I Don't Like Music

[mhb77]

I have a theory that for many people their enjoyment of music is largely driven by associations they have built around the music. Through these associations music becomes a part of your identity, taste in music winds up being used as shorthand for that identity and enthusing about that taste with friends serves as a way to reinforce your sense of self.

If you haven't built a song into your identity in that way then your probably not going to get why someone who has loves that song as much as they do. A good games related example of this is the Mario theme song. I love that song to bits because a) it's good and b) it's associated with a lot of positive memories. That song isn't going to have the same impact on a person who has never played a Mario as it does on me.

Like my love of the Mario theme, your appreciation for theme music probably has a bit to do with your enjoyment of anime and videogames. I would assume you have lots of positive memories associated the soundtrack of a game your like or the theme song to a good anime. Those memories enhance your enjoyment of the music and make you more likely to enjoy similar music.

I would totally recommend exploring music a bit more though. You seem to like a pretty diverse array of bands, why not explore rock or rap or psych rock or whatever genre Gorillaz are? The internet makes doing that super easy and it can be quite fun. Getting into music can be as easy as finding a blog you like and following it until you start developing your own tastes (I didn't like music all the way through high school because I thought the stuff my friends liked sounded terrible. So I'm speaking from experience here).

Also you might like Symphonic Metal. Personally I don't care for it, but I have noticed that a couple of my friends that really like videogame music or anime theme songs tend to like it. Stuff like Nightwish does tend to remind me of anime themes and some of the other stuff wouldn't sound out of place in Castlevania or a JRPG.

If you like it it could serve as a gateway into the wonderful world of metal, which is a shockingly diverse genre of music (As an example of that, I got into metal because of the similarities between Drone Metal and Ambient Drone. I then worked my way towards normalcy by getting into Doom, then Black Metal and then eventually all the way back to old school stuff like Dio. All of those sub-genres are quite different and I've really only scratched the surface of the genre).

 

[Scarim Coral]

Considering that I am out of touch with music these days since I don't listen to the radio or watch/ read the lated music biz (seriously I haven't heard of Justin Beiber or One Direction until people talked more about them) I do find myself listenning to more OST mainly from the lastest animes.

 

[Total LOLige]

Burn the freak
You're not alone. My twin brother doesn't like music either but maybe that's because he actively tries to be like me as little as possible(quite arrogant of me, I know). He's quite particular, he only likes fast paced acoustic music and some Bob Dylan songs.

 

[an annoyed writer]

Yeah, pretty much same here. I grew up hearing music that just sounded kinda 'meh' for a long time and had come to a similar conclusion as you: I thought I just didn't like music. However, as I played more games and watched more films I really developed a strong taste for OSTs and their ilk. However, it didn't stop there, as I further developed my tastes to include a lot of studio-produced instrumental music spanning genres such as Trance, Drum & Bass, Breakbeat, instrumental western, and much, much more. If anything I'd suggest you look into such genres, as you might find something that will give you as much pleasure as the OSTs you listen to. Start with stuff by some of your favorite composers(a lot of them do independent albums as well as OSTs).

 

[Mylinkay Asdara]

I like an eclectic mix of music, although I'm rather picky about what I'm going to like. To say that better - I'm able to like anything from any genre or field or whatever we call them, but I'll only like maybe 1 or 2 songs by any specific artist. I couldn't care less what band is playing or what person is singing - if I like a song, I like it, that's plenty enough thanks I don't need to care about any other element.

I do love video game sound tracks though. Big on the Final Fantasy scores in particular and have even bothered to see those in concert when Nobou Uematsu rolls through on tour (I even hugged him once on meet and greet tickets, which was pretty neat). I like instrumental music especially for writing or doing work around the house - but I do love to sing along to songs that I think my voice sounds nice to - and the lyrics being good is a huge plus for that, but not really a hard line requirement.

 

[FPLOON]

Well, I tend to listen to music you would hear a snippet of from a random commercial that, if you either look it up online and/or read that "one" magazine that points out music in commercials, you would find out that it's an actual song that you can listen to on an album from some indie band/group that has been making music longer than you would first think upon further "google-searching"...

