Why Do We Care So Much About What Other People Think About The Music We Listen To?

Personally I like to show off how cool I am with awesome mixes of songs that everyone wants a copy of so I can go on and on about my music collection. Yup that about sums me up. For me my music is as important to me as say food, I am crazy about both and need them equally as much because without music I'd probably die much in the way I would if I never ate anything. Sounds ridiculous, I know, but it's true. If I could carry all my music with me everyday so everyone could see what I've got in my collection I would, and I'm not talking about my iPod either (Love my iPod btw, probably one of my favorite things in the whole world). When you were younger the music you listened to defined who you were. If you were into metal you had long hair, wore a lot of black clothing, probably had a silver spiked bracelet and generally hung around with other people just like you. If you listened to the Dead you wore a lot of Tye-dyed shirts, smoked a ton of weed, smelled like Petiole Oil and often wore a burlap poncho. Back in High School that was cool. I wasn't a very memorable kid back then at least not until I wore my concert shirt from Pink Floyd's 1988 world tour to school that is. Immediately I was accepted into another group of kids who liked Floyd and liked to smoke a lot of weed too, even if I had never even taken a puff they assumed I had so I didn't say shit. But as you get older and become responsible (or semi-responsible in my case) you lose the ability to wear your music on your sleeve, so-to-speak, because honestly listening to Marylin Manson isn't going to make you anymore money at the office. This is why, when we have the chance, in the right situations we love to spout out as much musical knowledge as possible because if we didn't no one would know and that sucks. And it's getting worse with the soon-to-be-extinct record stores dropping like flies. I mean I used to be able to go to a record shop and find someone else who wanted to talk music as much as I did. There ain't no-one at iTunes who wants to listen to my bullshit and that's putting it mildly. And NO, commenting on music sites or putting your review of the new Weezer record (it sucks) doesn't count. Yes, going to shows at small venues is great, where you get to rub elbows with other fans like you and because just being there automatically makes you cool. But not everyone goes to shows anymore. Did I answer my question yet? I don't know. What I do know is that music is a profound part of a lot of peoples lives and it means an awful lot to me and that makes me want to share. Do I share to be cool? Yes of course because why else would I, but also because it's no fun to listen to the music you love if you have no one to listen to it with.