Hmmm that depends who I'm around. I normally hang with a bunch of music snobs so I don't get much of that but occasionally I get asked what I listen to & I just start naming bands they've never heard of & leave them to think what the fuck I'm I on.

I'll keep this in mind for next time.

good music

Porn movie soundtracks.

A lot of stuff. Listening to a fair bit of (BAND) at the moment.

Ridirects the conversation into a more useful area, unless the other person listens to totally different stuff, in which case its best to change the subject. Trying to explain my taste to a lad my own age who was into Phil Collins (he'd seen him live!) has to be one of the most futile things I've ever attempted. We talked about films instead, which he had great taste in, wierd.

If, like me, you hate entering into these conversations just say you listen to classical music. 99% of people won't pursue further. If they do just say Mozart. Conversation OVER.

I do find that as you get older fewer and fewer people tend to wear their musical tastes as some stupid identity badge which cuts down on these kinds of conversations quite a lot. But I guess some people never outgrow it.

Country AND Western!

I usually say anything. And if they pursue it I just say "whatever is on the radio, I have no time to buy cd's." Conversation over.

my favorite is watching their faces while i rattle off names of japanese and finnish bands i like.

or they say "...right..." thinking i'm making up names like kemialliset ystävät and kousokuya...seriously, i once had a "you're messing with me, right? those can't be bandnames"...fuck, i once got a dirty look when i started naming my favorite free jazzers to someone who was into JAZZ!!! (and not easy listening jazz, trane and miles and that!!!!) "kaoru abe, peter brötzmann, WOT?"

...come to think of it, that's happened to me twice now!!! (this guy who was super into pharaoh sanders and zorn and stuff but gave me dirty looks when mentioning abe, brötzmann and bailey; and this other girl who hasn't heard later coltrane or late 60's miles even).

tell them you listen to pizza.

Tapes of your (wife, girlfriend, mother) breathing heavy.

The sounds of silence.

Because I like to wrap myself in a cloak of mystery.

Sometimes I just say "Jazz." Most don't know enough about jazz to follow up with anything.

If it's a fairly nice person that's worth my time I might say:

"A lot of different stuff, from experimental music to primitive heavy metal."

If it's a hipster dickhead or contemporary music student:
"Anything but indie-rock and radiohead".

"Merzbow performing dubstep renditions of 1-Speed Bike's last performance."

bahahaha.

hahaha, best one yet :D

I hate it when people ask you the question... 'what do you listen to' what the fuck? how are you supposed to answer that, i mean, you cant answer it without talking and rambling for at least 5-7 minutes

I say that I listen to bands rather than music. Then I say that I like these bands to have their own particular sound and atmosphere. I usually stops to that.

In a festival a guy came up to me and asked what Liars were like after I'd said I'd come to see them. I didn't answer they were special for it's clueless. I tried to find elements and found none, I dared not mentioning any band name that could have had an influence on them, for I didn't know where that guy was coming from.
He then asked if it was reggae and as that answer was easy, I was relieved.

But what do I know about reggae? I'm not educated in that field.

I would like to say "audible paintings"

But that you just bring up more questions.

Or because you like Simon & Garfunkel?

I always try to answer the question because we all have learned about new artists and bands from somewhere, and just because someone does not know my uber-indie rock references does not mean they will not enjoy them.

I don't socialize with people.

Most of the time, when people ask me what kind of music I like, I say :
"Well, I'm sure you don't know... Sonic Youth ?"
"Right, I don't know this band, what does it sounds like ?"
"You know, 80's/90's rock music, in a way..."
"Mmmm... Nirvana ?"
"Well... If you want."
"Oh, ok."
I don't know what to answer when somebody ask me what I think about a band I hate, like Tokyo Hotel for example.

Exactly, I never say "You wouldn't know them." It's ignorant.

Really my initial response doesn't change even if the person knows quite a bit about music. "I don't know, stuff," is a good response. If they press for more information, just tell them your favorite group or what you've been listening to lately. No need to summarize everything with a "clever" made-up term.

Sometimes I say something like "I love Air Supply," just to make a joke and keep the conversation moving. Since no one likes Air Supply it's a pretty safe joke too.

Yeah, actually, I'll sometimes say the Bee Gees and Boy George, just to see what kind of reaction I'll get. One time, the guy actually said he liked the Bee Gees, too, and what albums did I have?!

