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There’s nothing quite like the feeling of getting someone into your music. Opening their eyes to something you’ve discovered and come to love, but has gone unnoticed by your friends and acquaintances. You get a sense of accomplishment and vindication because it’s never easy to do. Most people in their twenties have a pretty established sense of what they like and probably harbor some stereotypes. It takes a lot of cajoling and arguing, and sometimes you settle for agreeing to disagree.

The hallmark of a great artist is having a sound. A unique sound that other artists don’t have but where every song doesn’t sound the same. You hear a song by that artist and you know it’s theirs. I won’t necessarily like their sound, but I’ll respect the artist for it. Ween has a sound, but they change up the style of virtually every song they have. Everclear just sounds the same on every fucking album they release.

Sure an artist can have a few good songs that stand out, but those are one-trick ponies. I’d rather spend my time with a band that has more depth, and stumble across some things that I haven’t heard before.

I like albums. An album can be greater than the sum of its parts, and usually has great songs that aren’t on a ubiquitous best of compilation. It’s rare I download a song by itself. I like to hear it in the context of the album it’s on. Any two bit ex-mousketeer with implants can record a single and Pro-tools it into key, but the music’s as disposable as the Chihuahua in her purse. You might say I have trouble separating the art form the artist, but the artist in this case is the engineer who put the song together.

Me and my friends always have the same stupid arguments about whose music is better, and it’s pointless because it just comes down to individual tastes. It’s like religious leaders arguing about their faiths. You want them to see it our way, but you realize that you’re not going to change their minds. In the end you resign yourself to the fact that even though their smart people, they are well on their way to hell. Musical hell.

When I try to get people into my music, I start slow. I try not to expose people to more than one or two albums at a time, because they time to let it grow on them. Anything worth listening to more than once has to be listened to more than once. You won’t hear the subtleties of great music on the first try, so I just give them one album to spend some time with. It’s tempting to dump 20 albums you love on them, but who has time to wade through all that? It’ll jumble together and get confused by their virgin ears.

Or I’ll pander to them a bit more and make a mix tape with my favorite songs. I’ll try to be with them when they listen to it, a road trip perhaps, so that I can name drop the artist and the album. They’re going to have their own favorites off the mix, and this let’s them know who they liked. I’ll take note of this information to further guide their education.

If the person thinks they already don’t like the artist, I have to be sneakier. I’ll sneak it in their collection somehow, maybe leave off the artist’s name, or just change the name altogether. I also realize that some people will just never appreciate some bands they way I do. But like I said, I just accept the fact that they’re going to musical hell, where everything sounds the same and Billy Ray Cyrus is bigger than Jesus.

Here’s my syllabus. I’ll pick and choose between phases, but I generally stick to these albums. Of course I couldn’t list everything.

Phase I - Very Accessible, Best Albums Ever
If you don’t like, nay love, these albums, you don’t know music.

• The Beatles – Anything they wrote
• Bob Dylan – Blood on the Tracks
• Built to Spill – Keep it Like a Secret
• The Clash – London Calling
• The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Are You Experienced?
• Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin IV
• Weezer – Blue Album

Phase II – Less Accesible, Equally Great Albums
If you dig the above, there’s a good chance you’ll come around to these. And you’ll save your soul.

• Bob Dylan – Highway 61 Revisited
• Built to Spill – Perfect from Now On
• Doves – Lost Souls
• Heatmiser - Mic City Sons
• Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti
• Modest Mouse – This is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About
• The Pixies – Doolittle
• Radiohead – OK Computer
• Television – Marquee Moon
• Ween – The Mollusk
• The Wrens – The Meadowlands

I want to know what other people’s syllabi are for getting people to appreciate their music. Either blog about it on your own with a link back here or just leave a comment.