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Evolution of My Musical Tastes
Apr. 2nd, 2015 11:19 pmI didn't actively get into music in my youth. Pretty much, I just liked what the folks listened to on the radio or watched on tv. My little sister got into music long before I ever did, so I endured her favourites, too.
The radio played a lot of oldies and classic rock. My parents played oldies first, because classic rock had more mature themes. I liked them alright. The "band" at Chuck E Cheese played oldies, and one of my favourite cartoons, Tiny Toons had MTVesque episodes that introduced me to more modern tunes (namely They Might Be Giants), as well as some good oldies.
I'm not actually that young, Tiny Toons aired a couple of my musical eras later, but it segues nicely into the video I'm sharing.
Yakity Yak, by The Coasters
Other oldies I liked: Summertime Blues, My Girl, The Lion Sleeps Tonight, Wooly Bully, Earth Angel...
Back when MTV played music videos all the time, my mother would crank it every so often, especially when Tears for Fears's song SHOUT came on, which I hated at the time. The ones I liked most were the ones that reminded me of cartoons, but also a couple of other really exciting ones.
Land of Confusion, by Genesis
In retrospect, this one really set the tone for my visual tastes for the rest of my life.
In this playful style, I also liked Sledgehammer, [I got my mind] Set On You, Take On Me, I Want My MTV, etc.
In the earliest of 90s (or maybe the latest of 80s), I was deemed ready for some heavy stuff. Namely, PINK FLOYD. I hated Dark Side of the Moon, but instantly fell in love with The Wall (I owned the 2-record album, which made talking about it- later in life when no one even had cassettes anymore- a little awkward when I got confused looks when I mentioned which "side" for which song). I wasn't allowed to watch the movie til I was in high school.
Another Brick In the Wall, Part II
Other bands I was finally allowed to listen to, despite them not holding a candle to Pinkie: The Doors, Led Zeppelin, Moody Blues, The Who (for some reason, I was allowed to watch Tommy as early as this, but still not The Wall), and Metallica, thanks to my uncle...
Remember when I mentioned my little sister's tastes dominated what I listened to? Neither of us really went crazy for the Boy-Band of the Era (New Kids on the Block), but she was obsessed with these two kids who wore their baggy clothes backwards. And so...
My first concert, at which I fell asleep after 3 annoying songs.
2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th concerts, attended with mother & sister:
Joan Osborne, Aerosmith, Barenaked Ladies, Tori Amos
I finally started making some interesting friends at the end of my middle school days, some of them older, and they introduced me to hippie (and modern hippie) music, like the Grateful Dead, David Bowie (who I've, of course, loved since Labyrinth), and Phish. My dad saw that I was finally getting into the good stuff, and even gave me his Jimmy Hendrix cassette (in exchange for my 10,000 Maniacs cd). With the hippie music coming back strong in the next generation, and a whole shitload of back-issues and newer issues of Rolling Stone being sent to me by a friend, my walls were completely plastered in images of these bands.
Me and Bobby McGee, by Janis Joplin
Other hippie & new hippie bands: Deep Banana Blackout, Abbey's Cafe,
Alongside the rise of the new hippies, came the rise of garage bands, and though I wasn't really into Nirvana or Hole or Blues Brothers or Dave Matthews, I found my niche.
Zombie, by The Cranberries
Other bands I fell in love with, and still love to this day: The Cure, Smashing Pumpkins, Cake, Radiohead, Bjork...
There were also some dark ones that slipped in. Some of them great survivors. Tool, White Zombie, Marilyn Manson, Bauhaus, Sisters of Mercy, etc. And their videos carried into my visual tastes today.
The 90s were the height of my musical acclimation. I have even made two | mixes
Closer, Nine Inch Nails
Nobody makes videos like this anymore.
For a couple years, because I had to take summer school, I got to make friends from other schools, and they introduced me to some of my long-running favourites, giving me a solid Top Three (which didn't include David Bowie, as he needed no mention).
Chemical Marriage, by Mr. Bungle
This is also the first album I ever bought myself.
2&3: Stereolab, and Man or Astro-Man? (who I saw very recently)
When my best friend died, it hit me like the train that hit him. I didn't get out of bed for weeks, and one day, I started reading this old Carpe Noctem magazine and found an interview with a man with a singular, historic name. Voltaire. This is the moment, age 17, that I discovered my all-time favourite singer. The article talked about his animations (some of which I'd seen countless times on MTV and Nickelodeon, which I wouldn't realize til years later), and his new album Almost Human. My first time out in ages led me to the mall to pick it up.
And I fell in love instantly.
(By the way, I was in this video. Me and a few of my props, including a cake!)
On the day I ran away from home, I attended my first unsupervised concert with my new chosen family: Pigface. When I ran away from home, I started attending the local goth clubs, Piranha and Vertex, which introduced me to goth, industrial, metal, punk, and other great sub-genres of music. Many of my favourites, Bella Morte, Emilie Autumn, The Pillows, The Mountain Goats, The Magnetic Fields... They have only been mine for the past 10 or so years, and I can't even recall how I discovered them. Friends, I imagine, and later, the internet.
