I had almost that exact experience, Jess, when I was in grad school around 2007-8. I admitted to a fellow student that I enjoy practically every musical genre with the exception of rap and Nashville country. The very next week he handed me a CD he had burned just for me and I got to experience rap through the ears of someone who loves it.
Another genre that I found challenging for many years were composers of the Romantic era, such as Richard Wagner or Richard Strauss. I found that these demanded my entire attention, usually a few times over, before I could appreciate the beauty of their interplay of dissonance and consonance and how they demand a visceral emotional response from me.
None of this has yet happened for me with Nashville country, however, but maybe...
That's the thing in common between Romance Era composers, Modern Era composers, and Rap. They are no good for background music. You actually have to listen and be open to the emotion. That can be very hard work and it is not always immediately, if ever, rewarding. Bach, Vivaldi, or any popular music you grew up with, and where you pretty much know the lyrics, all that makes great background music because we know where the music comes from and where it is going, and we usually find such music relaxing for the old brain and can leave space to concentrate on other things, like the road or the spreadsheet that's in front of us.
I had almost that exact experience, Jess, when I was in grad school around 2007-8. I admitted to a fellow student that I enjoy practically every musical genre with the exception of rap and Nashville country. The very next week he handed me a CD he had burned just for me and I got to experience rap through the ears of someone who loves it.
Another genre that I found challenging for many years were composers of the Romantic era, such as Richard Wagner or Richard Strauss. I found that these demanded my entire attention, usually a few times over, before I could appreciate the beauty of their interplay of dissonance and consonance and how they demand a visceral emotional response from me.
None of this has yet happened for me with Nashville country, however, but maybe...
Thanks so much! It’s good to know I’m not the only one :)
That's the thing in common between Romance Era composers, Modern Era composers, and Rap. They are no good for background music. You actually have to listen and be open to the emotion. That can be very hard work and it is not always immediately, if ever, rewarding. Bach, Vivaldi, or any popular music you grew up with, and where you pretty much know the lyrics, all that makes great background music because we know where the music comes from and where it is going, and we usually find such music relaxing for the old brain and can leave space to concentrate on other things, like the road or the spreadsheet that's in front of us.