Some people don’t mind having music handed to them, whether on the radio or MTV. They jump on the “newest big thing” and move on to the next as soon as the hype dies down. The music is mostly new, largely homogenous tunes that won’t be around by the time “The Real World 4” starts airing.

Others seek out good music, and they stick with it through both multi-platinum albums and the crappy stuff. The material is classic and timeless, whether or not it is popular to the masses; it will be around as long as people are fascinated by music. These people make up the fans of John Prine.

John Prine is of the same generation as our parents, but his influence extends past the age difference. The Kentucky-born, Chicago-raised songwriter performs both the humorous and the heartbreaking. He will be performing, with special guest Todd Snider, this Friday at 8 p.m. at the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines.

After 11 albums, Prine has remained one of the most powerfully consistent voices in American music. His songs not only remain in rotation on radio stations, but they also serve as cover material for some of the industry’s most popular artists, including Bonnie Raitt and Bette Midler.

The key to his success lies in the effortlessness of his music and lyrics. Writing has always come naturally to him.

“In school, the only thing I used to be able to do at all was when they gave me a free hand at writing dialogue,” Prine explained in a press release. “Writing nothing but dialogue . . . . I’d just go, whoosh, and hand it in. I was a horrible student otherwise.”

Brenda Mickle, publicity and public relations manager at the Civic Center, said that Prine has a special talent for weaving tales and tunes together.

“I’ve heard his music described as folk more often than anything else,” she said. “He’s a real storyteller.”

Singing and songwriting professionally was never a burning desire for Prine; it was more of a leisure activity that conveniently made women swoon.

“I had never planned on doing that [as a career],” he remembered. “It was always a hobby to me. I only wrote songs to amuse myself or to get some girl’s attention. I used to make them up and I’d sing them for however long and then I’d just forget them and make up some more songs.”

Prine’s special guest, Todd Snider, may be a familiar name to those who frequent local Ames shows. He is touring in support of his debut release, Songs for the Daily Planet, on which he tackles a number of injustices, including child abuse, greed, the abuse of Native Americans and (watch out Nirvana!) grunge music.

He is quickly gaining a reputation for his tongue-in-cheek, smart ‘n sassy lyrics on top of folkish, country-rock. “Todd Snider and John Prine make a pretty good match-up,” Mickle said. “They both comment on society through their music.”

Ticket prices are $25.25 and $21.25 in advance (prices go up $1 on the day of the show); they are available at the Civic Center Box Office, all Ticketmaster outlets in person or charge by phone at 233-1888 in Ames and 243-1888 in Des Moines.