How much do you think you can tell about a person by what music they listen to?

[-N-]

I think what music a person listens to reflects in some way their personality. And I also think that the number of different styles of music a person appreciates reflects their degree of well-roundedness. I don't know of any way to quantify it, however. Discuss?

[Meat Puppet]

I thought that was the reason people listened to music? Oh god, you just raped my perspective on the universe into swiss cheese. :(

[Dingo Jellybean]

If you met me in person, listened to how I talked and saw how I dressed...you would never know I was a rap fan.

[Ko Ko]

If you saw me in person, I bet you'd think I listened to Death Metal. Well, not my profile pics and such, but my blackness.
Unfortunatley I am not a Death Metal fan; but a Industrial fan!
(Actually I like everything except rap and hip-hop. And country... :skull4: )

[Zeldy]

Hmm maybe with somepeople.. but me.. nah, i look like a pop princess, but im not, i hate pop/hip hop/R n B and all that crap. I aint a Heavy metal fan either, I just like Punk/Rocky types.

[jrgen]

I don't think what kind of music you listen to reflects your personality that much.
I'm a member of several music forums and you have pretty much all different kinds personalities in all of them.
Plus, most people aren't interested in music enough to know what kind of music they really like.

[Leeza]

Absolutely no one who sees me would guess that most of the music that I ever listen to is Marilyn Manson. The music a person prefers won't show anything outwardly about what their personality is like.

I also don't see what it has to do with the well-roundedness of a person. All genres of music are everywhere in this day and age and almost everyone has heard them all at one time or another to know whether or not a genre is something that they like and would listen to on a regular basis. If they have an ear for just two or three of the genres instead of 15, this does not mean that they're not well-rounded. It just means that they have their preferences and don't feel that they have to listen to more just because everyone else listens to them.

[Calamity]

I dunno, I think that there may be something to telling something about people by their music. You have to think... people may adopt certain ideas and concepts from the music they listen to, because most people can be influenced by an artist's views on life. I've taken on a lot of ideas from the kind of music I listen to...

So I dunno.

[jrgen]

almost everyone has heard them all at one time or anotherNo one could ever hear something from all genres.

[Calamity]

No one could ever hear something from all genres.
That's a good point... there are so many... frankly STUPID compound genres that nobody could listen to them all. I mean, what in the hell is "Hard Acid House Fusion"?

[jrgen]

there are so many... frankly STUPID compound genres that nobody could listen to them all.That's a good thing.
There can never be too many genres.
Every band can't come up with an own genre though.
The music needs to be original for them to do so.

[Heath]

I think it's unfair to judge someone by what music they listen to. Different people like different music. In some cases, music might reflect their personality, though in a lot of cases people listen to music that is the complete opposite. You can't say that people who listen to death metal are all people with pent up anger waiting to be released, can you?


That's a good point... there are so many... frankly STUPID compound genres that nobody could listen to them all. I mean, what in the hell is "Hard Acid House Fusion"?

If people like the "STUPID compound genres" then why shouldn't they listen to them?

[Calamity]

I think it's unfair to judge someone by what music they listen to. Different people like different music. In some cases, music might reflect their personality, though in a lot of cases people listen to music that is the complete opposite. You can't say that people who listen to death metal are all people with pent up anger waiting to be released, can you?

If people like the "STUPID compound genres" then why shouldn't they listen to them?

Hmm... you're right. There are people who don't follow what their music "embodies", and as you say, it is not right for people to be judged by what music they listen to. I apologise for my statement! As for the compound genres, I wasn't saying that they should just be ignored, what I was trying to say (which I admit was SLIGHTLY off-topic) was that some artists tend to invent their own music styles, and so its hard to keep track of all of the different genres.

Thank you for bringing my attention back to my idiotic post, Heath.

[jrgen]

some artists tend to invent their own music stylesIf the music is new, it needs a name.

And I listen to a lot of death metal.
That doesn't mean I'm an angry person who digs up corpses and eat them on his spare time.

[fire_of_avalon]

I think you can tell a lot about someone based on their musical tastes if they have a passion for that music. If they don't have a passion for it, if they just "like" it, then no I don't think you can tell anything about them by their tastes.

This thread isn't about whether or not someone can tell what type of music you listen to based on appearance, it's about whether or not you feel you can learn something about a person based on their musical tastes.