Other than that, I can put every song I listen to, in general, into "several" categories:

-Adult Swim music (as in music used in those Adult Swim bumps/commercials/shows)
-Anime (besides Openings and Endings of various anime series)
-Classical (especially if there's a piano of some kind involved in the musical piece itself)
-Gorillaz (We seem to think alike, OP...)
-Hip-Hop (NEVER confuse this with Rap in general... Call it a "pet peeve" of mine...)
-Mashups (Either be popular/mainstream songs mashed together... or rap songs mashed up with anime songs... Whichever's the case...)
-Musicals/Showtunes (Listen to those WAY before watching Glee... but, "ironically", not before watching Fame for the first time...)
-Nerdcore (Rapping/singing about video games and nerd culture...)
-Nujabes (This dude's has his own category... R.I.P, man...)
-Ponies (Ponies ponies ponies SWAG!)
-Rap (pre-50 Cent, with a few exceptions listed under other categories...)
-Video Game OSTs (Always self-explanatory...)
-20th Century music (Too many genres to list, but they all seem to fall under that "turn of a century"... How about that?)
-Electronic (Honorable mention, but still...)

Then again, I can basically listen to anything and not [fully] complain about it... Just not care as much as some of the other music I normally listen to, anyway...

 

[Nouw]

Sounds like you need a context to enjoy music, more so than the "average" person anyhow. Context and some kind of association to boot as mhb77 pointed out in more depth. I think we all need this connection to some degree to be honest and if you find yours best in soundtracks there's nothing wrong with that. If you're open to the idea of playing a visual novel you'll find a goldmine of music I think you'll enjoy. Check out Katawa Shoujo, fairly easy to get into and the soundtrack is quality stuff.

Thinking about the music I listen to in this way is interesting because a lot of music I listen to I can recall getting into through a movie or a video which featured the particular song. I never would have gotten into symphonic/power metal if it wasn't for an AMV [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1f_kwVYW_Q] about cool fight scenes. If I hadn't watched the trailer for Wolf of Wall Street [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iszwuX1AK6A] I may never have gotten into Kanye West's Yeezus. Hell, it was a trailer for Saints Row 3 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvIuht69IPA] that ultimately got me into his music. I guess your taste in certain mediums can influence it in others and sometimes even within the artform. I got into King Crimson's music through 'Power', the song from the Saints Row 3 trailer, and in a recent example I've been jamming some Grant Green [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9oNHowrg4w] thanks to a sample in one of Kendrick Lamar's songs 'Sing about me.'

snip

Spoiler: Philip Glass, fuck yeah. You mentioned theme music OP so here are a few of his pieces that are soundtracks.

 

[william12123]

I hope I'm not over-interpreting, but I seem to get the impression that you simply arent "obsessed" with music in the same way your friends are. Which is perfectly OK!
I enjoy music. But I would hardly call myself a "music person", I simply enjoy some stuff. I'm mainly into classical, jazz, blues, symphonic & power metal, electronic, dubstep (yes, I quite enjoy it, it has an energy & sonority not found in other genres for me). I dont really have any specific artists though. The vast majority have only 1-2 good songs, so I hardly see the point in focusing on them myself. I do really like debussy though. All his pieces have a certain something about them I quite enjoy but cant quite pin down.

 

[The Wykydtron]

I'm in the same camp as the OP, I have no idea what the current trends are but I'm listening to several OSTs from different anime pretty much at all times. Every new anime i've watched this season have really good openings too. I'm of the opinion that all music feels better when you have something tangible attached to it, 's why I like good character themes so much. From a purely soundtrack perspective I think the BlazBlue soundtrack beats all others in gaming. I wouldn't attempt to play Makoto as much if she didn't have her Alexandrite backing her up. How hard must it be to take a character and accurately make a song that represents them and everything they are?

I have the Kill la Kill soundtrack on loop whenever I play Hearthstone (Mage or AFK obviously) and it hypes everything up.

 

[TheVampwizimp_v1legacy]

I have a theory that for many people their enjoyment of music is largely driven by associations they have built around the music. Through these associations music becomes a part of your identity, taste in music winds up being used as shorthand for that identity and enthusing about that taste with friends serves as a way to reinforce your sense of self.

If you haven't built a song into your identity in that way then your probably not going to get why someone who has loves that song as much as they do. A good games related example of this is the Mario theme song. I love that song to bits because a) it's good and b) it's associated with a lot of positive memories. That song isn't going to have the same impact on a person who has never played a Mario as it does on me.

Like my love of the Mario theme, your appreciation for theme music probably has a bit to do with your enjoyment of anime and videogames. I would assume you have lots of positive memories associated the soundtrack of a game your like or the theme song to a good anime. Those memories enhance your enjoyment of the music and make you more likely to enjoy similar music.

