Not a hard question at all. For example, you might answer to somebody, “Well, I like to listen to a lot of stuff. For example, just yesterday I was checking out this album…” and then talk a bit about why you thought such and such a random bit of music was interesting.
That’s a friendly and generous way to respond. If you’re just naturally kind of a jerk, you might say, “Well, the only musicians I like are ones most people wouldn’t have heard of,” and, since the unstated implication is that any further discussion on the topic is pointless, especially with one who lacks the passkey, you’ll be very glad to have ended the conservation quickly and efficiently. You’ll also have missed the chance (a) to talk about music you like in detail and with passion and (b) to try to discover something new about music as an aesthetic object. But at least your dignity as an eclectic, rugged, tight-lipped, suffer-no-fools individual will have been preserved, and you won’t have to deal with any tough questions from the peanut gallery. You will have become something like Proust’s comic Mme Verdurin, part of a mostly imaginary “clan” of connoisseurs, someone to be mocked and ignored outright.
Yeah, I tend to go real specific. “I listen to all kinds of stuff. Yesterday, I was listening to Esperanto pop music and a short-lived Broadway musical. And Eminem.”
I usually answer that I listen to whatever I like, and then maybe list off a few of the genres I tend to prefer. I might admit that I like a lot of obscure stuff, which is a hell of a lot less likely to offend than the “you’ve never heard of it” answer.
When my students ask me that question, I just point to the rack of CDs and tell them to try to find a theme. Just looking at this end to the shelf:
Grateful Dead
Aaron Copland
Al Di Meola
Jimmy Buffett
Beethoven
Warren Zevon
Trespassers William
A collection called “Jazz Divas”
Bonnie Raitt
Talking Heads
I would say my tastes are a combination of mostly new rock, pop, rap/hip-hop and electronica. I listen to a wide variety of music depending on what my mood is.
Getting more specific, for “rock” I tend to go with your more modern rock / alt rock genres - new indy stuff (The Killers, White Stripes), 90s grunge and alt rock, your various funk/ska/rap infused bands like Chilli Peppers, classic college rock like REM or U2, jam bands like Dave Mathews or Blues Traveller, some metal.
I don’t really “listen” to hip hop so much as I like having it on in the background to get me in the mood to go out or when rolling in my car. Basically whatevers “in”.
And electronica type music, I generally listen to stuff like The Crystal Method, Prodigy, Moby, Paul Oakenfold, and generic “trance” or “house” music that strikes my mood a certain.
No country.
Basically, it’s not uncommon for me to have Filter, Lenny Kravitz, Wu Tang Clan, Sarah McLaghlan, and Coldplay on the same “mix tape”.
Yikes, I hate getting asked this question. I do listen to a wide variety of subgenres of rock and pop, but I despise the “a little bit of everything” or “everything but rap and country” responses that are so common (and both of which I have used dozens of times through my life). Then again, I can’t say “post-punk” or “C86/'80s indie pop” and expect a more casual music listener to know that I was talking about.
Most recently, this came up when working on a music video in the film class I’m currently taking. There were only three people in my group, but it took us weeks to come up with the music we used because none of us really knew how to discuss what we listened to - one girl liked Top 40, one guy just said “rap” and I just said “rock.” Our video ended up beoing split among three genres, so we used clips from three appropriate-sounding songs in our video, with each of us picking one.
Of course, if had been thinking clearly, I could have mentioned some current mainstream bands, like Franz Ferdinand and The White Stripes, that I like, while still mentioning that I listen to indie and older music as well. Of course, “indie” isn’t much of a useful term either.
I’m a hardcore music geek. There really isn’t a single genre that isn’t represented in my CD liberry. (Couple years ago, at work, it suddenly dawned on someone that it was May 5, and no one had made any plans for Cinqo de Mayo. They turned to me for something to set the mood, and I pulled out my trusty mega-CD-wallets that are usually in my carry bag, and I managed to supply them some Mexican polkas, Mexican hiphop, some Ranchero, and exen some Mexican electronica. I am rarely caught short.)
When I get asked that question, since I really can’t answer it directly without taking up a couple hours of everybody’s time, I try to turn it around; find out what kind of music the asker of the question likes. Unless it’s another hardcore geek, I’m usually gonna be better talking about their music than they will be at talking about mine, so that strategy usually works.
I almost always say alternative or indie, then go from there if need be. Most people that ask me don’t seem to be into the music that I like, so the conversations usually don’t last very long.
I find it easier to list what I don’t like than to let the conversation spiral off into strange sub-genres. It’s a much shorter list. I don’t care for “new” country too much, materialistic/misogynistic hip hop and most non-Western folk music. Other than that, if it’s played well and displays some version of instrumental proficiency, I’m down for a listen.
Since the other person’s interest is most likely only casual anyway, I don’t try to detail everything I like, or get real specific about sub-genres. I just say something like “A lot of different stuff. Mostly rock and jazz and blues, some classical, though not so much anymore. And some world music, especially Indian.” The hard part is when they ask what kind of music I make, because it has elements of all of the above in it without really fitting any of those categories.
This is one of the most annoying questions I’m asked, and I’ll tell you why: 99% of people who are asked this question will respond with some variation on “a little bit of everything”. The irony is that the more likely a person is to actually listen to - literally - a little bit of everything are often the most likely to want to give a specific answer. Nonetheless, to whatever extent the top 40 fans think music buffs convey snobbery, it seems to me equally presumptuous to assume that one listens to a broad variety of music just because MTV plays both 50 Cent AND Rob Thomas. And so, because I find spite to be a great motivating force in life, I’m usually prompted to answer “German oom pah and Jamaican Mento. Nothing more, nothing less”.
I listen to just about every kind of genre at some point in the year. I’ve learned throughout many long years of explaining my musical interests to people with almost no musical interests, to say something to the effect of what you pretty much don’t listen to. As in, Just about everything EXCEPT top 40, top 40 country, rap, opera, and classical.
Otherwise you have to give them a giant list. This way, then can then go in for specifics after you list the small grouping of things you tend to not listen to. (Even my list of things I don’t listen to has holes in it.)
My usual answer is “a little of everything, except rap or hip-hop.” The question is only annoying in that most people take my reply as a challenge, and I have to go through a few rounds of cross-examination:
“Even country?”
“Yes.”
“Classical?”
“Yes.”
“What about show tunes?”
“Yes.”
“Ok, but I bet you don’t listen to heavy metal, right?”
“Actually, Iron Maiden is one of my favorite bands, and I’ve seen them in concert.”
Yeah, that would sound much like a conversation I might have… just add electronica/house/disco to the “don’t listen to” list and switch Motörhead with Iron Maiden.