And you answered : "oh, the last one."
No ?

No, I replied, "The White Album."

I just say "anything".

Some times I'll toss out a water tester band like Sonic Youth or Yo La Tengo. Usually I mention other bands if they are aware, or I'll drop it at that if they don't with "and stuff like that." Even thought what the stuff is like.

I just say "Oh, you wouldn't know any of the bands" then they go "C'mon tell me one" and I say "Sonic Youth". They go "Who?"

i like rock music----
oh you are into heavy metal......
no, i hate metal, im into punk rock-----
ahh the sex pistols and the clash.......
well, yeah but no, modern punk rock--------
green day and stuff.........
fuck no, im into good music---------------
like what............
sonic youth, the fall, lightning bolt------
never heard of them, you like nirvana.........
yeah, i like nirvana----------
pearrl jam...............
sigh, no i dont like pearl jam, or chilli peppers---------
what do you like then...........
ok, fuck this, listen... (hand him a cdr compilation)----------
ok, thanks ill give it a lash...............






























3 weeks pass...............






what the fuck is this shit,you fucking wierdo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

indie guitar based rock with added steophonic noise ambiguities is generally what i say.

How I answer, depends on the person I ask. If it's someone I doubt has any particular interest in music I just say stuff like The Beatles, the Byrds, stuff like that - which is actually true in that I listen to them a helluva lot.

If they seem a bit more sussed then I'll mention bands like the Velvets and Sonic Youth - who aren't exactly obscure these days, let's face it.

Besides, most of my friends have more obscure musical tastes than I have anyway.

Put sdimply, anyone who says "Oh I listen to everything" should be shot. It may a bit fasict and a bit mean but that's just the way I feel.

The worst people who say that are the people who only listen to what's playing on the radio. So that means their idea of rock is Artic Monkeys, their idea of drum and bass is Pendulum, their idea of R n' B is genereally downright shit R N' B.
Everytime they say they like everything I ask about their opinions on the death Metal scene at the moment. Everytime it's met with "Oh I don't like that sort of stuff" Right, so admit you don't like everything and fuck off please.


This a rant by Phil's brain in collaboration with his fingers.

I usually say (and i have been saying it a lot as i've just started university and people ask you this a lot) that i listen to "early 1990's late 80's grunge music". They say "nirvana" and i say "well yeah sort of".

Well, with me, there are generally two scenarios. The first scenario usually unfolds as follows:

n00b: What sort of music do you like?
Me: Don't worry about it.

That's if I don't like that particular person. The second (if I like the person) usually ellicits more information.

n00b: What sort of music do you listen to?
Me: Oh, a lot of different stuff. There isn't really anything that I refuse to listen to. I spend a lot of time looking for new music, actually. I used to be a really big classic rock kid, but not so much anymore. I got into noise-rock and experimental stuff (ever heard of Sonic Youth?) about a year ago, but I still listen to a lot of older blues guitarists, like John Lee Hooker and whatnot. I still listen to a lot of Bob Dylan, actually. I listen to hardly any mainstream music, but I can appreciate a well-crafted pop song when I hear one. I'm sure you know the White Stripes, though: I'm a big fan of theirs. Their new album kind of sucked, but...

I usually babble on like this for a while until the person walks away, or interrupts me to contribute.

I never cease to be completely fucking flabbergasted at how contrary your basic approach to music is to mine.

I'm sorry, was that directed at me? If so, I'm afraid I haven't really any idea what you're talking about.

No, I have no idea who you are--that "your" was supposed to be plural. It's probably best to just ignore me; it's really not worth pursuing further. I wasn't addressing you particularly, but the board as a whole. I'm not even completely sure what I meant by that myself, so...........

Ah, ha. Understood. Granted, the very nature of this discussion is apallingly pretentious, but it's as good a bet as any that people who frequent a Sonic Youth message board are probably going to be at the very least a tiny bit pretentious, from time to time, so we can allow ourselves a bit of superiority.

That could very well have absolutely nothing to do with what you're talking about, but it may as well be said that all of us should be wary of acting too snobbish when it comes to mingling with the masses; for, indeed, how can they learn of greatness if greatness is never shown to them? Goodness knows we can't rely on MTV or ClearChannel to do it. Perhaps is would be best, after all, instead of driving the questioner away with snarky comments and a haughty attitude, to make up a CD of songs they may like. Use yr powers for good, o ye hipsters, not evil.