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From Dappy to Adele – the perks of a random playlist

When asked who their favorite singer is or, more generally, what sort of music they like to listen to, people often claim to have a random taste. However, I struggle to find people out there with a taste as arbitrary as mine.

Mostly people sway towards a particular style of music. Garage, for example, R&B, Ska, Country – the list goes on. Of course there’s likely to be variations and odd songs that you love which don’t fit the stereotype of your choice, but the majority of the music listened to by an individual usually creates a pattern.

I also find that if people claim to like country music, then every country song that plays, they know. Every country singer around, they’ve heard of and likewise for other genres.

Personally, I find myself to be a tip of the iceberg fan. I’d say I like country. I really do and it reminds me of being in Florida last year where my friends introduced me to a wider selection than ‘The Shires’. Being in America, and the south at that, I attended my first proper country dance night at a place call Dallas Bull. As sober as I was, exhausted from the week long party I’d been having pretending to still be in college, it was great watching all the avid country fans get up on the dance floor to perform the routines that they knew off by heart.

I’d also say I’m a fan of rock, some rock anyway. I thoroughly enjoy live bands and the two I’ve seen the most of, perform mostly rock covers. From this a cluster of rock artists have seeped into my playlists as well. It’s not often, but I’ve been known to dance around my room to Muse after a drunken night at the pub or pretend that I’m an eighties rock chick and head bang to a bit of Def Leppard from time to time.

I like the old stuff, seventies, eighties, sometimes even sixties. My parents brought us up listening to things that they like. I know this because it features in all of our childhood videos, in which there’s always some music playing in the background. Occasionally also a less familiar Beatles track will come on the radio and I find that I know all the words, and that I give to my childhood.

I’m a huge fan of musicals. In fact this is one of my less random playlists because it’s titled ‘Musicals’ and contains exactly that. From Oliver to Miss Saigon and more recently Matilda, I love it all. I laugh when I’m walking to and from work, usually with my headphones in and builders will be looking at me. They probably think I’ve got the latest tunes blasting into my eardrums or, even worse, some ghastly rap when actually it’s Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ‘Jellicle Songs For Jellicle Cats’! I even throw in a bit of classical if I’m feeling extremely whimsical.

For me it largely depends on my mood, but even then I shift between genres like a puppy would rush around a woodland full of new smells. My choices through mood make no sense either and if I’m sad I’ll search for songs that I know will make me cry, yet when I’m happy I want to lift my spirits by picking cheerful tunes. Work that out. Surely it should be the other way around if anything, shouldn’t it?

I’m guessing through reading you’re now fully aware of quite how bizarre my music taste is and when I say it’s random, that’s exactly what I mean. I like music that reminds me of places, of people and of good times. My Spotify is full of a wide selection of choices and I’d say seventy five per cent of these songs have been selected through memories. Now when I listen to them, I’m instantly taken back. It’s lovely.

The other morning I woke up and put on songs which I must have frequently listened to about ten years ago. The likes of Jay Sean and Dappy of all people. I never listen to these, I’d forgotten they were ever big. Sometimes you need to be reminded of being really young with no responsibilities whatsoever and music has that wonderful ability to take you there. At least that’s the excuse I’m using for my extremely out of character decision that day and one I shall never admit, despite doing so now on the world wide web.

Music features in my life daily without fail and I am not ashamed of how incredibly non-specific my taste is because I enjoy it all the same.

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