How to gauge a persons musical interests?

September 20, 2005 8:29 AM

My girlfriends brother wants some new music to listen to. What questions can I ask to better gauge what suggestions I make?

He listens to mostly country now and I have a wide range of interests none of them relating to country. I would like to broaden his music taste without scaring him off of some good stuff.

posted by Botunda to media & arts (16 comments total)

An obvious choice would be to start slowly with some alt country like Uncle Tupelo and work from there. The Supersuckers also put out a couple good country records. If he likes those he might like their rock stuff.

Does he like catchy, poppy stuff (Alan Jackson, Shania Twain) or old school country like Hank Williams? Willie Nelson? Are there certain instruments he really likes? A certain type of songwriting? If you ask him why he likes what he likes he might be able to give you more to work with.
posted by Atom12 at 8:38 AM on September 20, 2005

I heard early Wilco was slated as "alt-country". Maybe start here (with the album "A.M.3), build slowly through the discography, then BAM!, "OK Computer" :)

Also, you could gather the few bands he likes, browser AllMusic.com's "Similar Artists" lists for each band, find some common grounds and try to understand what he likes, rather than making him like you do.
posted by XiBe at 8:44 AM on September 20, 2005

What I'm looking for is what are the best 'questions' to ask him about his tastes so that I can offer the best suggestions.
posted by Botunda at 8:47 AM on September 20, 2005

I've found a major divide is whether someone's most interested in the lyrics or the music of a song. Makes it easier to determine which parts of his existing favorites I should be trying to overlap.
posted by occhiblu at 9:01 AM on September 20, 2005

Well, as Atom12 mentioned above, I think the most important question would be "what kind of country music do you like?" and get names of artists, and find out what exactly he likes about the music he likes.

If he likes a twangy melody like in old-style country, he might enjoy Neko Case or the Sadies. If he likes thoughtful (or political) lyrics or folky country, there are entire old-folk and newer-singer-songwriter genres out there to explore.

Maybe also ask him what direction he's looking to expand -- does he want something peppier? Moodier? More thoughtful? Less plaintive? Try to feel him out for what he thinks is missing in his current collection.
posted by boomchicka at 9:11 AM on September 20, 2005

I don't think you can. In turning people onto jazz, I've found some people quickly gravitate toward straightforward, melodic tunes, while others are immediately intrigued by dense, free-form stuff -- and it's impossible to predict which way someone will go based on previous experience. Logic doesn't apply. I've found the most reliable strategy is simply to offer records that you genuinely love. Passion can be contagious.
posted by cribcage at 9:14 AM on September 20, 2005

What's he into the country for? The melody, the traditional "country" instrumentation? Or is he going for the music, or the words and the stories? If he's just in it for the twang, your genre-options are limited. If he's in it for the stories, then you have some options. You'll be lucky if he says both, but doesn't find them concurrently necessary. If that's the case, you can branch out all over the place.
posted by hototogisu at 9:31 AM on September 20, 2005

It sort of depends if he's intending to put "work" into it at all. When you're delving into a new genre, it's often necessary to invest thought and above all time, listening a lot to a lot of different artists in the genre. (There are some people who are instantly turned off by twang, for instance, and it takes real work to overcome this programming.)

If your brother's just looking for unfamiliar stuff he might like, rather than to expand outside of his current sphere of interest, it's probably worth just asking him for a few different bands/artists he likes, which don't sound at all alike. Even if he just likes the little he's heard. If he says he likes Hank Williams, Black Sabbath and 50 Cent, there are inferences to be drawn for more nuanced recommendations.

Whenever I'm trying to recommend a band to someone, I do the above - ask for three disparate acts they like - and then try to find some middle artist that unites aspects of all three.
posted by Marquis at 10:30 AM on September 20, 2005

Oh! And if you're really serious, sit down with him once you've got 10 or 15 things he might like. Play them for him, talk about them, find out what turns him off and what turns him instantly off. (He may, for instance, have an aversion [for now] to anything with synths in it; you might not know that unless you play that Notwist song for him.)
posted by Marquis at 10:32 AM on September 20, 2005

Get him to list his top 3 bands, plug them into AudioScrobbler and you'll get three lists of similar bands.

Merge them together and he'll probably like the ones that crop up often and high up that list.
posted by ralawrence at 10:50 AM on September 20, 2005

"What are the last five or so artists you've listened to? Which ones did you like more?"