You know, I think you may have nailed it. There are a few things out there that I like to listen to just because they happen to sound good, but the great majority of the things I like are connected in some way to positive memories. I like Eminem because my best friend and I used to listen to him all the time when we were twelve. I love The Beatles and The Who because they were kind of the soundtrack to many of my best memories in high school. I love a lot music from video games, but not just random games. Almost all my favorite OSTs are from games I like, games I spent a lot of time and thought and emotion on.

If Heretic hadn't been such an important piece of my childhood, I probably would be pretty indifferent to the music from that game. Even though the soundtrack in Mass Effect is inarguably excellent, if it wasn't my favorite game it would be just another bit of pretty music that I enjoyed once and then forgot.

Obviously this can't be the only factor in why people like music. Anyone like my friend who has literally tens of thousands of songs on his computer and listens to all kinds of things every day couldn't possibly have a personal connection to all the stuff he likes. But I agree that it can be a big reason why people really love the specific things that they love the most.

 

[garjian]

Geez, I've never met anybody in my entire life who likes the same music as me and I'd never say "I don't like music".
I hate pop, I hate rock, I hate metal and I hate classical, and that covers every genre of music liked by anyone I've even spoken to in person.

Of course there are people on the internet, but not even within those I've actually spoken to, just a few people on forums.

I'm into Alva Noto, Gel:/Dorine Muraille/Whatever he's calling himself these days, as well as Múm's older stuff and Efterklang. Minimal electronic stuff and folk-y ambient music basically, but not to much that's really that obscure.
I also listen to a great deal of game soundtracks but I honestly think that attachment comes with the hobby. You get a more emotional response because it means more than the music itself if it's tied to another experience.

So yeah, that title is bloody misleading 'cause I'm pretty much in the same boat as you, if not worse, and I'd never say a thing like that. Music is almost more important to me than games are these days, especially as I've started to make my own.
I do hate what's in the charts but doesn't everybody? It all sounds exactly the same to me, and I thought charts have been irrelevant for years. Although I guess they are decided by sales just as before... but who's really buying Katy Perry's Firework? Or that other one... "you're gonna hear me rooooooar ah ah ah ah ah ah ahah" ...the one that sounds like something a 9 year old girl would make up... who's buying that? How is that supposedly popular?

 

[Weaver]

As someone who has generally been seen as having an "abnormal" taste in music, I can relate.

I'm sure there's stuff out there for you!

 

[mhb77]

snip

Glad to hear that I mostly hit the mark. I was basing my rant off of personal experience, but I figured it was probably pretty widely applicable. As somebody who now listens music in a similar way to your friend I think a lot of the same principles are still at work but it's changed up a bit. I can't quite articulate it as well because I don't have the benefit of hindsight.

Basically the attachment you feel with your music becomes primarily based on the experience of discovering and engaging with the music instead of associations with personal memories. Discovering something that really stands out to you is gratifying in and of itself and the experience can be enough to establish an attachment. The stuff that jumps out at first might not stay that appealing for all that long, but you get very attached to the music that is good enough for you to want to keep listening to it years down the road. I think this is part of why certain types people tend to like more "challenging" music. By being more difficult to fully wrap your head around you can keep listening to it for longer without getting bored of it and that longer exposure results in a deeper emotional attachment.

I think everybody engages with music in both the way I'm describing here and the way I talked about in my first post, although the balance is different depending on the person. I'm also entirely ignoring the question of taste, and what determines why a piece of music jumps out at you in the first place, because I have no idea.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

As someone who has generally been seen as having an "abnormal" taste in music, I can relate.

I'm sure there's stuff out there for you!

I'm in the same boat. I love music! Soundtracks from movies, Brass Bands, Jazz groups, classical performances and video game songs are but a few of my preferred tunes.

However.

I cannot answer "who's your favorite artist?" immediately or "Did you enjoy the latest Kayne song?".

Therefore, I'm not in touch with the collective's opinion on music. Therefore I don't know music.

Whatever. I'm perfectly content not to get involved in those conversations.

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

I think I'm the same, with the exception of having completely different tastes in music other than themes. I don't know most artists or bands and never go to concerts, but I have a playlist of music probably half videogame/anime OSTs that I listen to alot. I like music. I generally don't like entire genres reliably and it's rare to find an artist whose content I like universally. I would call my tastes eclectic. Not sure how you get to not liking music though. Lacking the common level to knowledge about it isn't the same.

