Labeling music is just an excuse for not listening

I was listening to hermeto pascoal for the first time and my mind started asking “what kind of music is this?” is it jazz, etc? So I realized that’s the kind of question we should not ask, even to ourselves. Usually the classification, labeling, etc, is just an excuse to NOT listen to the music.

Its only purpose is to discard some “types” of music that we imagine we don’t like. The labeling won’t help us like or dislike a song, neither will it give us any clue to understand. It is like listening for some music for some time, then saying “hey, this is jazz music”, and suddenly you start liking it.

In a software testing context, Cem Kaner said:

Calling an event a "black swan" names it but having a name doesn't mean we
understand it any more or any less.

To the extent that we turn off ourcritical thinking after we find a name, naming it is counterproductive.
Cem Kaner