Despite my mother’s teachings, I’m plebeian in many ways. (I looked up hoi polloi the other day and was amused by all the words I found: great unwashed, mob, rabble rout, chaff, canaille, residuum of the people, swinish multitude, foex populi, profanum vulgus, ignobile vulgus, vermin, riffraff. Pick one of those instead of plebeian if you prefer.)

I don’t particularly like classical music. I know, I know, I shouldn’t confess to such a thing, should I? Especially since I took violin and piano. Classical music frankly bores me to tears and lacks the immediacy I need in music. I need to feel THERE. I need the NOW of music, and classical music just doesn’t deliver that to me. Occasionally, I’ll listen to it, but it’s not my music of choice.

However, I DO like some country music. Yep. I like songs I can belt out as I’m driving along or working at my desk. I still love Patsy Kline – “Walking After Midnight” and “I Fall to Pieces”. Love “All My Ex’s Live in Texas” by George Strait (San Antonio boy), and everything Pam Tillis sings.  I’m very ecumenical. I love Bob Seger, Meatloaf, Dave Carroll, Chris Milam, Moira Kerr, and Martina McBride. And I’m a folk music nutcase. I think I can sing the lyrics to about two hundred songs. I also love some blues singers like Etta James.

There’s a commonality to the songs I love – they all tell a story and I can sing along. That’s probably why I don’t listen to music when I write. When I edit, I listen to acoustical guitar or Celtic music.

How about you? What’s your favorite type of music? Do you listen to vocals when you need to concentrate?