Do you feel we base too much of our identity on our music taste?
It's normal for the things we like to shape our identity and obviously for our identities to shape the things we like.
I just feel a lot of people build walls when talking about music or perhaps identify so far into a genre that to even say you like the sound of something outside of it to your comrades, is like mutiny or something.
I guess people naturally have a desire to belong, and if they find a group , there's a level of primal bond and common dislike of other groups that develops.
almost like groups in high school, you have the jocks,goths,nerds, ect.. it seems like sometimes this same mentality lives on in the music world, like you find a general group "identity" and to step out from it and claim to like something that doesn't belong to that general group then you are outcast or annoyingly laughed at, even if in just a playful way.
It's like a rap gangster dude couldn't put his ONE country song on he likes with his friends because people would judge him.
i personally listen to, classic rock, indie, acoustic, alternative, phycadelic, experimental, classical,folk, ect.. most of the time
But i also Have some select, rap,pop, electric dance, & heavy metal music i also enjoy.
Even with music i strongly dislike i can usually at least feel that the person is expressing themselves and it may be in a way i don't relate to as much, but still... right on to them for letting their colors bleed out into "sound art?" for others who would relate to it.
Sometimes it just feels like people feel a little too cool about the music the like, as if their insane spiral into heavy metal makes them tough or their love of folk makes them charismatic and sensitive.
I guess it's because music does in turn reflect who we are to some extent, but it just seems as if sometimes it's takin too far, as if people get narrow minded and will automatically resist any kind of music that doesn't fit the image of themselves that they've created.
you hear people say things like "this song is my guilty pleasure" trying to justify themselves, but why does it have to be guilty, why can you not be a metal head and totally dig a new pop song, or be a rapper who digs an ol time country song or whatever it be. like why do people associate music genres with such personified stigma, why can you just not openly like every song you happen to like?
Obviously you can, a lot of people do, but many don't.
Kind of rambling now haha , interested to hear you thoughts?