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eenagers love music.They use it to rebel against authority.They talk about it with their friends.They turn it up to unhealthy decibels when they’re mad. Parents listen to their children talk about musicians as if they’re speaking a foreign language, unable to tell the difference between the Backstreet Boys and Black-Eyed Peas, between 50 Cent and the Foo Fighters.They watch in dismay as Big & Rich appear on TV with Cowboy Troy, the hick-hop rapper, and a midget with a crutch called Two Foot Fred who randomly dances around stage. And they don’t even pretend to understand why their kids don’t know whether to call Sean Combs Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, or just Diddy.
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Higher Things readers were given the chance to voice their opinions about music on the online forum (http://forum.higherthings.org/). They were also able to vote for the genre of music they like best. Half of those who voted listen to pop music almost exclusively. Country was the next favorite, while classical, oldies, and religious styles of music appeared to entertain only a smattering. Apparently playing Gwen Stefani’s “Luxurious” on the organ doesn’t quite have the same effect.While some don’t really have a favorite artist, like Higher Things reader DoRena, others prefer bands that range from Blue Rodeo to Audioslave. Most of the readers wrote that they singled out these bands because they could relate to their style or lyrics. Lauren picked her favorite group based on the quality of the sound, especially “upbeat and funky music that makes me want to dance,” while Seth prefers good lyrics that “are very poetic and deep, and speak about current events, personal things that have happened in the writer’s life, and simply songs that express joy, anger, helplessness, and love.” Besides having a favorite band, most readers also found a song they couldn’t get enough of, and most were also from the pop genre. Anna enjoyed “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers, Rae liked “This is How a Heart Breaks” by Rob Thomas, and Heidi tuned in to “Somewhere Only We Know” by Keane. Parents can rejoice that they can at least identify DoRena’s favorite,“that one ‘Lonely’ song with the Chipmunks,” which was originally crooned by seventy-year-old Bobby Vinton but has been remade by Akon, a rapper from Senegal. The voters also noted that their tastes in music fluctuate with their mood. Rae “listens to many different kinds of music, so it depends on what I’m doing, how I’m feeling, and how I would like to feel.” Sometimes, DoRena admits, she doesn’t even know what she’s in the mood for so she puts in “a mix of CDs and hits the ‘random’ button.” Most of the responders said that they use music to accent their mood, playing heavy music when they’re sad, and light, upbeat music when they’re happy. For instance, if you get
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