As spoken about on this week’s episode of the radio show Sound Opinions (which, for the most part, I recommend–they often get good bands to play on it), there’s a new study coming out of the U.K. that surveyed 36,000 people and asked about both their favorite styles of music and their personality.
“Researchers have been showing for decades that fans or rock and rap are rebellious, and that fans of opera are wealthy and well-educated, but this is the first time that research has shown that personality links to liking for a wide range of musical styles,” said Professor Adrian North, the study’s author. “We asked people to rate how much they liked 104 musical styles, before then completing a personality test. 36518 people from all around the world took part, and the research is by far the largest study of musical preference and personality ever undertaken.”
“Jazz and classical music fans are creative and have good self-esteem, but the former are much more outgoing whereas the latter are shy. Country and western fans are hardworking and shy, whereas rap fans are outgoing. Indie fans lack self-esteem, and aren’t terribly gentle people, but are at least creative. Contrary to the stereotype, heavy metal fans are gentle and at ease with themselves”
Indie fans are listed as “Low self-esteem, creative, not hard working, not gentle.” Fuck. It’s like he’s following me around.
I can completely understand that though. Indie fans like going against the grain, being outcasts, doing things that aren’t considered ‘normal,’ so they are more apt to want to create themselves. The low-self esteem thing is an easy one–when you’re different, you’re being bombarded with 900000 images telling you that you SHOULD listen to Coldplay, that you SHOULD shop at Wal-Mart, etc. Not gentle, well just watch High Fidelity…we do enjoy telling Britney Spears fans that the music they listen to is shit. As for not-hard-working…can’t explain that…although I’m not denying it. Maybe it’s because all we want to do is get jobs at used CD and book stores and insult customers?
Rock and heavy metal is categorized as “Low self-esteem, creative, not hard-working, not outgoing, gentle, at ease.” Lots of similarities, and they are gentle because they are ok with other people’s music, for the most part. However, it doesn’t seem like low self-esteem and at ease should be together.
BLUES: High self-esteem, creative, outgoing, gentle and at ease
JAZZ: High self-esteem, creative, outgoing and at ease
CLASSICAL MUSIC: High self-esteem, creative, introvert and at ease
RAP: High self-esteem, outgoing
OPERA: High self-esteem, creative, gentle
COUNTRY AND WESTERN: Hardworking, outgoing
REGGAE: High self-esteem, creative, not hardworking, outgoing, gentle and at ease
DANCE: Creative, outgoing, not gentle
INDIE: Low self-esteem, creative, not hard working, not gentle
BOLLYWOOD: Creative, outgoing
ROCK/HEAVY METAL: Low self-esteem, creative, not hard-working, not outgoing, gentle, at ease
CHART POP: High self-esteem, not creative, hardworking, outgoing, gentle, not at ease
SOUL: High self-esteem, creative, outgoing, gentle, at ease
By the way, WordPress is now giving me the ability to put in polls easily, so i’m going to try it!
As usual, I don’t fit, but I am not surprised, I never fit. Why?
1) I love classical, 80′s, electronic and dance (techno, trance, etc…). I can sit for hours (well not always sit) and listen to any of this for hours.
The one crazy one I would agree with in the most part is rock and heavy metal – I’ll hang out with these guys cause I will feel down right safe and I have just begun to appreciate some of the early stuff.
I will listen to almost everything, but do have a tolerance limit for rap and Country western.
I have been on a first name basis with people who produce electronic dance, top twenty and blues and enjoy those a great deal.
So what do they know