One of the disadvantages of having a 'different' taste in music

[PixelDream]

Whenever I have an evening of chilling out with friends, I have to really think about what music to put on. 90% of the music that I listen to isn't fit to being good background/party music. I'm having a little party right now, and we're playing mostly commercial hiphop and reggaeton. All the while I'm thinking: Why not rock out to Gojira or Meshuggah instead?

[Dark Castle]

Answer: Kvelertak

[LieLowTheWantedMan]

Answer: Kvelertak

My first thought.

[Pols Voice]

Just be like me and have no friends. Problem solved!!!

[RichardRG]

Whenever I have an evening of chilling out with friends, I have to really think about what music to put on. 90% of the music that I listen to isn't fit to being good background/party music.

This is the biggest problem I've encountered. I've played some of my favorite music for friends, family, co-workers (e.g. Warmen, Michael Pinnella, Kamelot, Symphony X, Children of Bodom, Yngwie Malmsteen, Tony MacAlpine), and each time I got strange looks and was told it sounded like video game music.  There's no way this music would go over well at parties. In college, I had to get used to hearing rap/hip hop at parties.

It's also harder to relate to people and have a conversation about music because less people share in common my taste in music. I went from strictly listening to metal, to also listening to indie, electronic, folk, and hip-hop so I can be/feel more sociable in this way. I have to say that doing this had its rewards 'cause I discovered a lot more great music. It did help socially at times, too, I suppose.

[Pols Voice]

Whenever I have an evening of chilling out with friends, I have to really think about what music to put on. 90% of the music that I listen to isn't fit to being good background/party music.

This is the biggest problem I've encountered. I've played some of my favorite music for friends, family, co-workers (e.g. Warmen, Michael Pinnella, Kamelot, Symphony X, Children of Bodom, Yngwie Malmsteen, Tony MacAlpine), and each time I got strange looks and was told it sounded like video game music. 

Video games have some of the best music there is, so it's ridiculous to use that as an insult.

[Dark Castle]

Devin Townsend's usually good for parties too.
Over the years I've dabbled in Electronica, Pop and other genres aside from metal, and some of my favorite albums have come up through that.
I like to play Grimes, Lady Gaga, and La Roux when I have guests sometimes.

[Rattlehead]

Whenever I have an evening of chilling out with friends, I have to really think about what music to put on. 90% of the music that I listen to isn't fit to being good background/party music.

This is the biggest problem I've encountered. I've played some of my favorite music for friends, family, co-workers (e.g. Warmen, Michael Pinnella, Kamelot, Symphony X, Children of Bodom, Yngwie Malmsteen, Tony MacAlpine), and each time I got strange looks and was told it sounded like video game music. 

Video games have some of the best music there is, so it's ridiculous to use that as an insult.

Nobuo Uematsu and Yasunori Mitsuda approve of this message 

[philmcson]

I can usually tolerate pop music at parties, so that's no biggie for me. But yes, Gojira and Maiden would be great to pump up the crowd....

[King Postwhore]

Man, if that was my only problem.


I force my music down everybody's throat.  They know it and they have no control.

[PixelDream]

No the thing is: I'm totally aware that I have music that sounds awkward in social situations. The whole evening's been urban and I'm loving it nonetheless. I like many types of music, but I have many sides of my taste that I can't play, whereas the other people really only listen to 'party music'.

[LieLowTheWantedMan]

Man, if that was my only problem.


I force my music down everybody's throat.  They know it and they have no control.
Same here. I still try to make sure it's in their style though.

[Ben_Jamin]

I hate that so much. If I can tolerate their music they should tolerate mine, if they don't its plain wrong for me not to be able to play my music while others can. At least I have tolerence

[orcus116]

I've grown to accept that most of the music I want to hear in social situations, maybe one or two people would appreciate. To be quite honest, I'd be an asshole to kill the mood so I've grown to tolerate most stuff and even quite like a lot of the pop/rap/electronic stuff that gets played, although I rarely actively seek it out outside of those situations. That being said I've been known to throw on some Mordecai at the local bar from time to time.

[DebraKadabra]

I hate that so much. If I can tolerate their music they should tolerate mine, if they don't its plain wrong for me not to be able to play my music while others can. At least I have tolerence

I've encountered that sometimes, but tolerance can have its limits too.

[Kotowboy]

Just be like me and have no friends. Problem solved!!!

[The Stray Seed]

Thank you for posting this thread. To me, that issue about music is not the actual problem, it's just a single branch a very big tree, that has its roots in a huge gap of sensitivity between people. Sometimes the gap is real, sometimes it's just people pretending to be much more shallow and conformed than they really are, but in doesn't make much difference at all: the gap is there and you feel it so well you could even touch it.

[me7]

At parties, I tolerate (and often enjoy) everything except hip hop. I'm actually glad to listen to something different than I usually listen to.

