What are some songs, that the solid middle class listens to?

[Anonymous]

The solid middle class does not struggle financially. They can afford good healthcare and vacation abroad and live a good life. They can afford an iphone, drive a good automobile and pretty much most things they want.

I have a feeling, that the solid middle class citizens listen to some quite tasteful music pieces. Like these examples. Man I love songs from Dua Lipa and Fifth Harmony.

I imagine they are into some good jazz because why not.

Also if they like some modern examples I imagine something like this could be on their playlist

I'd like to know what the solid middle class listens to since I grew up in poverty and am making my way out of the low class.
But perhaps social class matters little here? I'm wondering.

[AmandaYVR]

This is an extremely difficult question. Even being someone who has been passionate about music since I was a child, and a similarly long interest in psychology, sociology, etc., and having seen a number of documentaries on various aspects of music and its effects on the brain, mood, focus, etc., I think it's tenuous at best to make this correlation that the middle class has a common genre of music. However, if I think about it in the inverse, perhaps a certain shape does begin to form.

People in hardship look for comfort (be that economic, or other.) And this may occur when a state which is constant, familiar, tolerable, or sudden, temporary, extreme, causing severe stress. A man who lives on a mountain with livestock, and that is all he has known his entire life, is not necessarily stressed. He may rate high on happiness and low on stress, even though by comparison he has very little according to many who live elsewhere, but struggle to maintain what they have. (Global happiness rankings reflect this. To have more is to need to maintain more, and so one can never get off the treadmill.)

What brings comfort to people? It depends on their personality, their constitution. Some like calm and peaceful music. Some go the opposite route, and prefer an outlet for their angst. The music can rage for them. Even anger, expressed without consequence (productively?) can be cathartic, especially for men. Though if this was the only method of calming oneself then it will tend to lose its effectiveness over time. Have you ever seen the film "The Accountant" with Ben Affleck? He plays an autistic but highly gifted hit man who's also an accountant. It's an interesting story. Because he has such a difficult time coping with daily life (mostly due to his inability to understand and relate to people) at the end of the day he goes home to a dark room, rage music, and for a timed amount of time he inflicts pain on himself. Yet, all of these things soothe him.

This question, to be properly answered, must address the causes of poverty. And that is an extremely delicate and difficult issue to untangle. People who have money tend to believe they earned it, and are more likely to lay blame on others for their lack of effort. Though there may be some truth to this, quite often it is delusions about oneself that influence these conclusions most. And what of geography? Culture?

Another large influence on one's music taste is the home life they grew up in. And often - but not always - parental preferences, and emotional stability, etc., are reflected in their tastes. I have known a doctor to love Rammstein. I have known the owner of a porn company to love Jay-Z. That doesn't mean that these are patterns, indicative of success. Are they, instead, outliers? Perhaps, but I/we can't say that either. I have known a person with high anxiety and low threshold for stress to like classical music. But that was far from the only music they liked. Again, correlation does not equal causation. And these, if related, seem to be more about personality, not financial status. I really think it's dubious at best to make this connection. But perhaps the more rage, and angst, is portrayed in the music, the less happy, the less calm and secure, the person. So the only way to answer this might be to exclude music, rather than to include.

[AmandaYVR]

Kurt Cobain of Nirvana liked pop music. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is, essentially, grunge-pop. They created a new genre (and really, it hasn't been repeated since.) Kurt created catchy licks, and concepts, like "Here we are now, entertain us..." calling attention to the irony of the whole machine and its audience. Young people typically liked Nirvana. But middle-aged also appreciated them. They were pioneers, yet influenced by many genres that came before them. And what of the listeners? How many knew just what the music was saying? Generally speaking - and this is very, very, generally, not any sort of de facto rule of life - intelligent people may be drawn to more complex ideas and structures or simple ones. People with the mental and emotional capacity to understand, or want to understand, complex ideas, will seek out those who are not necessarily similar in many respects, but who make them think; even those who challenge them. But music can also be a departure, an escape, and something to provide relief (from thinking, etc.) So for every seeming connection, it is easy to find an opposing, or complementary example of a yang to the yin.

[AmandaYVR]

I'll also say that even if I did have a list in my head of "middle class music" I wouldn't list it so that someone can use it to ingratiate themselves, level up their lifestyle, etc. Similarly, when I had a girl friend who used to want to go to places frequented by wealthy men, I was not interested in aiding in that goal (of landing a rich guy that way - or having to pay the entry fees to associate with them.) It's all just too contrived for my taste. I do wholeheartedly support, however, expanding one's horizons into all type of genres of music (just as many musicians have.) Because passion is always good if it harms no one and engenders greater knowledge about the world. Experiencing pain, heartache, stress, and seeing the darkest aspects of humans can all be extremely taxing on one's psyche. They might push you to know knew limits of tolerability, but they don't all make you stronger. Focusing on these negative things strengthens those synapses in the brain, as other ways of thinking die off. But generally speaking, knowledge is good (forget power, greed.) I personally believe in only an authentic exploration (of music, whatever) and if that curiosity, or appreciation, is pure, then like-minded people will tend to find each other. Or the person you found will share with you what they love, and expand your thinking, introduce you to something you may not have found on your own.

