Music Taste - 3.7.2025 - sheepdogdev
A thought that keeps fascinating me is how much my music taste has changed over the years.
Our music taste can really say a lot about who we are and what we're like, whilst at the same
time not telling much about ourselves - it can simply be a case of we like it because we do.
You don't need to justify why you like rock or classical or jazz - you like it because you
do. Because it sounds nice. Because it calms you or energises you.
I've listened to a wide range of music genres and styles - techno, country, jazz, chamber music,
string quartets, punk rock, post-rock, industrial metal, house, blues, heavy metal, nu metal,
and so on. You've probably been exposed to as much music as I have, when you consider how much
media we have access to: video games, movies, radio, and television shows, alongside concerts
and public performances. Music is everywhere, inescapable. Even in the silence, there is music.
Music also acts as a vehicle for memories and emotions: songs from the 2000s and 2010s seem to remind
me of a simpler time, whereas classical or jazz music seem to let me think and reflect more deeply;
electronic music lets me release myself for a short while, to run and dance freely; rock and metal
helps me to let my anger out of me. What the odd part of this though is that through different
stages of my life, my music taste changes with it: in the more solemn parts, my taste is more
aggressive and emotional; in a more serene period, the music is more calm and reflective.
In one stage of my life, I am listening to the heavy sounds of Deftones or Rammstein; in another,
I'm listening to the work of Erik Satie or some random post-rock playlist.
As someone who loves music, I love to explore new sounds: not just for the sake of being able to spot
interesting techniques or chord progressions, but because a new sound is refreshing. There's nothing
better than finding a new band who has a sound you love. I remember that excitement I had when I
started listening to rock, and the excitement when I went from rock to metal music, and then
when the harshness became too much for me, the excitement of finding post-rock music which I feel
strikes a nice balance between soft and hard. Like any art, music is exploration: an exploration
of thoughts and emotions through sound.
Music forms a large part of our identity: I would like to attach myself to one particular style,
and say that the style is my style, and never change from it. But like our music taste, we change
too. The band you enjoyed as a child might no longer appeal to you as an adult - or it does, but
not in the same way as it did before. Though we might not have one style to attach on to, we will
at least have a preferred style or two that we enjoy and appreciate.