I am inclined to believe it is genetics and/or how someone's brain is wired. At least for me, it is not upbringing, as I never cared for oldies, country music, or certain variations of rock and metal, which were the types of music I was surrounded by. Not all of those variations did I like either. I've charted my own course since then, and I just like what my brains tells me I like, and I'm pretty honest with myself in that regard.

I think there are a lot of external factors that you (or anyone) might not be consciously aware of such as being accustomed to Western vs Eastern music (Eastern music makes use of microtones while Western music is based around the 12 note chromatic scale of equal temperament), what you grew up enjoying since that's when you develop your understanding your music, and the status of your country (war and things like that) and socioeconomic status, since those last two influence what you look for in music. From what I understand, popular music is simpler during more difficult times and more complex during better times, which is why a lot of modern classical is referred to as post WWII music since that was considered a peaceful period shortly after the war.

Not that it's impossible to overcome any of these things, but they're still some of the many ways that we're conditioned to enjoy the music that we do. They influence what your brain tells you is right.

For me I've often found that my music taste has a lot to do with whether I feel the music is relatable. If not just a matter of whether I can see myself or my life in the music, it might just be the attitude or aspirations reflected in the music. Ofc with music that's pretty subjective on its face, and it's also possible that I'm just projecting that onto music I happen to enjoy for some other reason....

But at the very least I know I've found myself getting turned off by music that I might otherwise like just for a lyric or a genre switch to something I couldn't relate to. That might also explain why at different times in my life I've been into different music, and why music sounds/feels better when it matches my mood.

@Frownland.

It is definitely true that I grew up with Western influences, which is a label in itself, really. And I mean this more as for discussion than as to nitpick, but that seems like an academic theory that has become popular in recent years, because it sounds better than saying, "We have no idea." I doubt it's true in its entirety, if it's true at all. If it were true, you would also have to come up with arguments as to why a person would automatically dislike Eastern movies, art, literature (translated or not), etc., and be able to state how the brain would know the difference based on man-made geographical lines.

What I was getting at was that I was not conditioned to like certain music based simply on being exposed to it over time. I rely on the receptors in my brain, and it's not inherently based on logical distinctions.

Well, the music has pretty distinct characteristics that separate it from Western music as I had explained before (Western uses equal temperament and the chromatic scale, Eastern uses notes between the accepted notes of Western music). That distinction doesn't seep into other areas of Eastern vs Western culture, as film, literature, etc. since those things are different from one another in their own ways, while what I mentioned is strictly under the music parameters. While those differences can be explained through the taste of the public, I feel like musically they are extremely different from one another (although the Internet is erasing that, for the better imo).

My original point is that familiarity drives what you enjoy and what you don't. Different things inspire that sense of familiarity, but they're still there and often times work below the conscious level. Think about it, have you ever thought "I enjoy this track because my father was poor when I was twelve and I can relate to the status of the artist and I enjoy this style of music because it represents my lifestyle." Of course not, because I believe that music appreciation is something primitive and almost instinctual until we start to dig down into it on forums with a bunch of elitist *******s. Something foreign like a raga may not sound as pleasing or recognizable as a good song to you as (I know very little of what you like so bear with me) as Michael Jackson, and the opposite would likely be true if you grew up being exposed to the quarter tone approach that a lot of Eastern artists during your childhood instead of what you already experienced. So while you might not like the more old school things that your parents listened to, you still can find a home in Western sounds through EDM and things like that, much like how a lot of Indian kids don't give a **** about Ravi Shankar, but still enjoy pop and dance music that employs a lot of his techniques while still being very much it's own thing.

Grew up hearing the early Beatles, Beach Boys, tons of sugar coated pop, Motown, Bing Crosby, Johnny Cash, 60s C&W, Rock Opera (Jesus Christ Superstar and Hair), and the stuff that my mom and dad listened to.

"Fly me to the moon, and let me drift among the stars. Let me know what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars."

At around 10 years old Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, and Led Zeppelin hit.

Done deal. I was hooked. No looking back.

I wasn't exposed to the Eastern stuff until a bit later. I think Friends off of Zep III was my first experience into that genre in a minor way.



Getting into McLaughlin's Shakti and later Shawn Lane's explorations brought it to full light.

One of the first Layne songs I've dug tbh. Sounds like Bill Laswell on bass, which is always a good thing. Didn't you hear Within You/Without You before those other examples though? Or were the examples you posted the first time you registered it or something like that?

Also, I was doing a bit of looking tonight and found that the second option on the google search "eastern vs western music" is an opinion article from some fringe far right American organization (read: hick cult) titled "Why Western Music Is Superior to Eastern," wherein they use non musical approaches to determine how the music of the white, rich Americans is so much better than anything those dirty foreigners could come up with.

Songs I distinctly remember from my child hood... Brown Eyed Girl - Van Morrison... Sad Songs (Say So Much) - Elton John.... Hey Jude - The Beatles.... Standing on the Corner - Dean Martin....

It's certainly true that a lot of micro tones to my ear, just sound out of tune. My ear wants to correct them if played in a straight scale... At the same time there's a lot of eastern music (Balkin/Mongolian/Latin) that I listen to. Arabic Maqams for example, don't pose any challenge.

None of that. I guess, though, if you have signed up for a forum and frequently engage in musical discussions, you're already a bit of an outlier. Cultural influences have no bearing, nor does it make any kind of music superior simply because it's cultural. I know a lot of people have a need to identify with music in that way, but I am the complete opposite, no matter the genre. Things like rich/poor, East vs West...these are all primitive categorizations, and that might be kind of what you're trying to say. However, I schlep all that, and keep an open mind about all music, especially new music; music is the one area where I don't think it's beneficial to apply personal politics to it, unless you're already a political person. Maybe you were born that way? Me? I'm a free radical, which again is genetics.

I like a lot of "Western music", but I need to clarify that by that term I mean music whose roots are in Western Europe and the Americas, NOT "western" as in see 'n' dubya.