I’ve written a million philosophy essays about compatibilist definitions of free will that each posit that acting in accordance with your beliefs and preferences counts as an exhibition of free will, even though we cannot directly control what those preferences are. In the world of music, we each have an individually unique set of preferences that controls the ways in which we interact with and enjoy various genres of music. But the same question that keeps philosophers up at night appears here: where did these genre affinities come from, and can we change them?
There are many reasons that someone can enjoy a genre. Sometimes preferences are cultural and context-dependent. For example, a lot of the reason I enjoy Indie music is because it brings me to the headspace that I had with my close friends in high school. It’s also why my grandma cries when I play Claire de Lune on the piano: it reminds her of when her mother would play it. Another reason to love a genre is that it is relatable. Humans crave understanding and connection, and sometimes art, and especially music, is the best way to both express and experience a certain emotion. Whether it is in the lyrics or the sonic qualities of a song, music is a mirror of the soul. The intersection of these two lenses is that genres are a way to connect with culture. For instance, a young black teen from NYC is much more likely to enjoy hip-hop music than an old white conservative man from Alabama, likely because hip-hop is inherently a cultural phenomenon: that of a culture which the person from Alabama might not understand.
But the most important factor for liking a particular genre is definitely exposure. The more you are exposed to something, the more your brain will likely enjoy it based on heightened familiarity. Often, the genres we enjoy are simply the ones that our parents played growing up, that the radio played in the carpool to middle school, that our friends played during the passing period in high school, or that our roommates played incessantly during freshman year of college.
What even is a genre anyway? Our brains mostly operate using discrete terms, which means we love to categorize things in order to operate faster. This tendency spills into every aspect of our lives by determining how we define distinct majors, distinct countries, distinct colors, distinct instruments, and finally, distinct genres. Whereas we define countries by location and geography, we normally define genres based on things like instrumentation, lyrics, tempo, and timbre of the voice and instruments. Many people criticize genres since they are just a social construct that seems to restrain certain types of music by putting artists into a box. This is especially problematic for awards shows where art literally must be put into one of these boxes (at least for these shows in their current form); however, for most other scenarios, this notion of “genre” has proven incredibly helpful for understanding how music culture fits together and how we can understand our preferences and inspirations (Petrusich). It also allows us to see the similarities and differences between different music styles.
To see this in practice, consider my favorite musical genre: Indie music. Indie music is all about electric guitars, authenticity, and the aesthetics of imperfection (in my opinion). From the name (indie being short for independent), it’s clear that this style of music, at least in theory, represents a rejection of big brands and corporations in music: a sort of grassroots aesthetic that I try to emulate in my own indie band “Banana Bred”. If I was introduced to someone who didn’t like Indie music, I would bring them to the ultimate Indie experience: some underground show with loud instruments, slightly terrible smooth rock, and an abundance of major 7 chords in a dark 10x10 foot basement with 50 people stuffed in it. The underproduced and slightly ironic feel of indie music isn’t for everyone, but if this kind of experience doesn’t bring out your Gen Z frustration and angst, then I don’t know what will.
On the other side of the spectrum, there is the genre I dislike most: Christian rock. Maybe it’s my atheistic resentment for a religion that weaponized music to sexually traumatize and repress me, but it is utterly terrible. Listening to this kind of music transports me back to new-age Christian summer retreats from High school, where hundreds of crying saints around you would tell you how much God hates you for being sexually attracted to someone. So, no, this is not a genre I like, nor could I ever be convinced to like.
When speaking of music that I would probably dislike, it’s difficult to conjure up a genre that I know of but have never heard, so instead, I will postulate about an album that I have not heard that I also do not know the genre of. I do not think I would like Taylor Swift’s new album Midnights. I don’t know whether it is poppy or folky or rocky like any of her other albums, but I just don’t particularly enjoy any of her work. I don’t think anything is inherently wrong with it; it just feels so corporate and Disney-channel-esque to me, like it is trying too hard to be relatable. I think if I went ahead and listened to it right now by myself, my predictions would probably come true; however, if a prospective lover showed it to me, maybe I would learn to associate the music with this person, and it would inherit their glamour.
Finally, a genre that I haven’t listened to that I suspect I would like is Jungle music. All I know about it is that it is a direct precursor to Drum and Bass, which I already love. Since it contains the breakbeat syncopated percussive and chaotic melodic elements of DnB that I love, I’m guessing I will like it. And after exploring a few songs just now, I was instantly mesmerized by the genre, and I will be listening to it more.
The most important thing about Genres, as seen in the Jungle example above, is that they evolve, reproduce, mutate, and combine in all kinds of fascinating ways. Genres, in many ways, are like musical genes that serve as building blocks for artists to construct their songs with and still be in the realm of listenable and communicative art. And the most inspiring fact is that no two artists have exactly the same genre affinities or exposures. This means that what you have to bring to the table is important and unique in its own right. As an artist, your taste is your most lethal weapon.