Although I've never been the most musical person when it comes to any kind of
talent, I still, perhaps unsurprisingly, like music. However, I still feel less
musical even as a listener than some people I know. These people get into
particular musicians or bands and will know about what songs are on which albums
and when those albums came out and who the line-up was for that album and what
exact instruments they were playing and what other musicians they were inspired
by and many other tidbits and they also know the songs themselves really well.
On the other hand, I just like listening to music. In fact, I like generic
music.
Right now I'm listening to some (or other) song which happens to be power metal.
I couldn't tell you what song or what band this is without going and checking.
But I don't have to have heard this song before (and I probably haven't) to
enjoy it, because it sounds, well, generic. The two senses of the word "generic"
combine here:
1) conforming to the conventions of a particular genre.
2) having no unique or individuating qualities (at least that I can discern).
To an uneducated listener like me, it just sounds like pretty much every other
power metal song. Which is good because the melodies and chord changes and
structure and instrumentation feel familiar and so I can enjoy the song without
having to 'learn' it - not how a musician would, but just in the sense of
knowing what to expect as a listener.
I think this familiarity is the biggest factor in my enjoyment of music. The
song fulfils my expectations. For songs I know well, the familiarity does come
from having heard it many times, but for songs I don't know individually, I can
still get this fulfilment if it meets the expectations I have of a particular
genre.
Granted, many of these songs would probably stop seeming generic I did get to
know them and started hearing their unique characteristics rather than the
genre-based conventions, but I'm happy when I can enjoy the music without the
extra effort.
