Music is my radar

One of the best novels about being a music listener (or a rock snob) is Nick Hornby's High Fidelity. At times, that level of involvement with a thing like music (or film, or sports, or..) can seem foreign to someone who's just not into that thing in the same way. Relationships can fail, just read Sarah Vowell's classic essay "Thanks for the Memorex," or can become strained. I am often criticized for my constant references to music or to always having music playing while I work. I'm a terrible road trip partner, especially if I'm driving, as I prefer to listen to music rather than talk. Some friends of mine will often preface any music comment with a statement along the lines "you probably won't like this, but.." I've learned to keep my mouth shut as I've also received the "I'm not surprised" response if I've commented on dislking a certain record being listened to, usually before I can offer any reason for my dislike.
I consider myself fairly tolerant of all genres, though I certainly have my preferences. Occasionally I'll fall into a 70's classic mode and drive around listening to a mix of ELO, Foreigner, Cheap Trick, Elton John, Stevie Wonder. Other times I'll listen to a mix of arabesque music from the few cd's I've bought in Turkey, some of it so unashamedly over the top that it probably qualifies more as a guilty pleasure. Recently I've been listening to a mix of the latest cd's added to my iPod: a couple of Sleater-Kinney discs I was given by another extremely cool music fan; a couple of Cat Power discs --The Greatest, The Covers Album, and You Are Free--; Spoon, Gimme Fiction; Feist, Let it Die --this disc was given to me by a friend a few months ago right before I moved to Spain and I forgot to add it to my iTunes, and it wasn't until July that I discovered I had it--; Coralie Clement, Salle des pas perdus; Kinky, Reina. The mix is a good moving into fall mix, loud stuff interspersed with more introspective stuff.