Music – The Conversation
You’ve all had the conversation where someone you know comes up to you and says “Hey, have you heard the new Jason Aldean song?” First, you cringe.Then you get into a conversation about it. You’ll try to mention Randy Rogers or Jason Boland, but you find that the other person just doesn’t want to talk about anything but Jason Aldean and his stupid new song! In other words, the conversation… is over.
You walk away wishing your friend would just listen to you a little more. Wishing that you could get one more chance to talk about YOUR favorite musician. Frustrated. Hoping that you’ll run into them again so that so can tell them how these bands changed your life.
You walk away thinking “There’s so much MORE to this conversation!”
And there really is so much more. But here is the thing… we are all guilty of it. That’s right, even our indie country scene is not immune to one sided conversations. You think you are open minded, but you’re not. I see it all the time in the various blog and media outlets… we have such a one track mind when it comes to what we like that we are just as guilty of shutting out new or different music as “Jason Aldean fan”.
Admittedly, I’m the chief of sinners when it comes to this. I’ll latch on to 3-4 bands and dig in without letting any others in. But the more I just simply realize that there’s more to the conversation than just my side, the more I’ve noticed new and different music. I don’t even have to look for it.. all I have to do is simply be open to concept that there is more out there than I like right at this moment. When I get to a venue with a band I don’t know and don’t like at first listen… I stop.. I remember that there’s more to it than I think… and try not to make any judgements right away.
The more we all realize there is more to the conversation, the healthier our music scene will be.
You don’t like it when those pop music fans won’t listen to you, so don’t shut it out when the same happens to you.
There’s more to the conversation.
This is so true… I used to do this ALL THE TIME but I’ve actually come to look forward to discussing music with people that have different tastes than I do.
Good stuff.
Agreed. Lots of stuff you blog about I’ve barely heard of and I have to take time to really listen.
This is spot on. I deal with these kind of conversations a lot. Listening to music is my passion and I’m always open to new artists, genres, songs, suggestions. I actually do what you’ve suggested here, and try to stay open about things. You never know how your tastes might change, or if an artist you’ve shunned might surprise you one day. Music is ever evolving and to keep oneself closed off to that is a huge mistake. They’re missing out on the big picture here. Thank you for writing this.
I used to call myself “close-minded in my open-mindedness” for this very reason. Thanks for reminding me. Although I take great pride in the music choices I make to listen to and support, there’s a lot out there that I don’t make time for that I should.