h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I try to appreciate any kind of music. I've greatly broadened my tastes from when I was a teenager. Used not to care much for opera ... now I love it. And some other things I fairly detested. I just try to work out what effect the artists were going for and which details they put in for interest's sake. And the style of aesthetic of the whole thing. I can now enjoy most kinds of music, provided it's done reasonably well ... except, mainly, for two genres: hip hop/rap, and jazz. I know there must go some skill into that sort of thing but ... I just don't like the 'attitude' of it. My tolerance does have limits it seems ...

My nephew Christiaan goes even further than me! He listens to stuff basically from all ages and genres. Not *much* rap and jazz, but some. And everything else.

I think that music is a key aspect of the human mind, and listening to as many different kinds of music as possible does give one a bit of insight in how other people's minds work, and allows one to empathize better with them.

I agree with that!

For instance, Tuvan throat singing can put you in touch with another way of life. (And the videos have nice horses.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qx8hrhBZJ98

Hi there! Thanks for the vid. They've 'westernized' it a bit!

My friend Ruan (he who got bit by the snake - he's fine now) likes authentic ethnic music. He's got music from places he'd been to (or would like to go to) like Mali, Ethiopia and Madagascar. He plays them in his car while we drive to the places we're going. At least, he did ... he has a new car now and it seems he doesn't have a music player in it ...

Aw, that's a shame!

You're right about the modernisation, but I'm getting the feeling that Mongolians are really into modern music these days. I used to drive around a lot for work, and I had some more 'authentic' Tuvan music that I listened to for hours. Mostly songs about horses.

The same here, the local musicians are using any and all new tricks used in mainstream popular music for re-interpreting traditional musical themes and styles.