Don’t hold back when talking music with Dan Reed

I love arguing with my fellow music nerds about music, but I also realize it’s a fool’s game if the desired result is any sort of absolution. We’re all aware that music appreciation is (or should be, anyway) a distinctly personal trait; a wonderful, somewhat mystical thing that can change and evolve (or devolve) at any given intersection of our lives. Yeah, yeah… all that. If you’re reading this, I’m relatively positive that you also share your own special relationship with music. I cannot imagine not having it available at any point in my life. I can tell you who wrote “Superstar” by The Carpenters*, or what The Replacements originally called themselves**, but I’m probably gonna need some help finding my car in the parking lot.

When meeting with certain groups of friends, the subject of music comes up as soon as the pleasantries are complete. It’s quite possibly the single most discussed subject every time we hang out. It could be a one-on-one conversation, a triad discussion, or a multiplayer free-for-all. But it’s almost always fun and enlightening. Personally, I’m much more comfortable discussing music with people I know well. I often talk to new people I meet about the subject too, but I’m 100 percent copping to the fact that I hold back on any disagreements I may have and/or general fact corrections I want to impart upon my new acquaintance. I mean… that’s just entry-level social civility, right? I would never say anything about that awful shirt you have on, but if my friend Chip was wearing it I’d probably ask him if he knew what he was wearing. And I’d bring it up again the next time we saw each other. Because that’s what my friends would do to me.

So where do you stand? Is Taylor Swift a genius or overrated? Is Cameron Winter truly a gifted artist or just a gifted charlatan? The best Bob Marley album (Legend doesn’t count)? What about The Stones? Should they tour again? Why isn’t (insert your favorite under appreciated artist’s name here) huge by now? Quick… name your five favorite 90’s albums. How much would you pay to see Oasis play at Johnny Brenda’s?

If you’re anything like me, you know exactly what I’m talking about. It’s fun, right?

More than the answers themselves, however, it’s the conversations surrounding the answers that allow me to get to know you—and vice versa. These conversations can get heated, but they easily simmer down once we can find a strand of common ground. Perhaps the coolest thing is that it means I went back to re-listen to songs and/or artists I argued against. Many times I’ve changed my mind, many times I haven’t. But if you present me a great, passionate argument on why I’m missing it, I’ll go back and check it out again. If I’m wrong, I’ll tell you I was wrong and probably go on to tell the next shortsighted, unsophisticated person how wrong they are about what I once agreed with them on. It’s madness, but it’s important to us to varying degrees.

Most importantly, I admire people who know what they like. People who aren’t afraid or ashamed to let others know about their own musical muses. Folks who don’t believe in “guilty pleasures” because they don’t think they should be guilty about liking a certain song or artist.

I suppose this is no different from a group of flower enthusiasts, John Steinbeck appreciators, or Birds tailgaters getting together to argue the best fertilizer for chrysanthemums, or whether The Grapes of Wrath or Of Mice and Men was the best, or if Nick Sirianni should be fired. For us, though, it’s music, and all of its possibilities.  

*Bonnie Bramlett & Leon Russell

**The Impediments… I’ll also accept Dogbreath (what they were calling themselves before Paul Westerberg slithered into the band)