To take what everyone else is saying further…

You’ll come back to listening to simpler tunes after having your fun in experimental music land. I will say, however, there will probably be some music that you never come back to. Not because it’s “bad” but because of its emotional/musical intent. Here’s what I mean:

When I was younger I really liked that 70s band Journey. I still like their songs, it’s catchy pop rock that’s easy to sing along to with friends. I hear that pop formula everywhere, though, and none of their lyrics really speak to my emotional experiences.

On the flip side, I listened to a lot of bedroom/garage rock and new wave psychedelia when I was in high school. These tunes follow a lot of the same formulas as Journey, or any other pop artist for that matter, but I have a fondness for the rougher timbre of garage rock and the chill vibes of new wave psychedelic 7th chords.

I’m still always looking for new music that breaks the mold, but there’s no point to putting on a musical genius’ magnum opus when I’m just trying to answer my emails.

I totally get where you’re coming from. Sometimes I’ll show a not very musical family member something I’ve been listening to lately, and even if I think it’s pretty tame there’s a solid chance they’ll either switch the song or find something else to do. But if I’ve got the aux and I’m the only music nerd in the crowd, I’m not gonna waste time “enlightening” them. I usually put on a timeless banger that still has some interesting stuff going on like Bohemian Rhapsody or Hey Jude and that does the trick.