Finally Understanding House Music

     For anyone with a remote knowledge about my relationship with one of my roommates (who shall remain unnamed), you will know that I have a certain distaste towards house music (meaning the genre, not like... general home atmosphere music). For far too many nights, I have lost countless hours of sleep to the thudding reverberations that pulse through my walls like an obnoxious heartbeat, as my roommate blasts his music through the haunting hours of the night. Whenever I hear house music, I associate it with my rather dreadful roommate, which has rather sadly put me off from an entire genre of music ever since I moved into my current apartment.

    However, on my Spotify Wrapped this year, there was a house music song as my third most listened to song of the year. How could this be? Well, at some point during the semester, I had been fed up with my roommate's terrible taste in music, and so in an effort to annoy him slightly, I had begun to blast my own obnoxious house music so he'd understand how it felt. In my pursuit for justice and revenge, I had become the very thing I protested. I had purposely sought the most annoying, goofy, consciously bad house song I could find: Party Time by James View. 

    Interestingly enough, although my listening to house music had been borne of spite, it had become somewhat of a mainstay in my playlist. Since I'd blast this one song over and over whenever I would cook myself lunch, it had become engrained in my memory, to the point I'd catch myself humming the stupid little beat drop melody randomly throughout my day. Party Time had only further rooted itself in my mind as I had begun to play it during the beginning of my League of Legends games, when I'd use it to hype myself up for the game, typically to a degree of success.

    Nevertheless, just because I listened to one house song over and over, it didn't mean that I had suddenly become a fan of house music. After all, I was still using it only in certain contexts, both with a sense of irony behind them. But when I returned back to my home for winter break, I had decided on a whim to try out a few more house songs, just as a joke to fill in the gap of time as I finally had mercy from my roommate's music every night.

    This is where I realized I was screwed. Through my Youtube recommended, I had stumbled onto Da Fonk by Mochakk, which would quickly become a mainstay in my winter break soundtrack. Maybe it was the change it provided from Party Time, or maybe it was the generally smoother music, but I really liked this song, and would begin to listen to this song all the time: when I'd play games, drive around town, or write. There was something trance-like about the music, focusing and unfocusing my attention all at once, somehow. I'm not quite sure how, but I found myself being much more productive whenever I'd listen to this song, and I'd often listen to a few more songs per session, all under the house genre. I had become what I swore to destroy.

    Would I recommend listening to house music? I mean, sure. I don't think that my particular relationship with the genre will translate to every listener's experience, which is really what I valued from my house music. Having said that, if you like listening to music while working, but find yourself distracted by lyrics every now and then, give it a try! Just don't start blasting it over speakers at 4 AM...