Music

Tuesday, 11 April, 2017 - 09:05

'I'm not sure that's my thing ...'

by LucyBlogger

I know what sort of music I like. I grew up with folk music from England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland, listened to about two Nirvana songs when I was 15, branched out at 19 and added some old 80s classics, had a brief flirtation with electronic music in my mid twenties, cottoned on to the fact that country music was just American folk and therefore there was no reason why I should hate it so irrationally, and then found myself in my late twenties struggling to explain to the Swiss that I love folk music most of all. It's not cool here. Mainly because their traditional music doesn't have the youth and inspiration that mine does — our traditional music is always being rewritten, restyled, rejuvenated. The Young Folk Musician of the Year, a competition run by BBC Radio 2, is just one of the ways for young people to interact with traditional folk music and make it their own.

Obviously, I play my housemates some tracks. Often the bouncy jigs and reels and saucy sea shanties, sometimes more melancholy tales. I'm in love with 'The Witch of the Westmoreland' by Kate Rusby right now, and play it while I make soup in the kitchen. And they like it — I think they can even feel some of the history and roots in it that draws me to folk music more and more over the years, and even more so now I don't live at home. But my housemates are into something different. Don't get me wrong, you can put cheesy pop on and I'll dance until 5 am with the best of them, but when I was invited to a concert where the music was 'emo screamo crust with violins', I didn't quite know what to say. (Is crust even a type of music?! I thought it was that bit of bread that children won't eat.)

I was pretty sure this wasn't my thing, but my housemate said these were her friends from Belgium, they were really very talented and, besides, I get in for free because I live in the community. Surely I could walk ten metres across the courtyard and listen for an hour? I could, I just wasn't sure I wanted to.

The first thing I noticed was that there was a bowl of ear plugs on the bar. Ear plugs, usually used to shut out unwanted noise, were being given to the concert goers. I did the same as everyone else and took a pair and put them in.

I needed them. Emo screamo crust with violins is quite screamy and loud. The guy on the stage was shouty and angry during what I tentatively call the verse and then the violin came in during the chorus, with a surprising amount of melody. I actually quite liked the switch between the two and thought perhaps some of the attraction is that people like having to work hard to find the melody in the screamy bits and relaxing during the violin bits. I even began to feel some of the rhythm come through the shouting. People were dancing, listening intently to the words (I assume there were words) and enjoying the beat.

I stayed until the end of the concert. Mostly by choice, although a lot of other people had come in by then and getting back out before the end would have been difficult. I can't say I'm a convert but I can say that once I gave something new a try, I was pleasantly surprised.

Now when my housemates invite me to a strange-sounding concert, I usually go. Especially when it's ten metres away, free, and I can go back to my folk and pyjamas if I don't like it!

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Discussion

What sort of music is popular where you are? What sort of music is unpopular? Have you ever tried something you didn't think you'd like?

Submitted by manuela28 on Wed, 02/03/2021 - 03:43

My country is characterized by having many music styles, for example Bambuco, Joropo, Merengue, Mapale, Carranga, Sanjuanero, between other. Nowadays the most listened music in Colombia are Salsa, Vallenato, Reggaeton, Electronic, Popular, Pop and Guaracha. However, the unpopular music is Llanera, Religious music, Opera, Jazz, Blues, Ranchera, Classical music, Folkloric, Hip Hop and Tango. If we are talking in terms of music, yes. Time ago I didn’t like Rock or Indi, because I thought that type of music was not for me, wasn’t my style, I even didn’t like the rhythm, but I start hanging out more with my best friend and allowed me to listen detailly this type of songs and now I like it a lot.

Submitted by hermione123 on Sun, 03/07/2021 - 12:13

It looks like you're a big fan of music. Honestly, i'm not a big fan, well I listen to some music, but not so much. And, it's incredible that you can explain kinds of music that popular in your country.

In reply to by manuela28

Submitted by cmontes on Tue, 02/02/2021 - 22:49

My country is a place where there is a lot of variety of musical genres, these are generally salsa, vallenato and even reggaeton, but I think that musical tastes are very subjective and that you are still born in a place where there is a genre of music that is widely listened to. and representative, does not mean that it should be your favorite. However, I don't know if this is unpopular, but personally I think jazz or classical music is not very popular in Colombia. During the course of my life I have been a person who has changed too much, in fact, when I was younger I did not use to listen to music and noise bothered me a lot, and one of the few genres I listened to was pop in English. I remember that my dad always played salsa and it annoyed me in an incredible way, however, now I feel that it is a very attractive genre of music for specific moments.

