My high school had a large end-of-school assembly where they played song clips that summed up all the seniors. We had a small enough graduating senior class (I think about 175 kids...maybe less) that by grouping people, they were able to hit most every senior with a song clip. For instance, Russ B. (my senior crush) and I were grouped with 5-6 other "semi-couples/couples" with a clip about "I wanna hold your ha-a-a-a-a-a-and". Anyway, the week before this final assembly they called in kids they thought would know a wide variety of music. I was one chosen, yet when I got there I was at a complete loss. I started looking through CD's and song lists and I had another stinging (and embarrassing) realization that I knew NOTHING!
For one who's life largely revolved around music (i.e. piano lessons, vocal lessons, choirs, band, etc.) as a youngster, I knew next to nothing about pop culture, music, or movies. One could hardly blame me (right?) seeing as though there was only 1 "rock" station (96.5) available for my listening pleasure, and that was spotty at best. We didn't have MTV (you know, when MTV actually meant music television and they played music vidoes) the majority of my life because we often had no cable. I could count on my hands the number of movies I saw in a theater during my pre-college years because the closest theater was 1/2 hour away. (Bambi, The Lion King, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Romeo and Juliet, The Titanic, and maybe up to 5 I can't remember...)
My little brother tried to help me. He introduced me to music I'd never have heard on the radio. It was right about the time Napster hit and he could obtain free music! He'd spend hours in the late evenings trying to download 1 song at a time on our dial-up connection. Poor kid. He thirsted for better music than that of 96.5. I didn't generally think about all that I was missing. Jimmy Eat World, MXPX, The June Spirit, Dashboard Confessional, Blink 182, etc. Bit by bit I was introduced to the world of alternative rock, punk and "emo."
I listened to the radio more at college and through roommates I was exposed to a wider variety of music. I could identify a few artists, but I still couldn't give Bryan a conclusive answer when I was leaving for China. He wanted to burn me some CDs for my trip and asked what kind of music I liked. I gave him a very vague answer of "I've been listening to oldies lately with my roommates." He asked what era and I couldn't even give him that! "You like kind of groovy lounge music?" "Uhhh....sure." I had no idea. Goodness. Over and over I failed his "pop" quizzes! He made me 2 CD's of music I'd never heard before. Truthfully I listen to them way more now than I did 5 years ago when he burned them.
And here we are today. I still don't know a ton, but I've been trying to pay closer attention as I have Launchcast Radio on all day. It's the first time I've had all the info. in front of me as I'm hearing the song. So this is the conclusion I've come to about my music preferences:
- I have to have variety. I can't listen to any artist, era, genre, etc. too long without getting testy and restless. I don't care one bit if it's the Temptations one minute and T.A.T.U. the next. In fact, I welcome instrumental film scores followed by Weezer.
- My most listened to style would be Alternative.
- I don't generally like a ton of music from the early 80's or late 90's. There are a few exceptions.
- The 60's and 70's had some GREAT music and artists. The Beatles, The Who, Simon and Garfunkel, The Temptations, The Supremes, James Taylor, Cat Stevens, CCR, etc. That era of music is my next most listened to after today's alternative.
- I love Jack Johnson but mostly dislike similar artists such as John Mayer and Dave Matthews Band.
- I don't enjoy listening to women as much as men. I guess you could say I'm also heterosexual in my music preferences (that was a reference to an entry by th. that I can't find for the life of me). A few exceptions to this are: Ella Fitzgerald, Norah Jones, and Alanis Morissette.
7 comments:
I also forgot to say that I hate songs with any screaming in them. I can't tell you how many songs I enjoy until it gets to some screaming interlude. Come on people. It's going to ruin your vocal chords and it's not pleasant to listen to.
I'm with you on this one. I worked in a CD store in 1996 and can name every single song that came out that year. But '97 on? Totally clueless. But with greats like Cat Stevens and Frank Zappa, who needs JLo?
No worries for being behind on the times. The times stink.
i would completly Fail. i listen to NPR or classical when I drive alone. the npr to catch me up because i dont watch the news.
one nice thing about the internet is that you can find a couple blogs or radio stations you trust and then go from that for your music listening. i'm with you: i like an eclectic mix, freeform, which is why i spend more time listening to wfmu.org than anything else. i trust a couple blogs -- the usuals, like pitchfork or stylus, are kind of predictable and uniform, so i prefer this oddball from canada called zoilus.com. if you just want a plain old music education, spend a couple months linking around on allmusic.com.
fun post -- i'm glad you like those old discs i made you. i'll have to make another round if you want. i'm working on round 2 for nephews and nieces.
bw
oooo. I actually wanted the round 1 for nephews and nieces. The "kids songs" that won't make parents go crazy. I think you made it two years ago...
I would love a little music education too! I love music but really don't like what is on the radio. Bry I will see you in a week! j
isn't it nice to be an adult and get to listen to whatever era of music you like? I would have never been caught dead listening to my parent's music when I was a kid but now it is perfectly OK.
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