back electronica.

I really don't care for R&B, rap/hip hop, jazz, pounding house/techno and country music. It's not that I"m not aware of those genres. I've heard them and I just don't like them.

I don't think its weird, I think if folks are enthusiastic about music, they would develop an unprejudiced ear toward any type of music, I think its a gift.

But from my own personal experience, I came to find out that most people are just casual listeners.

Harlepolis said:

Glindathegood said:

What's wrong with liking certain genres of music and not others? I don't think that shows that you can't think for yourself at all. I think it would be kind of mindless to just like every different kind of music. I actually think it shows you are a thoughtful person if you have certain tastes in music as to what you like and what you don't.

I'm not talking about just liking pop music on the radio, which I agree is kind of limited. But I don't think you have to love every different genre of music equally. It would be weird if you did.

I personally prefer alternative/indie rock, pop dance, acoutic singer/songwriters and trip hop/laid back electronica.

I really don't care for R&B, rap/hip hop, jazz, pounding house/techno and country music. It's not that I"m not aware of those genres. I've heard them and I just don't like them.

I don't think its weird, I think if folks are enthusiastic about music, they would develop an unprejudiced ear toward any type of music, I think its a gift.

But from my own personal experience, I came to find out that most people are just casual listeners.

I don't agree at all. I'm far from a casual listener of music. I'm very passionate about music. I don't see why you have to like everything. I'm a very opinionated person. I'm not just going to blindly say I like everything equally. Do people have to like every different kind of food and style of clothing too? People are allowed to have different tastes in the kinds of things they like and they don't.

I actually think the more enthusiastic and more focused you are on music, the more you develop very specific tastes for what you like and what touches you and what doesn't. I think casual listeners are more likely to say they like every genre.

I'm very eclectic when it comes to music.I love everything from disco to jazz....I also love alot of Latin music styles.It would be boring to only listen to one type of music.

PANDURITO said:

So we all have eclectic tastes in music? Fine!

Exactly. No offense to the OP but listening to Britney Spears isn't going to make

my taste more electic. She's simply not my cup of tea neither Lil Wayne, P.Diddy,

Keri Hilson and countless others. I like Robert Randolph and the Family Band.

There's not many orgers who talk about Robert Randolph and he may not be

everyone's cup of tea but that doesn't make their musical taste less electic.

I was never "eclectic" until shit hop took over R&B radio in the mid 1990s. It was then, that I switched over to pop radio for a while until strippped down folk sounding artists like Jewel started getting lots of airplay and stripped down accoustical "unplugged" type acts also. I don't do "simple" stripped down music whether it's on the R&B side or the rock side. I see it as record labels taking advantage of a lot of the younger generation's "cheaply made" tastes and pushing the cheaply made stuff over the stuff that requires more musicians. Plus, I find cheaply made "simple" music extremely boring.

After that, I started getting more into rock that I grew up with but never really previously listened to very much back when I was growing up because there was so much good funk to occupy my time. The same with older country and blues. It was because of dull bullshit genres taking over that I expanded my tastes. If it weren't for the bullshit, I'd still to this very day be into the funk and absolutely nothing else except an extension of funk such as disco or house music. Would I prefer to still be "non-eclectic" if funk still ruled the day? Damn right I would and don't give a damn who knows it.

musicjunky318 said:

I really don't understand how a lot of people say they only like certain types of music genres and why they can't seem to appreciate an artist's strongpoints despite a weakness they may possess. Like for starters, I'm probably the only individual I know that likes Britney Spears as well as having a Beatles & Jay-Z stash of albums. Some of the greatest stories, to me, have been told through country music. Nine times out of ten there's always a clear message within the lyrics. Why can't it all be appreciated instead of insisting we don't like it before giving it a chance?

