What Goes Around....

There's a line in the song "Putting it Together" that says:

"....all they really like is what they know."

Time and time again, that line comes up in my head. I realize that I'm often much more narrow-minded than I'd like to admit. I don't like new music till I've heard it 4 or 5 times. I have a hard time with instant messaging because there's no punctuation or capitalization. Things that are different bother me.

Case in point: I don't go to a lot of concerts, but once in a while I get out there. You know what the next concert is that I'm going to? Earth, Wind and Fire and Chicago. What the heck? You'd think it was 1982 or something. But it's music I know and many of the people there will look sort of like me and it will all feel familiar and comfortable. Not new and strange.

The other day my son wondered aloud what kind of music his kids will listen to in order to rebel against him. This fascinated me. See, even though I can be pretty narrow-minded, my taste in music can tend to be loud. Sure, I can tolerate Josh Groban, but give me Led Zeppelin and I'll be banging my head with the best of them. So I have this son who likes even louder and harder music than I do. Why? Because what fun would it be to say: "I love Led Zeppelin...and so does my mom!" He likes heavy metal music with people screaming about death and mortality. He likes heavy metal music where the band is singing in English but doesn't speak English.

My daughter also loves music, but her tastes lean toward pop and Disney...and entire genre unto itself. She also enjoys playing the same songs over and over and over again. The two of them couldn't be more diverse in their musical tastes. They both love music...their way. This is my fault.

When I was young, my parents listened to weird music: Evita, West Side Story, Elvis Costello, Jessie Colin Young, Hair...etc. I listened to what they listened to, plus what my brother listened to, which was Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones. Pretty hard stuff. And so when I had children, it was important that I expose them to a lot of music. Since we spent a lot of time in the car, they heard lots of show tunes and a bit of rock. It would have made me sad if they grew up still loving Raffi. I wanted them to have sophisticated musical tastes. I hoped that they would love music someday as much as I did.

What's the old adage - be careful what you ask for, you just might get it? I did...in spades.

My house is now filled with music. Drum solos, piano solos, guitar solos, metal, pop, show tunes, classical....it never stops. This is great and I'm so happy that my kids have discovered music.

And so now, when my house is brimming with strange, loud, overplayed music, what do I like to hear? What I know. Music that brings me back to the time when my parents couldn't understand why I liked what I did. It's the circle of life...NO! Not the Disney tune!