 

[Saetha]

I have an auditory processing disorder, which means I can't make out what people say without focusing on it. Sort of like an aural dyslexia. With music, it's far worse and I can't make out what they're singing at all.

Ugh, same here. This is probably why I dislike rap and pop music - it seems like most of it's just... talking, really, maybe with a light beat in the background. The vocals are apparently the most important part, but... it all moves too fast and changes too little for me to really care.

To OP: I generally like music with a really heavy beat - drums or a guitar, even vocals can do it, if they're good enough. And I like songs with a clear crescendo, which is... probably another reason why I dislike a lot of "talking" music, since it seems like it's difficult to really have a crescendo with that. Most of the bands I like aren't terribly popular. They aren't underground by any means, but they're no Lady Gaga, either. The Hush Sound, Vampire Weekend, Snow Patrol (Though I hear Snow Patrol's a lot more popular in Britain - no one here in the states seems to actually know the band) I've been on a big Woodkid binge recently, too, though I can barely understand the guy.

I have no idea what you're saying, Woodkid, but damn if you don't have a pretty way of saying it.

 

[Something Amyss]

I find it weird that your approach is so condescending. To roll your eyes at people for enjoying what they enjoy, and then speak with passion about the stuff you like is...Well, it's snobbish, to say the least. It's also kind of weird, since a lot of OST is just filler. That's not to say I think everything that falls in the category sucks. Other people have noted the similarity to classical and orchestral music, and I spent 12 years playing trombone in school bands, took music theory throughout high school, and even learned some classical guitar and piano (though I mostly just bang out chords). oh, I took a year of jazz theory, but most of my training involved classical theory, arrangements, and instruments (or voices).

I think I would have preferred it if you just didn't like music, honestly. Or even if you really just couldn't get as passionate as others.

Spoiler: An incredibly dorky picture of me with my fav guitar

You sure you want to leave out metal? You've got a decent evil scowl going on there.

Hell, it was a trailer for Saints Row 3 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvIuht69IPA] that ultimately got me into his music.

This is a tangent, but it's weird. I dislike that song, but at the same time, I think it worked out great for the game. I mean, sometimes an act's song being in a soundtrack will sell me on them, but other times, it's more "you know, I hate this song, but damn does it work here."

I had a similar feeling for Evaescence's "Bring Me To Life" in Daredevil. It's a shame the movie wasn't good. But the use it made of the song....Yeah. For a minute I actually sort of enjoyed both the movie and the song because of the combined effort.

 

[Quazimofo]

Eh, to each their own.

Like with me, I have a friend who obsesses over Eminem and Ed Sheeran, and I don't listen to either of them.

I mean, I respect rap and there are some examples that I truly like, but its not a genre I listen to because I feel that it sacrifices too much for excellence in lyrics.

I have something you may find entertaining!

Spoiler: It's explicit, perhaps even downright offensive, but the juxtaposition of musical styles is just comedy gold

Anyway, as has been covered by many others, you just have different musical tastes than most of those around you and don't share their enthusiasm for the musical scene. Nothing wrong with that, just enjoy what you enjoy and don't mock others for their differing tastes. You know, regular stuff. Nothing particularly exceptional about not liking any given kind of music.

 

[Sigmund Av Volsung]

Eh, to each their own.

Like with me, I have a friend who obsesses over Eminem and Ed Sheeran, and I don't listen to either of them.

I mean, I respect rap and there are some examples that I truly like, but its not a genre I listen to because I feel that it sacrifices too much for excellence in lyrics.

I have something you may find entertaining!

Spoiler: It's explicit, perhaps even downright offensive, but the juxtaposition of musical styles is just comedy gold

Anyway, as has been covered by many others, you just have different musical tastes than most of those around you and don't share their enthusiasm for the musical scene. Nothing wrong with that, just enjoy what you enjoy and don't mock others for their differing tastes. You know, regular stuff. Nothing particularly exceptional about not liking any given kind of music.

Just looking at the thumbnail makes me feel like I am being physically assaulted by a rainbow.

...

And now having listened to it, its the music equivalent of over-dosing on Skittles, whilst rap blares in the background.

 

[Ieyke]

Long story short, you're a real weirdo, but you're not the kind of abomination that actually doesn't like music AT ALL, so you're okay.
Those do exist, BTW. Abominations.

And given that it is my sworn duty to bring the light of knowledge to the dark places of the universe, here, have some science: