The Other Side of Music

Driving down Mission with my windows down and a blaring radio, you wouldn’t expect to hear the sounds that are pouring out of my ’95 Maxima. The only thing my friends Ian and Andrew can do is stare out the window with shame that they are catching a ride with a loser who rocks out to Taylor Swift on the daily.

As I said before, I don’t usually enjoy a honky tonk country song. But when I feel like I want to live in the panhandle of Texas, I turn the dial to 106.5. If I’m lucky I may drop right into a love story or Kenny Chesney may tell me how he’s going to “sit right here and have another beer in Mexico.”

It used to be that all I ever listened to was alternative rock. That was it. I had about 300 songs on my handy dandy ipod and 250 of them were alternative songs. The thought that I would be interested in another type of music never even crossed my mind. I used to hate country. I would’ve rather dyed my hair pink and ran around the school in a German leotard than listen to a second of country music. I’m not going to lie, I was pretty closed minded.

But I’ve changed. Unlike like most people, I seem to change my opinion about things very often. You see, I work at PV Pool and as much as I love working there, I hate the music choices of 105.1 Jack F.M. So, all of us lifeguards decided that we didn’t want to hear terrible 80’s synthesizer music all day. We decided to have a country day. When I say “we” I mean all the older lifeguards. I really didn’t have much say in what we listened to.

I was pretty mad when they decided country music because, at the time, I really wasn’t a fan. (except, of course, Taylor Swift). The day drones on and I hear a country song followed by a western song, then it’s back to country. We have a Tay-Swift count to see how many times 106.5 played a song of hers. By the third time we heard “You Belong With Me” I began to warm up to country. I noticed that most of the songs told a story. About love, about heartbreak, about their dog or truck.

Once I noticed that I liked country, I began to hate myself for not opening up my mind and listening to everything. That got me thinking about everything else that I haven’t been listening to. All the stories that I have shunned simply because I was too caught up with thinking that only one kind of music existed. I was ignoring all of the other kinds of expression of feelings. This made me sick.

I went home after work and got right on itunes and clicked on “country”. I think I bought about seven songs I wouldn’t have even listened to if I heard a bar or two on the radio the day before. Then I went to rap, bought an entire eminem album. And listened to it all in one night. Ever since then I’ve taken my music interest to another level. I have no stereotypes for certain types of music or artist. Everyone is equal.