COLUMBUS, Ohio – Waiting in the hallway outside the Blue Jackets dressing room after a victory, a pulsating techno-beat assails your ears. “unc unc unc” comes pounding out as the door is opened to allow access. Is this a travesty or a treasure that worms its way into your skull?

To anyone over the age of 40, this music takes quite a bit of time to get used to. And really, that’s if you ever do. Some like it and some despise it.

“I listen to everything, but I don’t really like the ‘Techno-whatever the hell it is’, where there are no words,” Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno said with a smile, as he glanced over his shoulder at Alex Wennberg. “House music, I guess it’s called. So no, I’m not into Wenny’s music. It’s just like blowing out your eardrums.” This elicited a smile and laugh from Wennberg.

As the Euro-beat, techno-house din finally begins to fade-out, it usually is replaced with a variety of Country music. That seems to be a staple in many team dressing rooms around the league. Is this any surprise? No, as many players hail from the great expanse of rural small towns in Canada.

“I’m a Country fan,” said Nick Foligno, “my mom was, too. So, riding to hockey games as a kid, that’s all we had on the radio or CD’s. I think it’s kind of where you grew up.”

Wednesday evening in Columbus, many of the country-loving Blue Jackets players attended the Shania Twain concert at Nationwide Arena. They were like kids at Christmas-time that morning after practice, as they talked about the show that evening.

“If I had to pick one,” said Jared Boll, “it would definitely be Country. I listen to a little bit of everything, but Country is my number one. Even when I’m working-out in the summer, I have Country playing.”

And while Country seems to be the prevalent genre that captures the aural synapses of many players, there are some that will only listen to it when the feeling is just right.

“For me and Country music,” Kevin Connauton said, “it has to be warm outside. That’s because I associate Country music with warm weather. So, throughout the summer, Country is the main music we play in my house. But on a long drive, I like to listen more to Rock.

“Rise Against (hardcore band from Chicago) is my favorite band. I actually saw Rise Against for the first time this summer. I like old-school (Rap), too, and even though I wasn’t really around when it came out, it’s fun to listen to. It’s kind of cool to listen to the vintage Rap.” He then reeled-off some classics from this writer’s generation like the Sugarhill Gang and Run-DMC’s first album.

Each generation has their favorite when it comes to music, and the coaches are no different. The players have an average age in the mid-twenties, while the coaches are north of forty years old, on average.

“Classic Rock,” said head coach Todd Richards about the music he listened to as a player. “It was a generational, across the board thing. At that time, it was all Classic Rock. There might have been some Country when I was in Las Vegas, but for me, whether sitting at home or driving to the rink, it was always Classic Rock.”

With his office just down the hall from the dressing room, Richards is subjected to the younger generations musical tastes on a daily basis. Liking some and tolerating most, he did single-out one player in particular for having some “good” music playing through the room’s stereo system.

“There’s one iPod or iPhone that I don’t mind,” he said with a smile, “and that’s Ryan Johansen’s. That’s because he’s got some Classic Rock on his. So, I don’t mind when he’s hooked up to the stereo.”

Johansen has become the resident DJ in the room, with many different genres of music filling his phone. In the digital age in which we live, he just connects his phone to the dressing room’s stereo system and the thumping begins, although he has an affinity for Country music, too.

“I like everything,” said Johansen. “We’ve got guys from all over the world on our team and you have to keep everyone happy. It’s usually my phone that’s playing the music in the room before a game. I try and get a mixture.

“I guess we’re keeping the coaches happy, too,” he said.

One of the elder statesmen of the group is Fedor Tyutin. While he is from Russia, his musical taste spans a broad spectrum of styles. Whether it is bands from his homeland or music from across Europe and North America, he professes to like it all. But, just don’t play any Heavy Metal.

“I can listen to anything,” said Tyutin. “It depends on the mood, obviously, and the circumstances. I’m easy going. I only can’t listen to Heavy Metal.”

That heavier style of music was, at one time, played within the walls of the room. Prior to being traded to the Ottawa Senators, Marc Methot was the resident ‘metal head.’

“I don’t really do the ‘head-banging’, either,” Boll said. “I haven’t played with many guys that are into that, but Marc Methot was really into that. I think he’s the only guy that I remember liking that stuff.”

With players from all over the globe playing in Columbus, musical styles get shared around the room. Through repetition, the player’s tastes get broadened beyond what they grew-up with as kids.

“Since coming into the NHL and hanging out with more European players,” said Foligno, “I’ve become more accustomed to their type of music, too. I think hockey has given me a broad spectrum of music and I’ve really enjoyed it.”

So, as we all know that musical styles change with each passing year, so too does the music that gets played within the Blue Jackets dressing room. For every generational shift in what constitutes popular music, should we dread what’s coming next?

Not that Todd Richards has his finger on the pulse of what’s ‘hip’, but he can’t help but be exposed to the new wave of booming beats assaulting his ears.

“I hear it in the locker room, so I know what’s being listened to… and it’s not Classic Rock. I’ll tell you that right now,” he said with a smile.

Every generation has their favorite style of music. And, every generation seems to always say that their parent’s generation was behind the times, in regard to music. Such is the circle of life.

But really, there’s only one thing left to say to this younger generation and the “unc, unc, unc” that pervades their life… ‘Hey, you kids! Get off the lawn!’