Do you have eclectic taste in music?

this thread is a trap

I think eclecticism entering the mainstream is a positive development, and it connects well with postmodern & poptimist "relativism". Like so many other aesthetic preferences eclecticism could be used for social positioning, but I don't think that's too interesting. I do find it interesting that it seems like most people are able to enjoy most music. Maybe it points toward some shared qualities in all music.

I don't think eclecticism necessarily reinforces conservative genre constructs - eclecticism could just as easily be seen as a critique of genre rigidity, since it makes the case that genre doesn't matter much.

Instinct is to say 'no' because I know people - mainly online - with much broader taste than me, and I feel like my own taste is ossifying as I get older, in that I know the kinds of things I'd like better and better. But then I also feel like I know nothing of any depth about any particular area when compared to genre specialists, and that I flit about ridiculously from one taxonomical category to another as far as some people are concerned. So I'd probably refer to myself, pejoratively, as a dilettante.

But then I read BraNwell's posts, and basically, aside from the fact that I don't really understand my own exact triggers for enjoyment (not playing an instrument / knowing music qua music as a language), that pretty much sums up where I am.

Compared to some people I have super limited musical tastes. Some of my friends have encyclopedic knowledge of genres I would never know. Then again I think I enjoy music from a much wider variety of music than the average American. I paid close attention to Pitchfork and the music industry up until the White Stripes hit, and which point I was more or less involved with local music from that day forward, and knew and cared far much more about music made by friends and people I knew. Of course during this time I rediscovered and discovered a lot of things I never knew or gave a chance.

The internet has kind of changed it all, making it easier for a post-genre musical landscape. Everyone can like metal or pop. There was some ad on a youtube video the other day and it showed a rhythm video game soundtracked by Britney Spears' "One More Time" and the camera panned to reveal ... a bunch of dudes who should be into something more obscure. This is fundamentally different from when I grew up, I feel. Then again maybe not. I am sort of on the cusp of millenial so while I discovered Nirvana through MTV I learned about MBV, Pixies, Fugazi, etc. from Allmusic.com and sites like this.

We kind of all have eclectic tastes now in 2016, The Future of Infinite Music. The real question seems to be comparing/contrasting.

The internet has largely encouraged a Race To The Obscure, universalizing hipsterism, so now your Aunt may post some mind-blowing 80's European kitsch accidentally.

i just listened to some jazz then some heavy metal, feeling vv eclectic RN guess what? now i'm listening to rap!

for xmas I received records from my loved ones by Arca, Oval, Sunny Day Real Estate, Jawbreaker, The National, Joyce Manor, The Beatles, Courtney Barnett, Phil Spector, Howling Wolf, Fred Neil, Justin Timberlake, The Grateful Dead, The Smiths, Bully, Cream, and The Feelies.

serious question to flappy: Did you have a wishlist (or a penchant for dropping hints)? Because otherwise, wow...

I have eclectic tastes in the sense that I am v enthusiastic about genres that have mostly non-intersecting audiences, but there are also vast musical territories into which I never venture, so, what was the question?

Related observation: I tend to dislike eclectic (or poly-stylistic) music.

serious question to flappy: Did you have a wishlist (or a penchant for dropping hints)? Because otherwise, wow...

― aka styx (paul santa cruz), Wednesday, January 6, 2016 3:15 PM (12 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

nope, completely unsolicited

i think it's mb instructive to look at this the other way round; what 'schools', genres, scenes, communities or little kingdoms do people think they have a special connection, affinity and knowledge of

as 'consumption' has become easier it is less significant in itself, but there are other things in play, and not everyone hears the same grab bag of stuff the same way

guys? can we get back on topic please? i think one of the main things is how the internet made it faster to hear great music and the whole social media thing had a big effect

― missingNO, Tuesday, September 2, 2014 9:31 PM (1 year ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Matador is very eclectic, and yet somehow is held together, often with the help of his growing collection of analogue synthesisers, that not unexpectedly, give the recording a certain depth and warmth that digital just can't achieve…

To add to the overall sound vibe, there's a stream of consciousness here and there, an extension of the absurdist philosophy that informed his previous album. As Coombes has previously said: 'I find the contradictory side of life fascinating', as he tries to tie everything together, in attempting to make some kind of sense of our contradictory ways.

@paul - actually i forgot a couple, The Wild, the Innocent, & the E Street Shuffle by Bruce Springsteen and Beauty Behind the Madness by the Weeknd.

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Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

In a very general sense, anyone who regularly reads and participates in music criticism/music boards like ILM has eclectic taste compared to the average person. Compared to the rest of ILM, I have fairly narrow tastes, but I wouldn't visit this site if all I was interested in were a small handful of genres. I assume most of you are the same in that respect.

Too many people on this thread conflating "the community of ILM as a whole has eclectic tastes in music" with "ergo, all the individuals in that community have eclectic tastes."

No.

Peace

excited to find out how many ILXors have eclectic taste in music

I don't really know what the norm in music currently is since I tend to pick up bits and pieces from various places constantly.
Not very sure what is current anyway. Think most of what i'm listening to is normally several decades old but am pickking up current live sets from torrent sites.

Assume that means it's eclectic to some extent.

& do wonder how well known anybody I'm into actually is.
BUt then again if it is possible to find the pre-remaster Beatles Rubber Soul cd put in a record shop rack under R I wonder how well known anything actually is generation to generation.

what if there's a silent majority of people with eclectic tastes who just don't think it's anything to crow about

think i need to make some coffee in anticipation of this poll's results

I am so excited about this impending poll result I just nipped off for a quick J Arthur and my hands melted

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4102/4859727161_504cee7e02_b.jpg

POLL closes: February 01 (in 1 second)

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

lol

50 Rubes, a new comedy by Alexander Payne

strong showing from joke response, i <3 ilm forever