The Good Listener: How Can I Become A 'Music Person'?

by STEPHEN THOMPSON
October 18, 2014 8:03 AM ET
We get a lot of mail at NPR Music, and alongside the shoes our kids outgrew in the time it took to have them shipped is a slew of smart questions about how music fits into our lives — and, this week, thoughts on remedial music fandom.


Michele K. writes via email:
"How can I become a 'music person'? Think of your target audience — me — as someone who grew up listening to bad music (like bad Rick Astley '80s soft rock), then went to college where the music scene was weak, then moved to Southeast Asia (where English-language music meant the aforementioned bad Rick Astley '80s soft rock), and then you go to law school and your soul turns black, thus preventing good music from entering. And then, all of a sudden, you're in your mid-30s and realize you never got a quality music education. Is it even possible at this point to get one, or should I just give up? If it is possible, where do I start? Remember: Telling me to take a song I like and put it into Pandora (or whatever the kids are listening to these days) assumes that I have a baseline knowledge of cool songs."

Courtesy of the artist

Poor Rick Astley. One minute, you're a guy with a bunch of Top 10 hits; the next you're the unwitting godfather of the Rickroll; and finally, here you are, functioning as the only available shorthand for, "I can't name a single cool song." I know it took a few decades, but that is a Greek tragedy right there.


The first and most important advice I can give you also happens to be the least specific. It's tempting to throw up your hands in these situations — whether it's music fandom, cooking, or any other desired life skill — and let self-deprecation form a preordained result. But, while there's something to be said for knowing your weaknesses, "I don't, therefore I can't" is never going to get you anywhere you'd like to go. Besides, everyday so-and-sos become music fans every day! Why couldn't you?
read more: http://www.npr.org/blogs/allsongs/2014/10/18/356796482/the-good-listener-how-can-i-become-a-music-person?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=storiesfromnpr