I found this fascinating blog post on the topic of whether the music one listens to can predict one’s personality. It’s of particular interest to me. My husband and I met partially because it was suggested by a mutual friend that we had similar (and very broad) musical taste (although I don’t find heavy metal and other variations as interesting as he does). The other contributing factor arose when the mutual friend got married. At the reception, I was originally sitting next to a crazy dude, who had decided for unknown reasons that I was the woman for him. The crazy dude attempted to kiss me and ended up licking my cheek because I drew away so fast. When I say crazy, I mean crazy. I had to move seats to get away from him, and ended up sitting next to my future husband. I remembered what my friend had said about our similar taste in music. We chatted about music and other stuff…the rest is history. It’s all very High Fidelity. If I’d had a penchant for Nickleback, I wonder if I’d be married today?
My husband’s mother likes to joke that my husband’s opening conversational gambit is invariably “So, what music do you like?” although he protests that he has a wider range of topics now. But it seems from this study that he’s not alone by any means. As I might have mentioned, my husband and his friends are music obsessed and like to swap top 30 lists. One friend of ours even works in a second hand record store. These guys are awesome additions to any trivia team because of their catalogic knowledge of music. And it also means that I’ve had to open my mind even further to all kinds of weird music. They invariably take giant stacks of CDs to social functions and swap them around; I don’t complain, as I benefit too.
So I think one’s musical taste definitely reflects one’s personality. But it can also affect and change one’s mood. If I have something like Nine Inch Nails on while I’m driving, I find that I drive more aggressively. I wouldn’t listen to Radiohead if I were feeling really depressed. Some songs are so evocative, and can bring back certain times and places.
The amazing thing is that our daughter already loves music so much (particularly something with a beat). She has her own little Wiggles drum and a ukelele. She likes to play guitar or drums with Daddy. When an exciting song comes on the radio, a big smile comes across her face, and she does a little dance.
I think music is such an important and primal part of life. It can tell stories, transport you to another time and place, and make you want to dance. And it can bring people together. No wonder our little daughter likes music so much; it’s not much of an exaggeration to say that she exists because her Dad and I bonded over music.
(via A Roll of the Dice)
The Legal Soapbox 