My second gripe deals with virtues & vices. Any sane Britney fan will tell you that she isn't and was never the greatest vocalist. When people buy her albums it's not like we expect to hear some exceptional High E Above Middle C type of note. That's not what drew us to her. What did was her charisma, that stage presence, the ability to put on a show and be an incredible entertainer. In her prime, I'd stack her up against almost anyone. But her detractors nevertheless can't see that for some reason. Or they don't want to see it. Whitney Houston put a pen to a pad I believe only once or twice in her career but so what? It was about her voice. Yet I've heard critics say that it dampens her legend - even arguing, for instance, that she shouldn't be inducted in places like the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame solely because of it. What I'm getting at I guess is that if you look at an artist close enough you'll often find something they excel at. Even Forehead (Rihanna). No she can't sing and can't dance and has no stage presence but she can craft a pop tune for the Top 40. And the Barbadian accent that overlaps it makes her a unique on the charts.

Does anybody get what I'm trying to say?

[Edited 11/24/11 20:43pm]

No -

Basically, you wish to carve the world out into categories that you deem suitable

as for what passes for "good taste." There is no strict definition for what is certainly

to be a virtue or a vice.

I know what you are saying but just because you are non-discriminatory when it comes

to music does not mean that it is in and of itself a virtue or more virtuous than someone

who does discriminate. You are to be commended for being able to withstand and enjoy

both Jay Z and the Beatles. But neither isn't the person who is unable to withstand and

enjoy anything but the Beatles.

Glindathegood said:

Harlepolis said:

I don't think its weird, I think if folks are enthusiastic about music, they would develop an unprejudiced ear toward any type of music, I think its a gift.

But from my own personal experience, I came to find out that most people are just casual listeners.

I don't agree at all. I'm far from a casual listener of music. I'm very passionate about music. I don't see why you have to like everything. I'm a very opinionated person. I'm not just going to blindly say I like everything equally. Do people have to like every different kind of food and style of clothing too? People are allowed to have different tastes in the kinds of things they like and they don't.

I actually think the more enthusiastic and more focused you are on music, the more you develop very specific tastes for what you like and what touches you and what doesn't. I think casual listeners are more likely to say they like every genre.

I'm the same way. When I love something, I love the hell out of it and don't accept watered down versions of it. I don't let the mainstream change and alter what I liked to begin with and then accept it because "that's just the way it is". I had a much more "eclectic" taste than the average listener when it came to funk anyway because I always got into the groups that weren't the huge sellers and the different extensions of funk such as disco, fast rap, and house music, and not a whole lot of funk lovers got into house when it came out. The average listener just accepted the adult contemporary takeover and didn't even bother to explore something that continued on dance music such as house music.

At the same time, I never let those with extreme "eclectic" tastes persuade me either. Some of them are sincerely eclectic and some of them pretend to be to seem elite, unique, or hip. I never considered being totally into only one type of music to be a bad thing anyway (unless it's bullshit music ) so I never gave a damn what anyone thought of me anyway. My "eclectiveness" came from my own dissatisfaction with music after funk died and came about with me exploring other things such as rock out of desperation for something good, not to be able to brag and say I'm eclectic. But my tastes are fairly basic. I love anything that you can have a good time with either in a club or in a bedroom regardless of genre but if it has a down to earth, family friendly, "normal" feel to it, it bores the hell out of me. Hell, I'm gay and ain't a damn thing "average" or "normal" about me and I can't relate to anything that is. And I don't listen to music to hear "poetry" either. If I want poetry, I'll read some boring ass Shakespeare. I listen to music for the way the actual music and groove makes me feel.

.

.

.

[Edited 11/28/11 14:32pm]

vainandy said:

I don't listen to music to hear "poetry" either. If I want poetry, I'll read some boring ass Shakespeare. I listen to music for the way the actual music and groove makes me feel.

I don't really care about the lyrics either. That's why I can listen to instrumental music or people singing in languages I don't understand. The singer is just another sound to me.

I would think that most (serious) Prince fans are, by nature, "eclectic" to a greater extent than the average joe.

That being said, I listen to and appreciate just about any type of music with the exception of Country and Heavy Metal.