How would you describe your taste in music...

m.

oh yea, and i listen to pop/rock

And Nate is right, I forgot humor. There isn't enough humor in music. Or maybe I don't get it most of the time.

And surprisingly, I also like nice food, good books and films, and like watching quality television.

If I ask someone what they listen to, and they say "Anything I can dance to" I fall in love with them right then & there.

Indeed it isn't- in fact, you could write the complete opposite and still make it sound like "good music":

I like music that goes to extremes, meaning I can appreciate both extremley mainstream and extremley experimental music. I don't like people mixing styles too much because very few people can pull that off without coming across as unfocused.

If I had to choose between beat and tune I'd always go for the beat.

I like music which is

* easily accessible, because I like music that hits me with devastating impact upon first listen.

* exciting and anthemic

* either very noisy or very melodious (see my comment on liking both experimental and mainstream)

* sticking to one genre, carrying on a tradition

* made by artists who stay true to themselves and that which they represent

* full of familiar and well-loved sounds (not necessarily)

Only * rhythmically hypnotic and tune-wise addictive and * lyrically interesting though the lyrics cannot save a musically bad record but bad lyrics can destroy good sounding music sound a tad obvious.

I like:

• "purist" music rather than fusions between styles
  
• drawn out, repetitive, hypnotic music rather than short catchy songs
  
• a life-affirming attitude rather than self-pity, angst or resentment
  
• silliness more than mild irony
  

I'd like to think I don't have any hard and fast rules for this sort of thing - but of course, I do. The only problem I've got with answering this is not having enough of the 'vocab' that would let me say what I actually mean.

(this is an adaptation of something Stephin Merritt used to say about bubblegum and experimental music: it's actually an absurd exaggeration both in my case and his, but it sounds good, and it intrigues people, and I like that.)

Basically just anything that makes me happy to be listening to is good. The specific genres range from old-skool punk to second-generation Brit Pop to singer-songwriter-y tunes. And the rare, but GOOD rap and country.

What can this strange chimera be?

As a high scorer on the reflective and complex music dimension, you tend to be open to new experiences, creative, intellectual, and enjoy trying new things.

Yes

When it comes to politics, it's safe to say that you tend to lean toward the left and cast your ballot for the most qualified democratic candidate.

Maybe, but I haven't voted in a long time.

Wisdom, diversity, and fine arts are all important to you.

Yes

When it comes to lifestyle, it's more than likely that you're sophisticated, and relatively well off financially.

HAHAHAHAHAHA

As a fan of reflective and complex music, a glass of wine or mixed drink is more preferable than a beer at the end of the day.

This is where I realize that this test is complete shit- BEER FOREVER!

Aside from alcohol, chances are that you don't use drugs.

Believe it or not this is true.

After a hard day of work, if you're not listening to music or reading a book, you're probably enjoying a documentary film, independent movie, classic movie, or foreign film.

Quite right slick...

So does this mean that aside from Alcohol, I should start doing drugs??

or what Andrew L said

hypnotic, rhythmic, tunefully addictive music will by definition put you some way to sleep, and maybe the same for calm/noise balanced or life affirming stuff (cynically arranged easy listening crap)

challenging and does not necessarily sink in on the first listen is mandatory isn't it ? as for making you happy is that the first listen or the third or the twenty-third ?

fun and simple music sounds like really boring company, except if used like cool furniture, nice wallpaper, seductive fabrics

how many people will admit that the catchy, rhythmic and repetetive aspects of those musics may as well make them "the opiates of " whomever ? is it art ? learn anything, or did you just get off ? in a nutshell, didn't that music actually eventually just waste your time ?

8%
11%
13%
2%

fuckin hell I seem to hate everything

what total piffle

Of course there are exceptions.. too many to name. But that's a basic description.

Less inaccurate oversimplification: I have an inherent bias towards fast, tuneful music. Beyond that my taste has a lot to to do with lyrics.

maybe these two ways are all part of one _or way, but at some point i think you have to seperate exploitation from enrichment -- shouldn't they be mutually exclusive, xor ? some music gives and some music takes, just like books, movies, tv, radio, mags etc.

the methods musicians use to cast their spells are sometimes transparent, old carny tricks if you like, but opaque to those exploited by the top 40 -- is their any utlimate enrichment, benefit etc. to us if all that is provided is fantastic escapism ? whistling while you work will not do much for your pay packet and dancing can lead to satiation, unconsciousness, s.t.d.s, babies

on the other hand, if you use the music to really engage you, well it's still part of your life -- ironically much more so in the case of non-exploitative music -- there must be some cumulative benefit to engage your conscious and unconscious brain, to keep you coming back

the idea that music is some magical special art is as true for music as for any of the other entertainment industries, that's if you don't draw that line in the sand -- look at the collective conscienceless un/ consciousness of some of the world's largest media dominated states and tell me whether the listeners are knowledgeable and hey, even slightly worldy, or whether they're dominated manipulated ripped-off drones, and maybe a little ugly on the side

No - there's something in what you're saying I sort of agree with, and which also causes me trouble - I don't regard all modes of consumption as 'equal' either.
If *pressed* I don't know if most of ILM do either - but it would probably be largely seen as a more relaxed/neutral issue, one of those 'please (or displease) yourself' arguments: eg no moral/intellectual weight should be attached to this, meaning is in the mind of the interpreter, so what if others use/get used by this or that in this or that way, you can use it differently, or use that idea in itself as another dimension of your listening/understanding (like you, and from a different angle Tom too, seem to), or there's the 'but you've always got YOUR ORIGINAL RESPONSE to go back to' (cf music in ads) or the 'there's no sensible stable disjunction between those modes of perception anyway' etcetc

Tom - as you noticed on the 'ambient' thread, I more often find it's that same 'unique flexibility' and 'mesh of music and context' you have articulated above that makes music such a wearing/tiring/exasperating obsession!

George, because of the way you say these things, I would never want to agree, even if I agreed.

WTF george?! isn't there escapism in listening to any type of music. that's an element that's there, no?

and what's this abt whistling to work, you phrase as if its wrong to do it. clarify please.

there'll hopefully always be something to whistle to, so which music ? stuff that engages you reasonably fully mentally and augments what your dominant purpose at the time might be (work (?)) ie do you get the work done faster whistling something (not) mindless _or slower but better _or more enjoyably ? ..or conversely in some leisurely situation, does it augment usefully ? doesn't it move work nearer leisure ..or isn't it constructive ? too escapist ?

'creative' music leads to stranger places whereas more 'pop' stuff is not so good?

whistling=> music that is stored in memeory, but it may not just be 'pop', though it is easier to remember thereforte you can whistle.

but still, whatever i listen is lodged in my memory somehow. i may not be able to whistle it but i may remmeber bits of it here and there.

whistling/ thinking/ remembering along with more creative music you're ok somewhat familiar with may distract _or it may augment mental task at hand, engage brain (and maybe body), memory background process stimulating other neural activities

admittedly probably always activities both useful and useless,
so i think that if there's a c.n.s. 'dance' side effect that's not peripheral then hopefully 'work' is mentally interesting in some kind'a multi-dexterous way

so no to escapism if avoidable given parallel available useful stimulus, not escapism, more i'd say "keeping you warm"