Your Playlist Does Not Define You

Why your Music Taste Shouldn’t be a Label

by Lauren Jordanich

Graphic by Sarah Tocci

Kendrick Lamar. Taylor Swift. Alanis Morissette. Brent Faiyaz. Jim Morrison.

I frequently listen to all of these artists, even though they are vastly different from each other. Most of us have a wide range of genres and time periods represented in our playlists, which makes sense; we aren’t going to listen to the songs we play while working out when we’re in our feels at 2 a.m. (unless you’re a psychopath whose gym motivation is fueled by a “Sad Girl Hour” playlist).

However, when asked what kind of music we like, most of us try to stick to one genre, one persona, to describe who we are as listeners.

We choose a musical identity, whether it’s as a pop princess obsessed with Sabrina Carpenter and Olivia Rodrigo, a too-cool-for-you alternative who only listens to songs “so underground you wouldn’t know them,” or a dad rocker who believes good music stopped being made after the 20th century.

We funnel ourselves into one category of listener and fear being called a fraud if we reveal that, while we enjoy Gunna, Lil Tecca, and Juice WRLD, we also appreciate Tate McRae and Chappell Roan.

I love scream-singing “basic girl music” in the car with my friends. I love the oldies that my dad would play on our CD player when I was little. I love pregaming to EDM and falling asleep to slow R&B. Bottom line: I love all kinds of music, and I’m tired of being embarrassed about what I listen to.

It’s time to stop categorizing music as “cool” and “uncool.” We listen to music for so many different reasons, so it makes sense that we would enjoy all kinds.

Music is meant to be enjoyed, so let’s stop the stigma and embrace it.