Turn that hippy crap off! A lesson in accepting different tastes

A few weeks ago, I was driving with my cousin, listening to quite possibly the greatest road band ever, Umphrey's McGee.\nI had the sound turned up on a song that is near and dear to me for its out-of-this-world guitar fingering, its rock danceability and its outstanding work at perfecting nonlyrical expressiveness. My cousin saw otherwise.\n"Will you turn that crap down? It sounds like dying pirates!" she exclaimed.\nI was shocked and offended. She had blasphemed. I quickly came up with the most nonpartial, well-thought-out response.\n"Yeah, well it's better than all your deep-thinking indie-emo crap! Mat Kearney makes me want to slit my wrists!"\nShe glared at me. I glared at her. Awkward silence filled the car as we both seethed with anger about something so ridiculous as musical tastes. We never spoke of it again.\nI'm sure this sounds very similar to most of you. I'm sure your parents and grandparents have complained about your "hippity-hoppy" and your "devil bands." Cleverly, you respond that it's their generation's fault for creating the foundations of modern music. They should just go back in time and listen to Perry Como if they hate it so much. And, of course, they respond that at least their music made sense, and you reply that so does yours and that they just don't get it, and so on and so on.\nBelieve it or not, by defending your musical tastes, you are inadvertently defending the meaningful nature of your personal style of art appreciation. You know that the Beatles are the greatest rock band ever -- but at the same time, they just don't reach you as personally as Dave Matthews does. It is good for the sake of art to form these opinions, and it is good for the sake of art to convey this to your elders.\nHowever, the old can be very wise. Next time you have a run-in with the Volume Police, be sure to turn the argument into a pleasant, debating conversation. Try to tell them how Regina Spektor's crazy weird voice is due to her Russian heritage and Western-rock-music upbringing. There is a culture behind every unique style, and there is always a new person you can convert into appreciating that style. You may be surprised at how much you can learn about another's style of art, and how much they might learn about yours.