Your Taste In Music DOES NOT Reflect Your Intelligence

I have no idea who started the trend of taste in music being something completely socially relevant. I don't care what other people listen to, nor do I feel it really says anything truly meaningful about them, but for some reason many people act like this is all there is to them, and heavily judge others based on what music they enjoy, not just on a personal level, but (perhaps more disturbingly) on an intellectual level, as if it really speaks volumes as to how they think and what shapes them as a human being. I mean, I do understand that it might uncover some truths about the person, but it can also be completely misleading if misinterpreted. The real kicker is when someone thinks that the music they enjoy makes them seem more intelligent - especially when others fall for it. It's almost as if nowadays if you're "serious" about music, it must mean that you're a very deep thinker, with a sea of knowledge about all kinds of issues, and if you listen to the wrong kinds of music (read pop music) it means you're an airhead with no true comprehension of quality, no ability to grasp the gravity of real life, and are just simple minded. You don't understand more "advanced" music, and how it "speaks to the soul". Guess again.

  First off let me start by saying, there are those of us who spend an endless amount of time thinking. We are thinkers by nature, and ponder about life on an automatic level 24/7. We don't need music to help us think; we manage that on our own. We are able to form thoughts, feel emotions, turn them into words, and speak freely about them without having to either sing them ourselves, or use someone else's words as a crutch for the point we're trying to get across. We might use music as an escape from thinking too much, a way of blowing off steam and letting go, and therefore we enjoy the easy breezy approach of pop songs, with an uptempo beat, easy lyrics, and a happy energy a la mid 90's music and similar genres. We might also use it as a tool of embodying our sensual side, listening to what others might refer to as "dirty lyrics" and "sexual beats", because it creates a raunchier mindset for wild nights out, or are just plain fun to listen to. Music can also be about fun, no? Don't get me wrong: there is something to be said about connecting emotionally with music, but name dropping famous composers and talking about how much their pieces affect you is not impressing anyone but the very gullible, especially if we already know that you're actually pretty much a certified idiot. Granted, being capable at music is an amazing gift, and certainly a kind of intelligence, but when you feel the need to put others down intellectually because of their musical taste, it only speaks volumes about your own mental capabilites. I must say I find it entertaining (albeit annoying) when men try to make fun of my intellect because I like One Direction and Rihanna, but completely fail to hold their own in a regular discussion with me. It really is quite desperate having to take something as unrelated as someone's musical taste, and directly translating it into how their mind works. Who really decides which musical taste means what, anyway?

Yours,