[AmandaYVR]

I would conclude that there is no musical map to financial success. But one's musical tastes may express the calmness of their mind, or their appreciation for the world, or their love of something, or someone, or many. People are never more attractive than when they are in their element, and have put effort into something and then reap its rewards; one byproduct of that is self-esteem (without going so far as to an overly-inflated sense of ego.) Music is more like an expression of a state of mind, than a ticket to a place of financial security. Though perhaps one could get on the 'right' train to a better future, by choosing wisely who, and what, they listen to. So in that regard, yes, I would stay away from songs about ostentatious wealth and living the high life. They don't seem to give answers as to how they got there. It's more of a wearing the money, and flaunting it in others' faces in some cases, while others express bitterness towards all the people, and institutions, which held them back. Which is understandable. But staying in a state of rage probably isn't healthy. I think you should try to reframe this in your mind as not 'What songs will get me rich?' but 'What type of music makes me feel better about life, the world, and the potential for a brighter future?' And that can be anything. You have to find what speaks to you. And the messages within it should be more positive than negative. That's it. You need to find and focus on what brings peace. Motivation is important, and I know you are big on that. But what drives the motivation is also key. That's actually the real question here. You think it's money, but it's actually stability that you seek so dearly. My advice is look to music not to make you rich, but rather to bring you to a state of peace, so that you can live today and not always be in a state of waiting for tomorrow.

[Asker]

Oh no, I didn't claim to look for music to make me more money (that's what musicians usually do). That's what jobs are there for (multiple of them simultaneously in fact plus passive income and businesses and assets). Although I could argue i'd look for some songs, that'll make me feel like I make more money or am part of the solid middle class.

Still I could argue I have observed a tendency between what's usually popular among the low class and the middle class. The middle class is generally unknown to me but I sure know the low class tend to listen to depressing songs or songs, that i rather they'd turn off altogether.

That of course does not mean, that the low class listens to what the middle class listens to and in reverse.

But then again, perhaps it's just a minor tendency here. The type of tendencies and statistics, that hold minimal valuable data. Sort of like "yes, it appears to be like it but means not much in the grand scheme".

[Gghjkkk]

do you have asperger's syndrome by any chance, ma'am?

[Xoxocutekitty]

The solid middle class can 'afford' all of these things but half of them are on some sort of contracted payment plan. Phones now are often on a 2-3 years payment plan and then upgraded to a new model, so they never fully 'own' it.

Some middle class people do a similar thing with car payments, laptops, and furniture. This is not to mention the ever present credit card balance (ranging from a couple hundred to a couple thousand for miscellaneous shopping like clothes, books, car repairs, out of pocket medical deductibles).

Most middle class have a mortgage which makes them 'need' a paycheck and worry about living more than 3 months without.

So, while the middle class can afford to have most luxuries, most are still trapped in a certain lifestyle because they cannot trully afford all of them upfront.

Buy of course, this does not really equate to an individuals music taste

[TheSpaceGnome]

Thats not middle class, thats lower class.

Middle class is getting all that stuff without having debt.

Upper class is having 10 paid for houses, a bunch of yahts, your own hotel, business chains, and other such super expenses.

[Asker]

@TheSpaceGnome Right on target!

[driven159]

Let me see I own my 3 bed 2 bath house no mortage own my truck and car no car payments own my boat no boat payment I have to retirements so now I am retired don't have to worry about anything so i guess I am considered middle class, but I lessen classic rock

[HighlyVolatile]

I think I fit in that category. I'm not rich but have everything I want. I like this one a lot!

https://www.youtube.com/embed/U6rv5qi8-8s

[HighlyVolatile]

Also almost everything from Aphex Twin:
https://youtu.be/Mo3StFtLIlM

[HighlyVolatile]

Also Сруб:
youtu.be/AIlIcsMJz94

[HighlyVolatile]

Chu Ishikawa:
https://youtu.be/O0FlfC439fE

[queenkilldozer]

I'm curious as to why your financial status and class has to have anything to do with your musical taste?

[Asker]

I noticed a noticeable difference between the low class and the middle class and their musical taste. It does vary greatly. Sure, you can be poor and listen to middle class music and in reverse but usually that's not the case.

[Asker]

and secondly. I don't want to listen to songs like "I'm rich ni--a, the world is mine" when that's simply not the case for me.
When I'm broke and powerless, I feel like listening to music addressing the broke and powerless.
When I'm middle class and powerful, I feel like listening to music addressing the able bodied and powerful ones.
Music reflects my state of mind and feeling.

[OlderAndWiser]

https://www.youtube.com/embed/-4HI1_LTWIk

Here's one of my favorites!

[Asker]

Sounds middle classy :)

[MORPHEUS_12]

My husband and I fall into that category and we don't listen to any of this crap. It's also called not having kids to suck up all your money.

[exitseven]

I would say mostly stuff from the Beach Boys, CSN&Y, Bob Seger, and Johnny Cash.

[TheSpaceGnome]

Income level doesn't effect music taste, genetics does.

[Anonymous]

Classical on my experience along with Pink Floyd and similar golden oldies

[Asker]

Makes sense

[Anony3942]

Harry styles.