I've come across this attitude on a number of occasions, (dare I say it I've probably had the same attitude myself at some stage), but thankfully it seems to regress as people mature. Maybe they just soften a little and open their ears to whatever else is out there; or maybe they just have more listening experience, after all, music is so easily available these days it's in danger of reaching saturation point.
Here's a little story to accentuate what I'm talking about. A lot of people I know would look at me with some disdain if I told them I had been listening to Christina Aguilera. "Pop music?" I would no doubt hear them cry, "I thought you were a Mod!" or words to that effect. But that's exactly what I did a couple of weeks ago after hearing 'Hurt' whilst out having a meal with my family. Now, I already knew the song of course, it was a reasonably successful song; but when I heard it that night its beauty struck a chord, and I vowed to listen to it the next night when my son was in bed and my girlfriend was at work. So that's what I did. The next evening I pulled out my headphones, sat back in my favourite chair and listened. And I'm not afraid to admit I had tears rolling down my cheeks when that song finished. Her voice is incredible, the melody beautiful, and the solo violin line towards the end is heartbreaking. That's my opinion anyway, and the point I'm trying to make is; if I had the attitude where I only listened to The Who or The Small Faces or The Action et al, then I would miss out on the greatness of 'other' music.
I was lucky in that I was brought up with a myriad of musical styles and tastes; my father favoured Elvis, Tony Christie and the like, my mother was a fan of Queen, my brother played Status Quo and Mr. Big, while my sister listened to Motown and Northern Soul (looking back this was probably my biggest subliminal influence in the end).
It pays to be surrounded by an eclectic mix of musical tastes, it shapes in turn what we listen to ourselves as we grow. One of my favourite memories from years back was a good friend constantly handing me mix tapes (ah good old C90's) with anything from Frank Zappa to Simon & Garfunkel to King Crimson and back again. I wouldn't recognise 80% of the songs on it, but I always listened with my ears wide open and I discovered many great songs that way. After all, as humans we have a need to discover don't we?
The beauty of music is that it can come at us from any angle, at any time, "with a language we all understand" (Mr. Wonder of course). It's ever present, and although it took me a while to come to terms with the fact that to some people it's everything; to others it's just something they think they like, it's power is undeniable. But it only works its true magic if we let it; you are doing yourself a great disservice if you are not prepared to open up to it. And I don't just mean sticking your nan's ipod on shuffle, I mean if someone gives you a cd, listen to it: if someone recommends an album, listen to it: if you're invited to a gig, go. Only by doing this will you discover music you would never otherwise know or hear about. Some of my favourite music was introduced to me by someone else. Imagine if I'd said no?