What Nines have "in Common," and not...

Over the years, I have spent a fair amount of time on general enneagram forums, and have been part of various listservs-- including some that were specifically about enneagram Nines.

Of course, one of the most common discussions revolves around "what we have in common." Certainly, this can be both fun and enlightening, but at times it goes a little overboard... and the discussion dteriorates into meaningless nonsense.

"Do Nines like ice cream?" 

No. Yes. What does that have to DO with anything???

Occasionally I have the humorless nature more often encountered in Fives.

One of the "marginal" topics discussed-- and one that interests me-- is whether enneagram type has any influence on musical tastes.

In some ways, my musical tastes could be characterized as "Four-ish," since I have a huge collection of esoteric music "nobody has ever heard of" and I often feel "left out" because my music is anything but popular, and nobody else ever seems to listen to it.

Most of what I listen to might be categorized as "melodic trance" and "progressive vocal house," neither of which are genres that have ever been within 50 miles of a radio station.

"But don't you like 'normal' music?" people will ask me.

No, mostly I don't. Most of it bores me to tears. I'd probably have to listen to a "top 40" or "adult rock" station for several days before hearing one song that would fit in my "REALLY like this" category.

I'm not trying to be "difficult" or "contrary;" I'm just trying to please my ears and my soul... and most mainstream music sounds and feels... rough, unpolished, simplistic, formulaic and predictable. Mostly it's just so much noise...

I never had a heavy metal/headbanger "period." When I was 16, I listened to jazz funk and Pink Floyd. And precursors to electronica, like Kraftwerk and Steve Hillage. My college friends were mostly baffled by my musical tastes which mainly went to New Wave Britpop and Aussie rock. They were listening to Aerosmith, I was listening to Living in a Box and Kissing the Pink. Electronica developed a little more in the early 90's, with the emergence of acts like Opus II, the Shamen, The Golden Palominoes... I also had a Cocteau Twins phase. In the late 90's the likes of BT and ATB started to produce the precursers of "DJ mixed" trance music...

This morning I'm listening to Dave Horne and Chris Reece. It's OK. You've never heard of them... unless you accidentally ended here because this post popped up in a google search. In which case I apologize... you weren't expecting ramblings about personality types and music.

The bottom line, for me, is that the music I listen to gives me a sense of peace... and that IS very Nine-ish.