The Power of Discovery

Hi Hello

Today I'm coming at you with something that I've always had a problem with but never knew just how to articulate it until recently. This problem being narrow-mindedness in others. I have come across many people in my life who are so narrow-minded and refuse to see things differently or do things outside of their comfort zone but then talk bad about the way others live and what others like.

Although this problem relates to all topics and aspects of life I am going to slim it down to a specific topic to fit the contents of this blog; and that is music. Now, its one thing to like a specific genre of music the most and dub it as your favorite and listen to it all the time. I have a few favorite genres of music that I tend to gravitate towards right away because I like the sound and vibe that I get and most times I relate to the stories in the songs the most, but I also listen to a wide variety of music that is totally different from my favorite genre. I feel this is what gives me a nice rounded spectrum of interests when it comes to my career, but people who stick to one or two genres of music because they claim its "the only good music" just annoy me.

"Good music" based on taste and personal style and opinion is relative. The reason why its a "music taste" is because it caters to your personal interests, style and opinion, but music taste does not just stop at one or two genres...it expands to all music. My favorite genres of music are more Alternative or Pop styles, its what I have the most of on my iPod, but I also have many other genres like Rap, Hip-Hop, R&B, Country, Celtic, Christian...the list goes on and on. This is because if I hear a song that I like, I like it and it goes on my iPod. If it gets me dancing in my car or humming along and stays in my head all day its a good song (unless its the unfortunate case when a song I don't like gets stuck in my head). Point blank...a good song is a good song.

I have these different genres in music because I opened my mind up to give other genres a chance and it turned out that there are some genuinely great songs if you give them a chance and expand your horizons. If you just sit there and refuse to listen to anything else because you feel like they can't "play an instrument so they are not true artists" or "they don't even sing they just talk fast" then you really need to take a second look at it. Not every artist needs to play an instrument to be considered "talented" and not every form of music needs to be sung by the vocalist. Music is a form of art, lyrics are a form of poetry, and poetry is a form of art.

Music tells a story and its up to the creator to find the medium for that story.

Now I understand if there is a specific genre of music that you just can't relate to and just don't click with. Like I said earlier, music taste is based on personal style and opinion, and if you don't click with a specific genre that is one thing, as long as you gave it a chance. Music is made to be relatable (for the most part). Generally the artist felt something or experienced something that resinated so deeply with them that they wrote about it and created a piece of art. Although they are dead nervous to share that work of art with the world, that nervousness is made up of them hoping that it relates to others and that they are not alone in the situation.

I know its hard to get into a song that you cannot relate to and that is perfectly fine. You're not going to like every song that is ever made. I know that there are going to be genres of music that you just cannot get into, the content doesn't fit right, the style, the personality of the artist...and that is perfectly fine as well. All I say is that you give these different genres a chance. Start listening to a radio station that you don't normally listen to, search other genres and artists on YouTube or Spotify or Pandora and start listening to whatever comes up. If you don't like it at first, try a different artist or song. Sometimes you might just start out on a song that you just don't like. It doesn't mean that you give up and base the rest of the artists in the genre on that one particular song.

Give them a chance, expand your horizons, discover music. One of my favorite things to do is to discover. Find new genres of music, movies, books, places, cultures, hobbies, people. There is a whole other world that opens up when you expand your interests and try something new.

Until next time my misfits,
Stefanie