Do you judge people on the sort of music they listen to? It's a question that I've been asking myself after reading some comments made in an email newsletter by the crime writer John Lincoln Williams. He claims that if you give him access to your CD collection or your Spotify playlist then he can draw up a pretty accurate character profile of you.
Of course, it's quite common for crime writers to go into detail about the music tastes of the characters they have created. Ian Rankin has given John Rebus an obsession for good old fashioned classic rock from the 60s and 70s, preferably on vinyl. To stress the point, Rankin has paid tribute to the Rolling Stones by giving the Rebus novels names like Let it Bleed and Black & Blue.
Michael Connolly's Harry Bosch is a huge fan of jazz, and Inspector Morse loves classical composers such as Mozart and Wagner. Mark Billingham's best known creation is Tom Thorne, a detective who loves his country and western music.
Billingham is a key member of Fun Lovin Crime Writers, a criminally good covers band which also includes the likes of Val McDermid and Christopher Brookmyre in the line up. I was lucky enough to see them live just before lockdown and I'd thoroughly recommend going along to one of their gigs if you get the chance.
It's easy to see why crime writers are so obsessed with music. The sort of music a person listens to can tell you a lot about their age, their social class and even their politics. Think about it, how many Tories listen to The Clash?
Like many people, I have my own prejudices when it comes to the musical preferences of others. I tend to assume that bland people listen to bland music and that there is clearly something odd about anyone who doesn't like Bruce Springsteen.
Getting back to John Lincoln Williams. In his view, anyone who listens to Coldplay or Fleetwood Mac is someone who "demands nothing more of music than a familiar soundtrack to a car journey". It's obviously a controversial viewpoint which I suspect that some people may take issue with. Having said that, if I ever have to share a long car journey with someone who insists on listening to Ed Sheeran then I will not be responsible for my actions.
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