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Rock chick, metal head
Opinion: Do music stereotypes divide or unite us?
Where would we be without music? I know for a fact that everyone would be depressed all of the time. You can’t get through your day without hearing something that gets stuck in your head. These tunes can brighten up our days sometimes, but usually they’re just annoying. The classic example of “Build Me up Buttercup” by The Foundations almost instantly springs to mind. It’s like the lyrics were made to be stuck in your head for the rest of the day. Once you have heard it, there’s no going back.
Question: Are we stereotyping each other based on what we all listen to?
I think we definitely do, but most of us do it subconsciously. It’s like we have been programmed to think “Oh you’re a rocker and I like pop. We are never going to agree on anything”. Or, “You’re from Venus and I’m from Mars.”
But, sometimes it can be as easy as the gender of the person that sets the stereotype. The typical example of the girly girl only listening to pop and the emo indie springs to mind. Is it Rock, Jazz, R&B, Rap, Pop, Heavy Metal, Indie or Country? There are a lot more categories that we listen to and even some you can’t describe. But it can divide and isolate us. Would you expect a person that listens to heavy death metal to be interested in an airhead platinum blonde pop star? Or even the reverse?
In reality, we are all scared of anything that’s outside of our comfort zone because we are too concerned about what other people think of us. It’s like we are all trapped into this force field that keeps setting us back to what is ‘normal’ for that particular stereotype we are associated with.
Maybe you’re that person listening to the latest pop heart throb. But, hearing one song from another artist from a different genre of music could completely convert you to something new. As teens, we haven’t fully developed our personalities. You never know, you could be so influenced by another artist you might want to write your own songs or even have the courage to stand up there and make a name for yourself creating a completely new genre for writers to write about.
Many people like me would consider themselves eclectic, we like a bit of every music style. I know I don’t exclusively go for one type of music, so why doesn’t everyone out there that only shops in one part of the music store go for something a bit different too? Try listening to something you wouldn’t normally, and you never know, you might uncover a little gem or surprise yourself.
I leave you with my final message: where do you see yourself next year- the musical trend follower or the trend setter?
By: Nicole Webster
