Talk Thursday//Musical Taste Buds

Anyone that knows me even minimally knows that I am a country music afficiando - I practically bleed country music. (Figuratively, that is. If I were 70% country music, I wouldn't be a human. I would be...the Opry Land Theatre or something. But I digress.) My other musical preference is rap & hip-hop. If I can pop 'n lock to it, I'm gonna jam to it.

And for years, I lived under what we lovingly called my country music & rap "rocks." I like other types of music generally but when it came to getting new jams to "car-eoke" to, it was always somethin' outta Nash-Compton.

Until recently.

Within the last twelve months, I have decided to intentionally expand my musical taste buds to include things outside of my natural repetoire.

First there was the discovery of the joy that is Tyrone Wells & really, the whole "singer/songwriter" genre, including She & Him, Rosie Thomas, Jon Foreman & Joshua Radin. Much to my friends delight, I am choosing to invest in The Classic Crime, Anberlin, Eisley & Family Force 5. And currently, I'm working on new "pop" groups, such as Mumford & Sons, The Civil Wars, The Avett Brothers, and Arcade Fire. These are more difficult for me because I deliberately chose to not love what everyone and their mom on Facebook & Twitter love. (I just like to be defiant.)

But 2 songs into each of these artists, I just can't say no. There's a reason people love them. And I was too stubborn to get on the band wagon.

There's couple of bands that I have yet to be exposed to, so the jury is still out on them. But in an attempt to be more well-rounded and generally awesomer, I will tour through MuteMath, 30 Seconds to Mars, B.o.B., Vampire Weekend and City & Colour. And with all the hype around Adele, I'm going to attempt her down the road.

So in our traditional "Talk Thursday" style: what's your go-to preference for music? Are you trying to expand your musical taste buds? And has this been a good or difficult process for you?