[Sepho]

I'm not sure how effective trying learn of someone's personality by means of the music they listen to really is.

I don't listen to one particular genre of music. I'm a big music fan, and my playlist is scattered with everything from rap, to classic rock, to metal, to punk, to pop, and so on (no country though - sorry, KB). I have no idea what someone would assume about me based on the music I listen to. Or what they could assume, for that matter.

[Cz]

It's easy to think that you know someone based on their musical tastes, but it's all too easy to end up stereotyping their personality based on this single piece of information. It's easy to say that all metal fans are simple-minded, violent people, but that would only be a superficial analysis of their character.

As for listening to a broad range of music indicating that a person is well-rounded, I'd say that the same applies. Just because a person is selective doesn't necessarily mean that they're narrow-minded. However, a lot of the stubborn idiots browsing the internet do seem to bash any genre that isn't their own, so I guess you could be right on this one. ;)

[-N-]

I think you can tell a lot about someone based on their musical tastes if they have a passion for that music. If they don't have a passion for it, if they just "like" it, then no I don't think you can tell anything about them by their tastes.

This thread isn't about whether or not someone can tell what type of music you listen to based on appearance, it's about whether or not you feel you can learn something about a person based on their musical tastes.
There's at least one who didn't misunderstand me.

I'm not sure if specific genres can yield new information on what kind of person someone is. I do think that there are certain archetypal songs that some people are drawn to, and that maybe a connection can be made in that manner. Archetypal songs exist across genres, so that's the complete wrong way to think about what I'm saying.

[eestlinc]

My musical tastes at least offer a glimpse into my personality I'm sure.

[edczxcvbnm]

I listen to what I like. That ranges from J-Pop to Rap to Heavy Metal to Classical music. Favorite group? Don't have one. Favorite style? Don't have one. This all probably makes sense with my personality...random.

[boris no no]

from the way i look and act my ex thought i was into boy bands! i am a bit....."blonde" and "pink" :p :tongue:

but i'm into, mainly, rock and industrial music! NIN and marilyn manson, smashing pumpkins, Rammstein etc.
i do like all music though, hanson :love: :love: :love: , dido, justin timberlake, flogging molly, damien rice etc
i don't like some of the stigmas surrounding rock, i don't want to wear black and wear make-up, i like to be blonde! :tongue:

[Xander]

I don't think you can judge someone by what sort of music they listen to, that's just reading too much into things that might not have anything to be read into. However, I think if someone's views on music are very much "I like THIS style, everything else is crap", especially when they haven't even listened to other stuff, might show the kind of narrow mindedness they have in general. I think it shows an open minded person if they can at least appreciate many different styles of music, even if they don't necessarily LIKE them all.

[Jebus]

I'm pretty sure my musical taste reflects my personality.

Most people aren't that easy to read, however.

[Zeldy]

Different people like different music.
Please.. tell people at my school that!!
Im always getting skitted for listening to Rock.. pffft..

[Heath]

Please.. tell people at my school that!!
Im always getting skitted for listening to Rock.. pffft..

A lot of people aren't very open minded, sadly.

You live in St. Helens? I used to live there until my family moved to Wales. I was born in Whiston.

[Perducci]

Please.. tell people at my school that!!
Im always getting skitted for listening to Rock.. pffft..

Is like that in my school. Oh well, I don't really care.

I think that with most people, you can tell quite a bit about what they are like through the music they listen to...

[Palindrome]

musical prefeneces can give a deep insight to a person's personality. People who listen to classical music TEND (key word) to be calm and intelectual while hard rockers are energetic not angry. One must always be carfull not to stereotype others purely on musical preference.

[Shoeberto]

By looking at me, you wouldn't be able to pinpoint exactly what I listen to, but when you found out you wouldn't be too suprised.

[DMKA]

Nothing. I listen to everything.

My cousin came over one day and I was listening to something by Tupac and he was like "wtf you listen to rap? I thought you just listened to that rock stuff."

People who base their judgements off of music or assume they know what music I listen to by the way I look or something sickens me. It's just like racism and homophobia basically, just not in a serious manner.

[rubah]

Sometimes you probably could. At least with most people that listen to country. Because usually, you know, they live in teh country. Go figure.

Although I'm not sure that you would guess that i like rock music in languages I don't know.