I was an undergraduate freshman taking Honors Introduction to Philosophy, with the late John Knoblock at the University of Miami, when I discovered that I liked classical music. We read “Nietzsche Contra Wagner,” and had a class dinner at Dr. Knoblock’s home, where he played us some pieces from his music collection. Before then, I had a typical teenage-attitude about classical music—it was dull and old. I couldn’t have named a single Jazz musician. If it wasn’t on a classic rock station, I probably didn’t recognize it.
In the English 101 course I teach, we used to read essays about music, and discuss and write about the merits of different genres and individual musicians. In addition to gaining useful skills and knowledge, college can be about opening your mind to new experiences and perspectives. It can—and I think should—also be about developing judgment and the willingness to evaluate received ideas, including about music. Given my own experience as an undergraduate discovering different music, it seems appropriate to give my students (and anyone else interested) more information about the music I listen to, in case they want to try something new.
I hasten to mention that I am no expert on music and don’t play an instrument. I also realize that my Classical and Jazz collections are tiny. Even the Rock/Pop category is small compared to those belonging to friends of mine—at least one of them probably buys in a year half the number of CDs below. And, of course, lots of people just download song after song into the tens of thousands, since they’re “free,” right?
Below is a complete list of the CDs I own. Some of these joined my collection through marriage (fortunately, I don’t generally object to my wife’s taste in music). Some definitely don’t reflect my current musical interests, but must have at one time, since I bought them. If any of the selections under Rock/Pop are embarrassing, imagine how bad it would be if I included old cassettes that I haven’t bothered to replace with CDs. I’ve lumped under that category anything that was not Jazz or Classical, according to my narrow undefined definitions. If you’re a stickler for categorization, this might give you a headache. My wife has discovered the joys of downloading music (legally) and buying individual songs rather than CDs. I haven’t had the time or motivation to do it myself. In any case, I’ll add to this list when I get the equivalent of nearly an entire CD (album), whether downloaded or purchased as a physical CD.
