Be a Kind Listener —A Post About Music, Musicians, and Listeners

If you have ever had the opportunity to peek into my playlist, you would think that I know nothing about music. “Probably an alien who is attracted to varying frequencies of sound waves” you would remark, and move on. A musician brought me into this world, signed my report card without question for twelve years of my life (raised her eyebrows a little when my grade for the compulsory music class was a smug C grade holding a microscopic L to its forehead), and packed my suitcase to Mumbai (that I am yet to unpack) when I decided to move here for work.

I respect their hard work and love their spirit, and I think I am uniquely suited to examine their world because I understand what being a musician entails while lacking the talent to be one myself. When the world is mourning for its favorite musician, it is rather important to examine how we treat them when they are alive.

For starters, they are adored. And I mean this in the superlative. Fans LOVE them, and they place them in a rung above normal human beings. They are treated with respect and admiration by those who love them, and everything seems like a fairy tale until you realize that society has not allowed them the dignity of making mistakes.

Musicians are human. They make mistakes.

There, I said it. They perform an immensely complicated routine in front of thousands of living, breathing people that most of us can’t do in the comfort of our bathroom with the health faucet listening to us.

And people are not kind when mistakes are made.

The artist’s talent is questioned. “Is this person working hard enough? Were they a one hit wonder? I think he has taken his talent for granted. I don’t think he is good enough anymore.”

The internet age has not made this easier. If you thought Ed Sheeran was the love child between a Weasley and a cat, you told your close friends who would laugh at it at a bar over drinks. Now, you can tweet an image of Ron and Crookshanks and watch as the internet explodes.

Internet memes and jokes aside, musicians are now suddenly coming under an onslaught of very public scrutiny of their music and some VERY LOUD opinions concerning their ability.

It is easy to remark — “They have the money, they shouldn’t bother.

But remember one thing, you are the audience. You are the people that these musicians slog for. It is your appreciation that matters, and your applause that makes them believe that it is all worth it. Any kind of critical comment about their music is welcome if it is constructive. But if you going to compare their music to genitalia just to sound dismissive, it is unfair to both the artist and their talent.

The sad part is, we don’t live in a culture where it is cool to appreciate all kinds of music anymore. You cannot just like metal without hating pop music. You cannot like Indian music without thinking that any other genre should go straight into the dustbin. People who say “YOU SHOULD ALL LISTEN TO THE BEATLES” should go around screaming “ALL OF YOU SHOULD BE DESSERT PEOPLE, I DON’T CARE IF YOU HAVE DIABETES, EAT THIS CAKE. BE A DESSERT PERSON.” It is likely that a majority of the world population are already dessert people, but 10% of them would prefer savory waffles over your plate of pancakes drenched in maple syrup. And you know what? That’s okay because we live in a weird, wonderful, beautiful world where one person goes to sleep listening to Pink Floyd and her neighbor probably listens to whale sounds. Music is so intensely subjective that you cannot even ask a person “What kind of music do you listen to?” without them going into stunned silence, desperately trying to answer that question.

So what can you do today to ensure that the source of the music that you love continues to exist?

1) Be a kind listener. Accept that your artist may make mistakes, and it is completely alright for them to do that. And if they make a mistake, think of them as a kid falling from a cycle. You don’t go “Hahaha you idiot, I will post this on the internet and hope for retweets.” You try to help them up and tell them that it is alright. I mean, you can definitely go for option one. But as any kid who has been called an idiot as they fell off their cycle, don’t expect them to have the confidence that they used to have before the fall.

2) Accept that different people will have different preferences when it comes to music. And if they don’t listen to the same bands as you, try this thing called “suggestions” instead of “OMFG YOU HAVE NOT HEARD OF THEM? WHY DON’T YOU DIE RIGHT NOW.” Don’t stop people wearing a Nirvana t-shirt and ask them about the band. It is probably something they picked up because it was all they could afford, it is a shirt they borrowed from a friend, and even if it is their own shirt, why don’t you tell them something about your favourite band instead of yelling at them to remove it because they are not ‘real fans’?

3) And most importantly, tell your favorite musicians that you love them. Don’t wait for them to tragically die before you can express how much they mean to you. Write a mail, tweet, Snapchat, do whatever you want. They may not read your message, but if there is a small possibility that they may see it, you should go for it.

I am going to spend the next half hour telling every musician who has changed my life that I love them.

Time to call my mother and tell her that I am grateful for her music before complaining that my coffee filter doesn’t work.

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