Submitted by mariana_martinez on Tue, 02/02/2021 - 16:03

Where I live there is not a specific sort of music, people listen to what they like and also they support the local artists. In Colombia we used to listen famous artists such as Shakira, Romeo Santos, Carlos Vives, Yatra and lot of other famous artists, so there is a mixture of a lot of musical genres like pop, bachata, salsa, merengue, vallenato, reggaeton and others. But a sort that is unpopular, because it's more calm, delicate and it is quite different from our behavior, personality and culture, it is classical music, because as i said our culture is more energetic and we love to dance. In my family we don't used to hear Reggae but at school I learned the lyrics from a very famous reggae artist, Bob Marley, and I liked that song and that genre.

Submitted by Antoniablandon25 on Tue, 02/02/2021 - 15:05

I dare to establish that the most popular musical genre in my country is Reggaeton; in fact, you would hear it in every single radio station and the top songs in Colombia are always Reggaeton, yes, indeed you get a little sick of listening to this beats in every corner that you may be in. I have tried many things that I thought I wouldn’t like during my lifetime, and I hope that I get to try even more. Regarding this, one of the examples that come to my mind is trying sushi. I just couldn't make up with the idea that people ate raw fish with seaweed, It sounded absolutely gross! My father practically stuffed me the roll, otherwise I was not going to introduce such a thing in my mouth. When I swallowed up, I realize it was dumb that I havent tried it before because it´s flavour was falwless.

Submitted by Cataperea_4 on Tue, 02/02/2021 - 14:50

In my country, there are different genres of music like Reggaeton, salsa, cumbia, vallenato, among others but it depends more on the region you live in. Even though I have listened to that music on the radio or in a family meeting, I don't listen to it regularly because it is not entirely to my liking. Personally, I like to listen to music in English, I really like pop, indie rock, indie pop and sometimes I listen to rap. My favorite singers and bands are one direction, Taylor Swift, Arctic Monkeys and Harry styles. As I said before, although I don't listen much to the predominant genres of the country, I like them a lot because I think it represents the regions of Colombia and they tell the history of the place and learn more about culture.

Submitted by JuanPabloRamirez225 on Tue, 02/02/2021 - 14:44

In my country, which is Colombia, it is very common to listen to a great variety of music and different genres such as salsa, vallenato, bachata, reggaeton, ballads, pop and cumbia, these genres are commonly heard depending on the occasion in which it is required as what they are typical fairs, parties or festivities. I think that the music that is least listened to in Colombia may be rock or classical music because it may not be very consistent with our traditions or culture and in some cases, it may be inconvenient and boring. In truth I have tried to listen to genres like rock but I don't really like them but for example a few months ago I started listening to electronic music that I didn't like at all before and I started to like it a lot now almost every day I listen to that genre of music.

Submitted by Malarcon_06 on Tue, 02/02/2021 - 14:43

I love music; I am into a Little bit of everything like rock, country, jazz, electronic, Indy rock and classical music. However, what I am really into right now is indie pop and pop. In the country where I live the music that is most heard is reggaeton, I am not really inspired by this gender but I do listen to it sometimes, salsa is one of the genders that is most heard where I am from, but like my mother I do not like it. My taste in music is quite similar to hers, we always share music and we sing them inspired

Submitted by ctascon765 on Tue, 02/02/2021 - 14:40

In my country there is a lot of diversity concerning the music for example Salsa, Champeta, Vallenato and the list keeps going on and on. But, every region has its own type and the popularity of it usually varies and sometimes depends if it's fun to dance to it and if there are multiple recognized artists who represent the genre. We also like to listen to music from all over the world so we are open to options, but most of the time the music that does not really have popularity would have to be classical music in my opinion. You may ask yourself why? Well it is very common that music that is either up beat or poetic lyrics is most likely to be a favorite of everyone, therefore classical music usually tends to not have that much popularity. Now, I have always loved music in every way and the genre that I gave a chance to and it won my heart was Indie-Pop, but do not get me wrong it would never replace the traditional music of my native country.

