Music

Q: Have your tastes changed over the years? A: Definitely. Growing up, I mostly listened to whatever was on the radio, so my taste was really shaped by other people's choices rather than my own. These days I use streaming apps that recommend things based on what I've already liked, which has actually pushed me towards genres I'd never have picked myself — a bit more jazz and some electronic stuff I wouldn't have touched ten years ago. Q: Did you ever learn a musical instrument? A: I had piano lessons from about seven until I was maybe twelve, which is the classic story for a lot of people my age. I never got particularly advanced — I could read music slowly and stumble through simple pieces — and once exams took over at school, practice just fell by the wayside. I do sometimes wish I'd stuck with it, if only because reading sheet music is a skill that doesn't come back easily once it's gone. Q: How do you usually listen to music? A: Almost entirely through headphones on my phone, which says a lot about how portable listening has become compared to when I was a kid. I'll put something on during my commute or while I'm cooking, so it tends to be background rather than something I sit down and focus on. Every now and then, though, I'll deliberately put on an album properly, headphones in, doing nothing else — that's when I actually notice the music rather than just having it on.