Neurodivergence & Taste: One In The Same?

We have talked many times over the years about the fact that music is not objective, and we do not all hear the same music in the same way. Whether it's your best friend not understanding why you love your favorite song so much, or seeing a YouTube comment that your favorite singer's voice hurts their ears, our experiences are entirely our own. We know this, but do we really understand why it's the case?

Recent self-evaluation has opened this question anew for me. I have known I seem to hear things differently than a lot of people do, and I've been told more than once I listen to music the 'wrong' way because I focus on certain aspects over others, but I assumed it was merely a matter of taste. I'm now thinking it's a more complicated subject than that.

Scientists and philosophers don't truly understand consciousness, which is a giant hole in our knowledge of ourselves. We know it exists, but trying to pin down the mechanisms by which we are given this ability is something that has so far been just beyond our reach. It's essential to answering many of life's biggest questions, though, as we also don't know what factors might go into having different experiences of the same thing.

That's a long-winded way of getting to the subject of neurodivergence. We now have a better understanding of the actual physical processes of the brain, and with that has come a realization that more of us than we previously thought have brains that work in ways different than the 'normal' setting. We think of it in terms of the traditional manifestations; social awkwardness, routines, reaction to stimuli, etc.

But what if it's more than that? What if having a brain that works in a different manner also impacts the way we hear and appreciate music? It isn't a far leap, from a theoretical perspective, to reason that a brain more attuned to logic and numbers might hear music and focus on the timing of the drums and rhythms, while a brain that gets overwhelmed by too much of everything might instead focus on melodies that soothe. Rather than being a matter of taste, the way our minds work may actually be guiding the kind of music we find ourselves listening to and loving.

This makes a lot of sense to me, as I consider these subjects. Over time, I have noticed a pronounced change in the way I interact with metal. While I was never a big fan of the more extreme bits of it, I was still regularly checking out death metal to see where I could find common ground. I will maintain that Bloodbath's "Like Fire" is actually a pop song, and Entombed's "Chief Rebel Angel" should be a classic.

The point is that I was at least open to that music back then, but not anymore. Today, when I try to listen to anything with even hints of extremity, the sound is so overwhelming I can't find even the slightest bit of enjoyment. That goes for some of the production on 'regular' metal as well. There is so much volume and saturation, it overwhelms me and basically short-circuits my brain. That is my experience, not a universal one.

So why am I bothering to talk about any of this?

Understanding how our brains work is vital for making the most of our lives. We are better off knowing how we think, so we can put ourselves in situations where we are playing to our strengths, and getting help when facing problems we are not well equipped to deal with on our own. The same thing is true when it comes to music. If we know how our brains work, and we know what parts of music are going to appeal to us, we can make better use of our time seeking out new songs and albums. Rather than banging our heads into the wall trying enjoy the bands everyone is talking about at any given time, we can follow the path that will give us more enjoyment and comfort. Yes, many of us have already done that under the guise of taste, but it's an easier decision to make, and to explain to those who refuse to accept it, when it can be explained with more of a physical rationale.

But perhaps a lot of this is self-serving, and what I'm actually saying through all of this is that for all the people who listen to what I have to say and question my taste in music; It's not my fault!

That's a joke, but only partially. There is an element to this that is reassuring when I consider that my taste might have been preordained by the sounds I am most susceptible to. It might not have been a matter of luck, or timing, it was always going to be this way. I like thinking of that, not because of anything to do with fate (I have very complicated thoughts on that subject), but simply because it means my embrace of music that has never been 'cool' and 'popular' was actually defending myself when I didn't know what was going on.

Now that I do, it make me wonder if subconsciously I always knew this was the case, but merely lacked the words to explain it. I certainly made enough jokes over the years about my wiring being screwed up.... little did I realize it was just a different kind of circuit.