Why don't many people in the United States seem to listen to music from other countries? The first reason that probably would come to mind is simply that there is not a lot of foreign music as compared to domestic music available in the United States as far as the radio, CDs in stores, and those sorts of things are concerned. If people just plain don't even know something exists, then of course they will not listen to it. Fortunately, with the tremendous rise in use of the Internet, this lack of exposure to foreign music is diminishing. However, in my experience, people will also reject things that they aren't used to without even giving it a chance, especially with music. Even old Goggin himself has been guilty of this heedless judgment, but lately I have been trying to listen to new genres and bands in order to have a more complete knowledge and appreciation for music. It also helps me to get along with my friends, few of whom really enjoy electronica as I do. The third reason that people don't listen to music from other countries is that since most other countries speak a language other than English, their music is also in that language. For whatever reason, more often than not, people will stubbornly refuse to listen to music that isn't in English, a sad problem I've also encountered with film. Just because a song doesn't have words you can understand doesn't mean that the music isn't good. If you're listening to songs for the lyrics and don't care about how good or bad the music is, you might as well just read poetry. Most of the best songs I've ever heard, and movies I've ever seen, are from other countries and are not in English. It's really rather depressing that so many people refuse to look beyond the street they grew up on, so to speak. Clearly this is not true for everyone, but for me, the United States of America is just the country I was born and raised in. I am a global citizen. Anywhere I go, the world is my home, and it is to the music of the world that I listen. Goggin DuGalle, signing out.
