The Dating Files: The Importance of Music
Posted on | February 22, 2013 | 16 Comments
Some people might call me crazy, but I place a lot of importance on the musical taste of my potential mate. Maybe it’s silly, but music matters to me. They don’t have to share my exact taste (I actually love it when a boy introduces me to fun, new bands) but there should be some common themes. A person’s taste in music tells me a lot about them and if I find that we have similar likes I already feel a sort of kinship. On the other hand, if our music tastes are totally different I get worried. We won’t want to sit around listening to records or go to the same outdoor shows during the summer! How will we decide which Pandora station to play while we cook dinner?! What songs will we make out to?! These are things I worry about. If he only likes heavy metal or Christian rock I think it’s safe to say it’s probably not going to work out between us. Like that time I went on a blind date with the guy whose favorite artists was Kenny Chesney. Listen I’m from Georgia and I went to school in Texas so I appreciate me some country music. But Kenny Chesney as your favorite artist, without a smidge of irony? Call me a judgemental b but I found it somewhat odd.
Music has always played a roll in my romantic life. I mean I basically learned all about romance via mixtapes, lets be honest. I wish mix tapes were still a part of normal life. Even mix cds are a dying art form. But I am a person who believes strongly (and passionately) in the power of the mix and it is not a process that should be taken lightly. I love making mixes for people and think it is the most personal, wonderful gift you can give. I remember making them lovingly for my high school boyfriend. And, of course, he would make them for me too. Because there is really nothing sweeter than getting a mix tape from a boy. That’s really the tops. And wouldn’t it be so terrible if you hated all the songs on said mix tape? Speaking of, I just got a mix cd as a gift from a boy. And guess what? It featured an Avett Brothers song AND a Mumford and Sons song. See what I mean? That’s what we call a good sign, my friends.
So tell me, do you think music taste matters? At all? Or is that just something silly single people say?
And with that, I bid you a happy weekend. Long live the mix tape!
xo,
Amy
Comments
16 Responses to “The Dating Files: The Importance of Music”
Leave a Reply
February 22nd, 2013 @ 4:20 pm
oh lawd, this made me howl. i, like you, have always appreciated a musical kinship with my menfolk. so you can imagine my serious distress when i first started dating my now-husband and his playlists were of the ramones/meatloaf/ronnie james dio variety. i kid you not. naturally, i compared this to my (let’s be honest) more musically cultivated radiohead/broken bells/sufjan playlist and all of a sudden it’s danger will robinson. we when found common ground in beck and the beastie boys, my panic subsided. now it’s just a source of teasing. he knows i think his music is pretty terrible most of the time and he thinks mine is pretty weird most of the time. ain’t love grand?
February 22nd, 2013 @ 4:35 pm
Music is totally important! Do you really want to be trapped in a car for five hours with someone who really, really loves Nickelback? Didn’t think so.
I just had a guy make me a mix CD on a second date. We weren’t going to work out for other reasons, but I appreciated that gesture soooo much. It had some great local bands, some music for running, and just some fun stuff. What a stud!
February 22nd, 2013 @ 4:37 pm
I like mix tapes. Just sayin’.
February 22nd, 2013 @ 7:31 pm
I don’t know if it’s something I ever consciously thought about when I was single, but in retrospect I had better chemistry with people who had similar taste in music. My husband and I are the perfect musical venn diagram: we agree on the big things (Beatles > Rolling Stones, jazz is pretentious) but I taught him to like bluegrass and he introduced me to grunge – apparently I wasn’t too observant in the 90′s.
P.S. – Avetts AND Mumford on a mixed CD? He’s a keeper!
February 22nd, 2013 @ 8:18 pm
me and my husband. music and Indian food, so we were set. he introduced me to broken social scene on our third date. the song in question, almost crimes, made it onto our wedding mix cd.
February 22nd, 2013 @ 8:19 pm
also, wine.
February 22nd, 2013 @ 8:30 pm
So important! I met my husband on okcupid and one of the first things we talked about? The Gaslight Anthem.
I’ve been going to punk rock shows since before I could drive (Thanks Dad for dropping me off MxPx!)so it was a huge part of my dating life.
For the last 4 years my husband and I have seen countless bands in many cities- it’s one of our favorite things to do together.
February 23rd, 2013 @ 12:21 pm
yes yes yes music matters! I wouldn’t call it a deal-breaker but all the things you mention are true! my hubby loves NPR, news and podcasts, and while he also likes music, those other things are his go-to. drives me nuts
but he is perfect for me and I can over look it. we compromise and he humors me and listens to my music a lot… and occasionally I even learn something from one of his NPR sessions 
February 25th, 2013 @ 1:45 pm
@Jen – meatloaf?!
@Mandy – Mix cd on the second date is exactly what happened to me. Kind of a bold move but I liked it.
@Karen – is this a hint of some sort?!
February 25th, 2013 @ 1:46 pm
@Allison – ven diagram is perfect, some shared things and some new things to explore.
@melissa – can’t forget wine!
February 25th, 2013 @ 1:48 pm
@Sarah- concert lovers gotta stick together
@andra – Ha. I guess it really is all about compromise, huh?
February 26th, 2013 @ 5:14 pm
You are not crazy. This is a highly important piece in the puzzle of life. Though, my husband and I have vastly different tastes in some music – we share a common thread of music being on all the time. Of course, we’ve introduced each other to music too over the years.
Also, kudos dude that made you a mix tape. KUDOS.
March 4th, 2013 @ 2:05 pm
@Nicole – I definitely don’t want to have the EXACT same taste. That sounds boo-ring. The introduction part is so fun, anyways.
And re: mix tape dude. Kudos, indeed.
March 4th, 2013 @ 7:51 pm
Music taste definitely matters and it sounds like you are a lucky girl to recieve such a perfect mix cd.
March 14th, 2013 @ 2:07 pm
[...] I’m never sure how obvious I am on here so you may (or may not have) have picked up on the fact that I’m sorta seeing someone. He likes to pick me up and he made me a mix cd. [...]
March 15th, 2013 @ 11:58 am
Wedding songs (Bryllupssanger) are part and parcel of wedding. Without them the wedding is incomplete. They make atmosphere lively.