By TRECIA TAN SHU HUI
During my internship, I saw a colleague’s iPod on her desk and my curiosity got the best of me as I shamelessly asked if I could take a peek at her music library.
She gave me a look of horror, as if I just asked her to reveal her deepest, darkest secret to the whole world. She gave into my request only after I reminded her that my internship was about to end, and there was no way for me to tease her after that.
Thinking back, I understand now that the act of music shaming is the main reason why people are afraid to share something seemingly trivial as their music playlist, and it should be stopped.
Many people are inaccurately using music taste as a judgement of character. For example, if someone is into One Direction, they are perceived to have the mindset of a 12-year-old girl. People do not realise that belittling others based on something as subjective as music taste says more about them than the other person.
Music is a personal preference, just like food or movies, and everyone has their own definition of what good is. It is childish for people to feel superior about having “better” taste than others, just because they listen to obscure indie artists rather than mainstream pop songs.
Music shaming has ruined the simple enjoyment of listening to music, and because of this, sharing something you love with friends has suddenly become a stressful affair.
It is absurd how people have to label the music they love as “guilty pleasures”. It is not a crime to prefer the modern-day boy bands to the classics like The Beatles. They should not feel guilty about what makes them happy, as long as they are not harming anyone.
In fact, it is the judgmental people who should feel guilty for causing emotional pain to others by throwing unwarranted criticism at them. You can have opinions and dislike certain music, but you do not have to put other people down in the process.
Some may argue that people can actually learn to like better music. According to The Atlantic, researchers at University of Melbourne found that the ability to identify tones and thus appreciate music is correlated with musical training. Hence, it is a learned trait.
There is no doubt that the more skilled you are in a particular area, the more you appreciate it, but not everyone has the opportunity to be a music expert, and not everyone feels the need to know the technicalities of how a certain tune is created to love it.
Whether you like listening to music which has been validated by a Grammy win, or a catchy pop song by Justin Bieber, as long as it makes you happy, nothing else matters.
So, cease the shaming because everyone is entitled to their own preferences. I wish that one day, we would be able to see a world where masculine men blast Britney Spears on their iPod while they work out in the gym, without the fear of being judged.
She gave me a look of horror, as if I just asked her to reveal her deepest, darkest secret to the whole world. She gave into my request only after I reminded her that my internship was about to end, and there was no way for me to tease her after that.
Thinking back, I understand now that the act of music shaming is the main reason why people are afraid to share something seemingly trivial as their music playlist, and it should be stopped.
Many people are inaccurately using music taste as a judgement of character. For example, if someone is into One Direction, they are perceived to have the mindset of a 12-year-old girl. People do not realise that belittling others based on something as subjective as music taste says more about them than the other person.
Music is a personal preference, just like food or movies, and everyone has their own definition of what good is. It is childish for people to feel superior about having “better” taste than others, just because they listen to obscure indie artists rather than mainstream pop songs.
Music shaming has ruined the simple enjoyment of listening to music, and because of this, sharing something you love with friends has suddenly become a stressful affair.
It is absurd how people have to label the music they love as “guilty pleasures”. It is not a crime to prefer the modern-day boy bands to the classics like The Beatles. They should not feel guilty about what makes them happy, as long as they are not harming anyone.
In fact, it is the judgmental people who should feel guilty for causing emotional pain to others by throwing unwarranted criticism at them. You can have opinions and dislike certain music, but you do not have to put other people down in the process.
Some may argue that people can actually learn to like better music. According to The Atlantic, researchers at University of Melbourne found that the ability to identify tones and thus appreciate music is correlated with musical training. Hence, it is a learned trait.
There is no doubt that the more skilled you are in a particular area, the more you appreciate it, but not everyone has the opportunity to be a music expert, and not everyone feels the need to know the technicalities of how a certain tune is created to love it.
Whether you like listening to music which has been validated by a Grammy win, or a catchy pop song by Justin Bieber, as long as it makes you happy, nothing else matters.
So, cease the shaming because everyone is entitled to their own preferences. I wish that one day, we would be able to see a world where masculine men blast Britney Spears on their iPod while they work out in the gym, without the fear of being judged.