Imagine that you’re sitting across from someone you’re pretty excited about. You’re on date one or two, you think he/she is hot, you seem to have things in common. And then—cue the 80’s-slasher-flick music—you learn or see something about them that stops you dead in your tracks. You know that you might as well throw down your napkin, ask for the check, and go your separate ways, because it ain’t happening. In other words, you encounter a dating deal breaker.
We all have them. For GenXYZ, it’s when an otherwise attractive guy smiles to reveal a horrible Austin Powers-esque grill. For Gen XYZ Junior, it’s when a dude sends an email or text fraught with misspellings and grammatical errors. And for me, it’s when a guy reveals that his favorite bands are Nickelback, Creed, and Papa Roach. Gag.
I have a weird thing about music. I grew up listening to the best of 90’s alternative grunge/rock and learned to hate most of the generally auto-tuned, uninspiring, untalented, and commercialized musicians of the 2000’s. So I could never seriously entertain the idea of being with someone who would want to listen to Lil Wayne or Hinder whenever we were in the car together. I just think that the type of music you like says a lot about you as a person—whether you’re a party animal, laid-back, or simply conventional. It also indicates whether you have a creative bone in your body. I’ve always been drawn to creative types—it soothes my inner Zooey Deschanel-wannabe.
That’s why I knew I was in trouble when I met Sam. He has great taste in music (not to mention killer guitar skills). He liked some bands that were familiar to me—Radiohead, The Cure, Smashing Pumpkins, and Mazzy Star—but also introduced me to amazing bands that were obscure yet unpretentious, like Joy Division, Adorable, and my all-time favorite, Broken Social Scene. When he gave me a mixed CD with some of his favorite songs after about a month of dating, I stayed awake all night listening to it over and over. At that point I was an absolute goner. It may sound strange, but our shared love of music played a serious role in our relationship.
So if you have a six-figure salary, perfectly-chiseled abs, and hell, even if you’re reasonably nice and smart, but Linkin Park is currently playing on your iPod—well, let’s just say we’re better off as friends. That’s my weird dating deal breaker—what’s yours?
Catch ya later,
Lil’ Gen XYZ
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