You Like Music? Name Every Song
Music is a medium that connects people, promotes dialogue and invokes intense emotion, which makes it the ultimate universal language. Despite its ubiquity, the subjective nature of musical preference is undeniable. Preference, at its root, is a reflection of the listener's identity, influenced by their experiences, opinions and media consumption.
Although no quantifiable metric dictates what is considered good or bad music, we all know at least one pretentious music enthusiast who thinks they’ve figured it out. They listen to SoundCloud leaks, YouTube only mixes, and strictly support artists under 10k streams. Their sense of entitlement may stem from production nerdiness as they rant about how a legitimately good song MUST be pristinely mixed and mastered by the most talented artists. Accompanying their niche preferences, they will most likely carry the mentality that their taste is far more superior than any casual listener.
I will admit that being pretentious about music can be fun at times. It’s a hard pill to swallow that your highly curated playlists may not be the best thing to ever exist. Although much of the ego-inflating behaviour is normal and expected, it still perpetuates a strange narrative that to have what is considered to be a “good taste” in music and identify as a “music lover”, you must be extremely knowledgeable and listen to the most obscure tracks.
Preference, at its root, is a reflection of the listener's identity
Kate McConnell
Shortly after finishing my first year at Queen’s I started “Queen’s Album Club”, an album review club with the central goal of bringing people with similar musical interests together. Despite starting this club, I still felt completely unqualified to be able to associate myself with music as a genuine interest. I had the preconception that to be interested in music, I had to be pretentious, listen to the most obscure music and know every artist I was asked my opinion on.
After realizing the absurdity of categorizing musical preference as good or bad, valid or invalid, my perspectives changed. That is the beautiful nature of music; it is completely subjective and arbitrary. Whether I’m listening to Aphex Twin or Sister Vanilla, both can be valid to me as good music while still being validly regarded as bad. My musical taste is impeccable because it means a lot to me and is a reflection of my lived experiences and personality. Every memory and connotation I attach to a song, artist or album creates a unique experience that I connect with.
Don't get me wrong, you can still be pretentious, listen to the deepest cuts, and “gatekeep” freely. No one is stopping you. At the same time, you can listen to the top 50s on your commute and say you’re into music. Although others that are passionate may try to prove that their preferences are far superior to yours, no metric can dictate that and nor should it. Having good musical taste is not determined by obscurity, knowledge or level of pretentiousness but by your personal perception of the enjoyment music brings! At the end of the day, if you enjoy what you’re listening to, you definitely have great music taste.
Illustration by Valerie Letts