"Do you like honky-tonk stompin' or ballads more? Do you like current Nashville stuff?"

"'We got both kinds-- country an' western,' y'know? Which do you like more?"

"Who are some of your favorite voices in Country? Do you tend to like women singers (Dolly Parton, Trish Yearwood, Loretta Lynn, Shania Twain) or men (Johnny Cash, Alan Jackson, Hank Williams, Ry Cooder, Willie Nelson)?"

"Do you like the country that's on the radio?" (This will tell you a LOT).

"Do you like bluegrass? Fiddles? Steel lap guitar?"

"Did you like that 'Oh Brother Where art thou' music?"

The first thing that I'd try to gauge is how "authentic" he likes his music. Some people get really hung up on that, and they tend to look for more obscure stuff (you can trick them by pretending that better music is more authentic, if you like). Some people really like the radio stuff, and have more of a post-modern view of country. Ask him if he likes Big and Rich. They utilize a lot of rap and rock in their music, and if he likes them he might also like a lot of Southern rock like Alabama. Then, from Southern rock, it's a short trip to stoner rock like Kyuss and Verbena.
Then look for specific things that he may or may not like. Some people don't like whiskey voices, some people can't stand crooners. Some people love Neil Young, some people think he's a nasal whiner. Gram Parsons can also be a good cross-over.
But really, find out what he likes by listening to music with him. (And you can always email me if you want suggestions after that).
Oh, and you might try tracking down the user Realcountrymusic and asking him. He's, um, smart and junk.
posted by klangklangston at 11:19 AM on September 20, 2005

The best question would be to get him to describe what it is about the music he enjoys that makes him enjoy it. As that's a difficult thing for most non-musicians to define, the best question might be "What are 10 of your favorite songs?" Then you can listen to those songs and figure out for yourself how his tastes work.
posted by ludwig_van at 11:27 AM on September 20, 2005

And if he can't tell you why he likes certain songs/artists, ask him what songs, genres and performers he doesn't like and why. Sometimes it's easier for people to describe why they don't like something than it is to describe what makes it so appealing to them.
posted by Atom12 at 1:17 PM on September 20, 2005

I heard early Wilco was slated as "alt-country". Maybe start here (with the album "A.M.3), build slowly through the discography, then BAM!, "OK Computer" :)

Wilco != Radiohead. ITYMTS Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Good suggestion either way but YHF is more likely to go over well.

Anyway, Botunda, there's plenty of indie/challenging stuff that has country or alt-country influences. Try Billy Bragg and Wilco doing Woody Guthrie, for instance. Try some beloved country singers ... of rock'n'rollers, such as Loretta Lynn produced by Jack White, or Laura Cantrell, or Lucinda Williams. See where that leads him. Maybe some neo-folk like Sufjan Stevens? Maybe some country-blues-influenced rock like the White Stripes? If he liked Johnny Cash doing "Hurt", maybe he'll like Trent Reznor's piano-only version on Still. Perhaps try some avant cabaret vocalists like The Dresden Dolls or Nellie McKay. If he wants male voices consider Jeff Buckley, Damien Rice, or The Postal Service.

(I know for myself that growing up with folk, I developed a preference for melody and vocals, as opposed to musical experimentation. It might be good to keep this in mind for a country fan.)

Last.fm can be useful here, but has a tendency to reinforce tastes unless you actually use it to stretch them.
posted by dhartung at 5:21 PM on September 20, 2005

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is the most boring, over-rated post-college hipster crap foisted upon us within the last five years.
Hell, I'd recommend Sixteen Horsepower before I recommended YHF.
posted by klangklangston at 7:44 PM on September 20, 2005

I love doing this with peoples iPods (tho this may not specifically be relevant.)

Having a look at which records people care enough about to want to take with them wherever they go can be a good gauge of where to take them next.

n+1 to the music vs lyrics thing. Theres an interesting neurological study in there somewhere, since most people can be divided into which they focus on.

When trying to expand someones musical horizons, especially if they listen to one genre almost exclusively, it is often very helpful to have 'bridging' artists that straddle, as mentioned above.

I'd add The Mavericks to the list of country-rock, which can then go into things like Roy Orbison and Chris Isaak (if you're into that sort of thing)
posted by softlord at 8:18 AM on September 21, 2005