I think over-philosophizing an issue is what makes you move ahead in your thoughts on the matter. The only way to really understand what it is you beleive is to attack an issue from every possible angle. maybe you might feel like your just chasing your own tail but eventually you will come to a new understanding.

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as far as music goes, I consider it all to be the essentially the same bullshit repeated over and over with subtle variations.

I have this philosophy that on some level everything we do is in some way related to procreation of the species. I don't feel like thinking about it now but I'm quite sure the type of music we like has something to do with sex.

yeah there's that and then there's far more abstract ways of sex coming into play.

A lot of it has to do with the way we as humans devide outselves up into tribal groups and then throw out signs to attract people of a similar "tribe".

one of those signs is the type of music you like. On a sexual level I think it doesn't matter what music you listen too--its just that music is one way of signifiying what 'tribe' you belong to.

Some people (like my parents for example) belong to tribes in which music just doesn't matter. Neither of my parents ever listened to that much music. They both listen to talk radio. When they went through the 'mating process' they looked for other qualities that mattered to them.

I, however, tend to pay some attention to what kind of music a person listens to. I honestly couldn't see myself ever dating someone who seriously listened to britney and the backstreet boys. It's not that she would be a really bad mate for me its just that somewhere along the line I joined a tribe that disdains that kind of music with a passion.

Its all about tribes. its about sex. music is just part of the mating ritual.
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woah! all of the sudden I'm talking like an anthropologist. time for sleep I think.

food service is awesome. I genuinely like being a waiter. Whereas others see it as a degrading parttime gig till they get a "real" job, I see it as a fast easy way to make some cash while making others happy and allowing me plenty of time to do what I really want to do--which is make music.

or something like that.

Heh, I suppose it does, doesn't it?
No, I think about that all the time. The sources of our perferences and desires is so mysterious...you're right that music is particularly strong in that respect. While I jave opinions and willa rgue sometimes, I always try not to be a nazi, especially when it comes to taste. PArtly because if you're too narrowminded you miss things. I'm generally not into techno--but I think the new DJ Shadow was my favorite record last year. You never know, and it's difficult to articulate why something moves you.
The other thing is that it depends when you're listening. Obviously, I listen to much different music when I'm working out or when I'm waiting for the bus and when I'm reading. One reason I'm not much into techno, I'm guessing, is that I don't dance much...

Rosalyn, near Cle Elum about an hour or so away from the outskirts of the outlining sprawl of the Puget Sound.

*edit*: I was initially thinking of Northern Exposure, which was also filmed in Washington. Twin Peaks was filmed in Snoqualme Falls. Whoopsie.

As far as tastes, sometimes it is nature sometimes it is nurture. There is the whole establishing an identity as an independant entity that in turns leads to exploring different facets of interests.

From what child psychologists have said at age 10 children begin to go from broad likes and dislikes into very specific interests. Usually specializations occur at this time and that is why many children stop playing organized sports or being active in scouts.

As social groups begin to change, children pick up different tastes from those members of the group who they have an affinity for, but that is not always the case.

Large families usually have a diverse enough set of siblings that younger ones pick up much of their likes and dislikes without realizing from their older siblings. I am an example of this as I was exposed to different movies, books, and music from my older brothers and did not really pay too much attention to what was the latest fad with my fellow classmates.

From this the amalgam of disparate interests that I have began to take shape, though other interests did arise as a result of curosity and a desire to expand my range of knowledge.

Of course someone could just be hardwired a certain way and won't like something no matter what the circumstance.

[Edited on Nov 05, 2003 8:07PM]

Hmmm, the nature or nurture debate. Was I predisposed to like the Velvet Underground, or was it something in my upbringing that conditioned me? I've never thought about it that way.
I will continue pondering whilst i inject my flatmate's frozen chicken with piss. Thanks for the tip.

I kinda prescribe to the theory of the tribal aspect of music - but at the same time I shy away from too much compartmentalizing (shit - is that a word?) because it tends to make us too generic - neuter in a sense. That's the biggest problem with the type of music termed pop. The life experiences that it describes are almost totally comercial or image oriented. I tend to prefer music that has discernible and moving lyrics - not such an instrumental cat, me - so I tend to listen to crap from the 60's through the so called adult alternative of today more than most others. This should make me be more of a tool than I would consider myself, or mean that I really fit in with the 40-50 year old set, but when they find the other CD's in my collection - the darker ones they shy away, so somehow my music tastes have excluded me from the herd... I don't know - but it sure makes for some chewy mental food for a Wednesday morning!

P.S.: If you are too deep then you're hanging out with the right croud

you can't over-philosophize. the only reason we exist is to wonder why we exist. if you don't think about it, what's the point?

So you looked like Manson, eh? Well maybe next time I'll dream of YOU, instead of him. hehe