The last band I declared a favourite
And like Voltaire, the lead singer is also an author, and now a filmmaker!
I've loved countless bands
The radio played a lot of oldies and classic rock. My parents played oldies first, because classic rock had more mature themes. I liked them alright. The "band" at Chuck E Cheese played oldies, and one of my favourite cartoons, Tiny Toons had MTVesque episodes that introduced me to more modern tunes (namely They Might Be Giants), as well as some good oldies.
I'm not actually that young, Tiny Toons aired a couple of my musical eras later, but it segues nicely into the video I'm sharing.
Yakity Yak, by The Coasters
Other oldies I liked: Summertime Blues, My Girl, The Lion Sleeps Tonight, Wooly Bully, Earth Angel...
Back when MTV played music videos all the time, my mother would crank it every so often, especially when Tears for Fears's song SHOUT came on, which I hated at the time. The ones I liked most were the ones that reminded me of cartoons, but also a couple of other really exciting ones.
Land of Confusion, by Genesis
In retrospect, this one really set the tone for my visual tastes for the rest of my life.
In this playful style, I also liked Sledgehammer, [I got my mind] Set On You, Take On Me, I Want My MTV, etc.
In the earliest of 90s (or maybe the latest of 80s), I was deemed ready for some heavy stuff. Namely, PINK FLOYD. I hated Dark Side of the Moon, but instantly fell in love with The Wall (I owned the 2-record album, which made talking about it- later in life when no one even had cassettes anymore- a little awkward when I got confused looks when I mentioned which "side" for which song). I wasn't allowed to watch the movie til I was in high school.
Another Brick In the Wall, Part II
Other bands I was finally allowed to listen to, despite them not holding a candle to Pinkie: The Doors, Led Zeppelin, Moody Blues, The Who (for some reason, I was allowed to watch Tommy as early as this, but still not The Wall), and Metallica, thanks to my uncle...
Remember when I mentioned my little sister's tastes dominated what I listened to? Neither of us really went crazy for the Boy-Band of the Era (New Kids on the Block), but she was obsessed with these two kids who wore their baggy clothes backwards. And so...
My first concert, at which I fell asleep after 3 annoying songs.
2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th concerts, attended with mother & sister:
Joan Osborne, Aerosmith, Barenaked Ladies, Tori Amos
I finally started making some interesting friends at the end of my middle school days, some of them older, and they introduced me to hippie (and modern hippie) music, like the Grateful Dead, David Bowie (who I've, of course, loved since Labyrinth), and Phish. My dad saw that I was finally getting into the good stuff, and even gave me his Jimmy Hendrix cassette (in exchange for my 10,000 Maniacs cd). With the hippie music coming back strong in the next generation, and a whole shitload of back-issues and newer issues of Rolling Stone being sent to me by a friend, my walls were completely plastered in images of these bands.
Me and Bobby McGee, by Janis Joplin
Other hippie & new hippie bands: Deep Banana Blackout, Abbey's Cafe,
Alongside the rise of the new hippies, came the rise of garage bands, and though I wasn't really into Nirvana or Hole or Blues Brothers or Dave Matthews, I found my niche.
Zombie, by The Cranberries
Other bands I fell in love with, and still love to this day: The Cure, Smashing Pumpkins, Cake, Radiohead, Bjork...
There were also some dark ones that slipped in. Some of them great survivors. Tool, White Zombie, Marilyn Manson, Bauhaus, Sisters of Mercy, etc. And their videos carried into my visual tastes today.
The 90s were the height of my musical acclimation. I have even made two | mixes
Closer, Nine Inch Nails
Nobody makes videos like this anymore.
For a couple years, because I had to take summer school, I got to make friends from other schools, and they introduced me to some of my long-running favourites, giving me a solid Top Three (which didn't include David Bowie, as he needed no mention).
Chemical Marriage, by Mr. Bungle
This is also the first album I ever bought myself.
2&3: Stereolab, and Man or Astro-Man? (who I saw very recently)
When my best friend died, it hit me like the train that hit him. I didn't get out of bed for weeks, and one day, I started reading this old Carpe Noctem magazine and found an interview with a man with a singular, historic name. Voltaire. This is the moment, age 17, that I discovered my all-time favourite singer. The article talked about his animations (some of which I'd seen countless times on MTV and Nickelodeon, which I wouldn't realize til years later), and his new album Almost Human. My first time out in ages led me to the mall to pick it up.
And I fell in love instantly.
(By the way, I was in this video. Me and a few of my props, including a cake!)
On the day I ran away from home, I attended my first unsupervised concert with my new chosen family: Pigface. When I ran away from home, I started attending the local goth clubs, Piranha and Vertex, which introduced me to goth, industrial, metal, punk, and other great sub-genres of music. Many of my favourites, Bella Morte, Emilie Autumn, The Pillows, The Mountain Goats, The Magnetic Fields... They have only been mine for the past 10 or so years, and I can't even recall how I discovered them. Friends, I imagine, and later, the internet.
The last band I declared a favourite
And like Voltaire, the lead singer is also an author, and now a filmmaker!
I've loved countless bands
