I'll be the fist one to admit I have very strange taste in music.

I don't mean that I like strange music. . . like the sound of monkey's fornicating to the reving of Escalade engines or anything like that.

I just listen to all kinds of music. I do mean ALL kinds. My mp3 player has a bunch of playlists (as I'm sure your's does as well). The one I listen to the most is simply titled "good".

This 97 hour 54 minute 13 second playlist will start me with something classic, say "Stand By Me" by Ben E. King, then flip to Tantric's "Frequency" then over to a live version of Kenny Wayne Sheppards "Little Wing" tribute cover of Stevie Ray Vaughn (which, in turn, is a cover of Hendrix's "Little Wing"). From Blues it's only a short hop for me to next hear Eminem's "Girls" which blends instantly with Jimmy Buffet's "Come Monday". The next song could very well be something by Paul Oakenfold as by Motzart!

I wasn't always this way. When I was but a young sprout I found myself with an addiction to Heavy Metal. I know, it's sad. I went so far as to speak the words "Everything else is crap" out loud.

Thankfully my father overheard me saying that and thought to teach me a lesson. Sitting me down he tried to talk to me rationaly. While I, sitting there in all black and a permanant scowl on my face, thought he was quite insane for telling me I was a "music snob".

Long story short, I didn't listen to him. Being the man that he is he decided to force the issue and wouldn't allow me to listen to MY music when he was around. He made me listen to oldies radio stations. . . and to his (shudder) 8 tracks, and RECORDS!

This horrible torture went on for three years.

At the end of my "punishment" I found that I could not only tolorate the music being forced on me. . . I could sing every word of it and hum every melody. WTF?!?!? I actually LIKED this stuff? Hmph. . . yeah. . I really did.

Having kept up with "my" music in secret I was able to see the differences AND the similarities between the different genres. I was able to see how Metallica developed from Cream. How Faith No More had roots in The Doors.

Wow.

You mean all these types of music are related?

This threw me for a loop, let me tell you. This needed more study. I love my father, and what he did for me. . . but even HE says that his education was lacking in many types of music. So I struck out on my own.

I listened to EVERYTHING I could get my hands on. Rap, sure! Ballads? You betcha. Country? Hell yea. Classical? Any I could find. Blues? From Albert King to ZZTop.

So fastforward a few years. I now have a playlist of over 97 hours that isn't even half of my music collection. . . and I can sing every word, hum every melody.

And love EVERY. SINGLE. NOTE. OF. EVERY. SINGLE. SONG.

Early last year I found that I wasn't alone in my quest for equality of music listening. I found, and met, a duo/band at a free concert in Detroit that I helped put on called the Downtown Hoedown (I know I know I didn't make the name).

They are Big and Rich. A "country" group that has a six foot 5 inch Black rappin cowboy that speaks 3 languages, that had Kid Rock show up and blow the doors off that place, that celebrates the "joy of music in ALL of it's forms."

While talking to Big Kenny (That's his name. . . really. First name "Big" last name "Kenny") he said something to me that I'll never forget. . . hell it made it to thier web site! so I'll leave you with this as well.

"What we're doing now is American music," he says. "And the most American music format that I know of is country. That audience understands us. People that listen to country music don't just listen to country music. The kids who are coming up listen to Johnny Cash, then Kenny Chesney, then Ludacris or Outkast or Kid Rock. I mean, John's little brother wears a John Deere hat and an Eminem t-shirt."


So. . . what are you listening to?

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