However, the racial stereotypes of hip hop deserve no tolerance IMO.

[theseoafs]

What are the "racial stereotypes of hip-hop"?

[Zook]

Once at a Halloween party, I put on Iced Earth's The Dark Saga. Needless to say, it was not a hit.

[Ben_Jamin]

I also understand The music I listen to isn't meant as background music,  it's meant to be listened and journied meaning soakingit in.

Which is why party music is simple and plain.

[me7]

What are the "racial stereotypes of hip-hop"?

The way how ethnic minorities are depicted by hip hop, most famously African Americans in American hip hop, and how most people assume that hip hop tells them "the truth" about other cultures.

[?]

Just be like me and have no friends. Problem solved!!!

Another good option would be not to go to parties

[cyberdrummer]

I find blues to be a good middle ground.

[skydivingninja]

I've grown to accept that most of the music I want to hear in social situations, maybe one or two people would appreciate. To be quite honest, I'd be an asshole to kill the mood so I've grown to tolerate most stuff and even quite like a lot of the pop/rap/electronic stuff that gets played, although I rarely actively seek it out outside of those situations. That being said I've been known to throw on some Mordecai at the local bar from time to time.

This. 

I've learned that you and your music are not the center of the universe even at parties you throw.  The goal of parties is to let everyone have fun.  Just learn not to give a fuck about it.  Plus, I've been to plenty of parties where indie rock (something I'm more prone to like) is the music of choice, and even at parties with Usher playing I find its easy to talk to some people about music beyond whatever's being played.

Throwing a party yourself?  Play some Zeppelin and RHCP.  No one at a party will be offended by either of those two bands, and you can still rock out to fun, sometimes very technical music.  Everyone wins.  Throw in the occasional "Trains" or "Liberation" if you want.  A college party is not the time to appreciate all the nuggets in "Octavarium."

[Scorpion]

Couldn't have said it better, SDN. I don't go to parties for the music, but for the fun, and the music played there is only secondary, if it all, in that environment.

[robwebster]

It's just like genres of film. Doesn't matter how technically good it is, nobody's gonna want to watch Schindler's List at a chilled out wine-'n'-cheese night.  Liking Schindler's List doesn't mean you can't like Ghostbusters.

I like Octavarium. I also like Supermassive Black Hole. One's great to sit around for 24 minutes and absorb. The other's great to pop on when you've got your mates around. More to the point, I'm not convinced I'd enjoy Octavarium if they put it on in a nightclub. Four minutes of continuum alone are way, way too much. I've popped The Root of All Evil into DJ sets, though - timing it so we skip the intro - and it's worked really well.

Party music is for party occasions, languid music is for languid occasions, and indulgent music is for occasions where it's okay to be indulgent. Just cos I think a song's generally better doesn't mean it's right for every occasion.

[KevShmev]

I've learned that you and your music are not the center of the universe even at parties you throw.  The goal of parties is to let everyone have fun.  Just learn not to give a fuck about it.  Plus, I've been to plenty of parties where indie rock (something I'm more prone to like) is the music of choice, and even at parties with Usher playing I find its easy to talk to some people about music beyond whatever's being played.

Throwing a party yourself?  Play some Zeppelin and RHCP.  No one at a party will be offended by either of those two bands, and you can still rock out to fun, sometimes very technical music.  Everyone wins.  Throw in the occasional "Trains" or "Liberation" if you want.  A college party is not the time to appreciate all the nuggets in "Octavarium."

Bingo! 

Besides, I like more than enough popular/mainstream music to where I don't have to force feed some of the obscure artists I listen to down the throats of everyone I know. 

[Kotowboy]

Just be like me and have no friends. Problem solved!!!

Another good option would be not to go to parties

As a teetotaller and introvert - i dont.

[SystematicThought]

Answer: Kvelertak

I keep on seeing them mentioned. What kind of music do they make? I know metal but people say they are different.

[The King in Crimson]

Answer: Kvelertak

I keep on seeing them mentioned. What kind of music do they make? I know metal but people say they are different.

A mix of classic rock, punk, black metal and traditional heavy metal.

They mix it up rather seamlessly and they do it in a way that makes most of the songs ridiculously catchy.

[?]

Just be like me and have no friends. Problem solved!!!

Another good option would be not to go to parties

As a teetotaller and introvert - i dont.

I fall into both categories

[Tomislav95]

There is never good music at parties I attend. And many people from my class probably think I am close-minded because I don't like music that they are listening to. But most of them are not listening music, they are listening songs.

[Perpetual Change]

I don't mind commercial pop and hip hop, but I absolutely hate the type of really vulgar stuff you hear in clubs.

[LieLowTheWantedMan]

I don't mind commercial pop and hip hop, but I absolutely hate the type of really vulgar stuff you hear in clubs.

This. HEY EVERYONE HE'S TALKING ABOUT HIS COCK WHAT AN EDGY AND COOL SONG