Submitted by MelVarela55 on Tue, 02/02/2021 - 14:33

In the country where i live there is a wide variety of music genres and rhytyms. The most popular an recognizable music genre in the city where i live is "Salsa", however in my age group the music that is the most popular are "regaetton" and pop in english. Most music rythyms have a lot of movement were i live, so it is not surprising that one of the most unpopular music is classical music, such as Opera or orchestras. Is not common to see people liking that type of music. Actually, i wasnt myself such a fan of orchestras and classical music in general, but then i just started listening to it and i found that it is really interesting. I find it quite interesting and also i really like to see orquestras because of the many talented people that take a part to form such a beautiful symphony.

Submitted by Mpolo on Tue, 02/02/2021 - 14:30

In my country, there are many types of music, due to the great amount of cultures that the country has. In spite of all this, I consider that the musical genre that stands out most in the area where I live is salsa, reggaeton, bachata, although there may be some more, since there is the possibility that I have not heard other popular since this depends on the musical tastes and preferences of the person. As for the least popular genre, I think it is between rock and opera, although in the area where I live it is rarely listened to, due to the fact that people listen to very happy music, although perhaps in another area it is listened to a little more. Finally, I have had the opportunity to listen to something that I thought I did not like, which is the reggae genre, I thought I would never like it, but as soon as I heard it I thought it was a genre that spreads and generates a lot of vibe in your life.

Submitted by NHerreraM23 on Tue, 02/02/2021 - 14:23

I grew up with enjoying salsa and other latino style music, however I've branched off into liking other weird genres such as electronic, pop, rock and even lofi, I call them weird because they do not seem that it would be something I enjoyed, but I do. I still do particularly enjoy the music that my country has to offer, but I think it's just gotten pretty old and stale. Nothing wrong with enjoying some new stuff every once in a while. Recently upbeat music has been in my playlists recently, and I've come to enjoy it a lot too due to the fact it gets me in a happy mood and motivated to do many things such as walking my dog or even perhaps dance a bit. There is one thing that I wish would happen, that being that hopefully my country embraces more styles of music that are now popular on Social Media, due to the fact that audience is larger than any other. But, It makes sense as to why it isn’t like that so culture can be preserved. Music is just great to be honest. No matter the country or platform.

Submitted by Jpino on Tue, 02/02/2021 - 14:18

I grew up listening to my father's tastes which are basically salsa, merengue, bachata, as a child these types of music didn't attract my attention and they disliked me a bit, however they are very popular music genres in my country, on the other hand music in english it is not heard much by adults and very little by teenagers, another example of unpopular music is folk music, in fact i don't know anyone who hears that. Finally, i never thought that i would like rock, i had never really listened to it until a few months ago and i liked it, more than all rock in english.

Submitted by JEAgudelo on Tue, 02/02/2021 - 14:15

Colombia is a country in which music has a great place in its culture, and is characterized by the diverse amount of music genres that may exist. I could say that the most popular music that people listen to here is Salsa and Vallenato, since they are genres that make people dance and have a good time. I don't think there is an unpopular sort of music in Colombia, because as I said before, there are many genres to listen to, and each one is very different from the others, and that’s what people like. However, if I have to choose one sort of music, I would have to say any type in English , because here our main language is Spanish and taking into account that, most people listen to music in this language, as its something everyone understands. Nevertheless, many young people listen to music in other languages. About five years, I used to say that I didn't like reggaeton, but as time went by I listened to it more and more, either at parties or with my friends, so I began listening to this type of music, and now I could say that It is one of my favorite sorts of music, although there are some exceptions that I don't like.

Submitted by mariarub5987 on Tue, 02/02/2021 - 03:22

In my country (Colombia), the type of music that is usually listen is popular music, vallenato, bachata, salsa, reggaeton, baladas, and pop. But I think that everything depends on the context and also of your parents, because even though I grew up listening to the music I list before I also used to listen, to queen, AC DC, and others. I have only once try something new and despite the fact that when I was little my dad used to listed to rock, I cannot deal with it, for the rock is just a bunch of people screaming and not even saying something with coherence. however, I respect every one that listen to it, and I will probably accompany them.

