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My interest in most forms of popular music is minimal, and I get impatient at the way its ubiquity causes other genres to be ignored and passed over, but you won't find me trashing other people's interests. Let's not descend into douche-baggery here, folks. ;)
I do rather enjoy older heavy metal--Metallica's first four albums in particular are mind-blowingly awesome and amazingly intricate. Iron Maiden is another group I find very interesting; and Cliff Burton and Steve Harris respectively were/are truly superb bass players. Unrelated to metal, I love Weird Al for his humour and verbal dexterity.
Mostly, though, I find myself listening to much older styles. Most people lump it all under the label 'classical' music, but that name specifically refers to only a small portion of it, from around 1740-1810 or so. Generally speaking a lot of my favourite works are from the earlier Baroque period, by composers such as J. S. Bach and Antonio Vivaldi and their contemporaries, though I'm fond of many other composers from different times as well. I am usually drawn to recordings made using period instruments, either authentic or recreations, with the musicians using older playing techniques. The sound of the original instruments and tuning is quite different from their modern counterparts, and in many ways purer and more natural, if somewhat less 'sweet' sounding.
Though I wouldn't really consider myself any kind of expert, I have studied music theory in some depth, and accordingly have composed a fair amount of material myself, both for assignments and for my own benefit and enjoyment. I also learned to play the organ on a basic level to further my understanding (and to be able to play what I'd written). Eventually I sort of hit a wall in how far my intuitive grasp of the subject could actually take me, so I haven't done as much of that as I'd like lately, but it remains a strong interest, one that I renew when inspiration strikes. If I'd started younger and had more extensive ear training, I probably could have gone farther with it, but I still have fun regardless.