A new study from the University of Cambridge has proved High Fidelity right: “What really matters is what you like, not what you are like,” says the study. I mean the movie. The study says “many of us use musical taste both as a means of expressing our own identity, and to form and refine our opinions about other people.” According to the study’s lead researcher, “Even though our assumptions may not be accurate, we get a very strong impression about someone when we ask them what music they like.” Thanks, science! A lifetime of making smalltalk and hitting on indie dudes has taught basically the same thing: Letting someone play DJ on your iPod is a weirdly revealing process.
I’m going to go out on a limb here (not really) and say the same kinds of assumptions probably hold true for TV shows: Seeing the contents of someone’s TiVo is akin to seeing the contents of their medicine cabinet. When I see a week’s worth of Jeopardy!s saved up on someone’s DVR, I know we’re going to be pals. A season pass for, I don’t know, Brooke Knows Best probably means we’re not destined for love.
Okay, PopWatchers, I know you’ve made snap judgments based on music taste: Are you usually on the money, or are you a lousy iPod psychic?
Note to single women everywhere: if you are on a date, do not EVER, under any circumstance (unless you really like being single and hve cab fare home) sing along with 4 Non Blondes “What’s Up”.
Like with anything else, common taste forms bonds, even and especially when the personalities are different. I love being surprised by someone being a huge LOST or Harry Potter fan, or best of all a Joss Whedon nerd, it opens so many gateways of conversation and yes, actually makes me like them more.
My friends from high school have tastes in music, TV, books, and movies that are so wildly different from my own that I occasionally find it difficult to participate in conversations. The last time I was with them, I sat and silently listened to them discuss country music, Grey’s Anatomy, and wanting to see The Ugly Truth for an hour. I texted a friend that has similar tastes, telling them that all I wanted was to talk about ComicCon and SYTYCD and District 9 and Lost (always Lost). I don’t think similar tastes are NECESSARY (I love these friends dearly), but they sure are nice.
luddite can I be friends with you? even though I think you stole something, it was words right outta my mouth! SERIOUSLY ugly truth im like why!
Yeah, it really can be about any subject. I’m heavily prejudiced when it comes to hockey, for example. And I’ve been known to scowl out people’s fave movie choices.
Hockey’s a big one for me too. Same with Pushing Daisies, Flight of the Conchords and comic books. My girlfriend’s not big on the book ends though.
I think having similar musical tastes can help people bond, but you have to be careful judging people on their musical tastes if you don’t really understand the music they like. I say this as an oft-misunderstood metalhead.
Given the songs in my itunes library, I am hardly in a position to judge. That being said, I have never really understood the appeal of speed metal, and have never been good friends with anyone who does. *Minutiae would be an exception I am sure, should we ever meet.
Similar music or TV tastes has never been what bonds me to people. I’ve found very few people with identical or even similar tastes. I’m married to a man with completely opposite taste, and we get along pretty much all the time. NONE of my friends have my taste in music. Most of them have never heard of most of the bands I like. Though most don’t like my stuff, it’s still fun to talk about music and TV, and maybe get the chance to introduce them to something they might otherwise never encounter.
When my husband and I got together and combined our music collections we found that with a total of 300 CDs, 200 cassettes and over 250 albums we had only one duplicate. It was AC/DC “Back in Black”. We’ve been married now for 16 years and we still don’t have the same taste in music, but we do like the same TV shows and movies.
Similar TV tastes usually helps me talk to someone, rather than music. Like Lost, Heroes, Fringe I could talk about for hours. And Harry Potter. xD But music taste helps xD I don’t know, it just gives you so much more to talk about with someone.