I have been asked many times "How can you listen to that crap?" (my wife). I've been told "Let me know when you start listening to 'music' " (thanks, dad). A lot of people wonder how/why I can listen to such beautiful pieces of music like Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, Ave Maria, and Mozart's Requiem...and within a minute switch to a group like Slipknot, Gwar, or Slayer. Well, I'll tell you.
Firstly, for the most part, when it comes to heavy metal music, one of the last things I do is listen to lyrics. I just don't care what the singer is saying. The first thing I listen for is how the group's instruments, as a whole, sound. The interplay of guitars, bass, drums, and whatever else the group has. If I don't like the instrumentation of the group, it doesn't matter if the lyrics are some of the best poetry or imagery ever written, I just turn it off.
Second, I listen to how the singer sounds with the group. If he/she sounds stupid or cheesy, I turn it off. There's a CD I have by a group called Warhammer. The singer sounds like Rolf the Dog from the Muppet Show. The instrumentation of the group is great, but I have trouble with the singer: I just can't wrap my head around Rolf headbanging to songs like Crush the Disbeliever, and Necrophobia.
Lastly, I check out the lyrics. If the instrumentation is good, and the singer is good, the lyrics just follow. I'll enjoy reading the lyrics if I like the music.
Now then. Classical music. This is something really difficult for someone to describe "how" or "why" he or she likes it. Classical music seems to be just one of those things that you either like....or don't. There's no real in-between point. I grew up with classical music, and enjoy relaxing to it. There are times when I'll listen to the Amadeus soundtrack for a week or more at a time, and nothing else. I know and realize that some people make fun of those of us that like classical music. To them I say: without the innovations done by the pioneers of music like Bach, Mozart, and Handel, your favorite music group today simply would not exist in their current form.