Submitted by Arnache01 on Tue, 02/02/2021 - 01:37

There are lots different music genres in my country such as: salsa, cumbia, vallenato and bambuco. Although I have not given myself the opportunity to listen to them, I love the different rythms of my country because they are so varied and are part of our local culture. However, some genres from other countries are getting popular here like the reggaeton, bachata, electronic music and pop. Personally I like the classic music, pop and some spanish songs; many people do not like the classic music but i am really into it since I play the piano. Lastly I would never thought that one day I would like spanish music because it is not that popular in my land, but I got to like the rythm and their catchy lyrics.

Submitted by czapata581 on Mon, 02/01/2021 - 23:22

Here in Colombia there are a lot of types of music, like bachata , salsa, cumbia , reggaeton etc, the most disliked type of music here in Colombia i think its the classical music, its very boring for the majority of the people, but for example all depends in what people like and in the ages, most od the adults like balads and salsa, while teenagers like por reggaeton and pop, i never had to listen to music that i didnt like, but sometimes there are exceptions like in parties or in music class or even in a homework with a type of genre, all depends in the situations.

Submitted by NLlanosJimenez on Mon, 02/01/2021 - 22:12

In my country there is a great variety of musical genres, you can actually find from salsa and vallenato to reggaeton and trap. As we know, each person is different; each one has their own history and personality, and therefore his/her musical tastes are varied, unique and peculiar. But, in general it could be said that there are certain genres that are rooted in my culture, for example salsa. Salsa is considered by many to be the most representative music of my country; it is used at fairs, on Independence Day, and even on some birthdays. While regarding the unpopular music, it is very hard to say for sure which sort is, but genres such as rock, metal, cumbia, and norteño would be, so to speak, the musical "minorities" in my nation; perhaps because these sorts are not part of our culture and nation, but are typical of other nations. I must say that over time, my tastes in everything (not only in music) have changed, since every day, I face new experiences that either in a direct or indirect way teach me something and therefore influence me. As such, those changes in musical tastes that I have had are because I tried something that at that moment I did not like, and without knowing it would be what I would end up liking. For example, personally at a younger age I was not attracted at all to jazz, or music similar to that style, but one day I decided to listen to it instead of the genre that I liked, and to my surprise I loved it. Those sound waves gave me a peace that no other genre that I had ever listened to, had caused me. This leads me to conclude that it is very important to always be open to new things, to new experiences, not only in terms of music but in everything else, this will make you a wiser and more reflective person, since when you adapt new things, you are adapting new learning and perspectives of the world.

Submitted by Arnache01 on Mon, 02/01/2021 - 16:19

There are lots different music genres in my country such as: salsa, cumbia, vallenato and bambuco. Although I have not given myself the opportunity to listen to them, I love the different rythms of my country because they are so varied and are part of our local culture. However, some genres from other countries are getting popular here like the reggaeton, bachata, electronic music and pop. Personally I like the classic music, pop and some spanish songs; many people do not like the classic music but i am really into it since I play the piano. Lastly I would never thought that one day I would like spanish music because it is not that popular in my land, but I got to like the rythm and their catchy lyrics.

Submitted by NicolasGonzalez on Mon, 02/01/2021 - 16:12

In my country, it is really common to listen to very urban songs such as reggaetón, vallenato, ranchera, and salsa. Likewise, you can find genres that do not have much relation to culture such as rock, metal, and heavy songs, nevertheless, it is very common to listen to electronic and computer-generated themes. Personally, I began to consider opening my mind more and listening to genres that I didn't even think I would like such as reggaeton. My preferences are aimed at genres and songs are directed towards electronics and its derivatives since I consider they have good rhythm and style. I deem that each preference is built and developed according to what the people around and the ones we're acquainted with regularly hear.

Submitted by nicole1309 on Wed, 02/05/2020 - 16:25

Popular music is very listened to in my country, also vallenato, sauce, reggaeton . The metallica is very little listened, yes, it happened to me with the dancehall
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Submitted by Hestenehestene on Wed, 05/09/2018 - 06:41

I grown up with Red Hot Chili Peppers and it will be my forever favorite band. I also like cold play because it is so relaxed to listen to
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