Entry 03 - January 19th, 2014
Someone told me they were sort of Post-Metal Blues...or it's only Rock
n Roll but I Like It
I have never been one to shy away from new music. In fact,
some that know me well would probably argue that I can't be pulled away from
it. I love discovering new sounds and finding new material, be it a brand new
band still slaving away in the garage trying to get the sound just right for
the local gig in town or the latest and greatest from one of the best around. It's
not a hipster thing...I don't revel in the knowledge of being the first among
my friends to have heard of a particular band or call upon the "well I
remember when they were just getting started" card...I just never tire of
finding new things to hear as the 25,000+ songs on my IPod will attest to. What
this does often mean, however, is that I am listening to things that a lot of
others haven't really gotten into yet and I get to share the new found tunes
with those around me...which can certainly have some mixed reactions since I
have extremely broad tastes and find enjoyment in virtually every genre of
music that I've come across. I've always been grateful for that since it tends
to mean I can still find something to listen to even if all I have is the FM
radio in the car on a long trip.
That's not to say I don't have favorites. Rock and Metal
have been the mainstays throughout my life, but my earliest musical memories
are Neil Diamond, classic country sounds, Sesame Street , and Disney
sing-a-long records. Those childhood years were great for listening and I loved
to get the album sleeves out and look at the pictures and lyrics while the
vinyl disc spun around and the needle traced the sounds laced within. Albums
were (and still are since you can still get a lot of great new music on vinyl)
these amazing pieces of art and provided an experience that the modern CD or
mp3 track just doesn't compare to. Even if you get the deluxe edition with the
extra packaging and pictures, it doesn't hold a candle to the double gatefold
album cover of an album like Zeppelin's 'Physical Graffiti.' I could go on
about the virtues of vinyl but there are others who have already done this and
probably better than I could at any rate. Suffice it to say that I think the
listening experience of a vinyl record absorbed through a set of high quality 'over
the ear' headphones is something that should be had by everyone and you're
truly missing out if you've never done this.
So while I was exposed to a lot of country music and
singer-songwriter types, I remember the first time I really stopped and
listened to the radio at a time when it wasn't the weekend top 40 was when I
found the local college radio station on the dial. WFIT was always a great
source of cool stuff in my adolescence, especially in the mid 80s. That's where
I remember hearing The Police and The Clash for the first time, and the Smiths
and REM. I wouldn't fully absorb all of this until I got into my highschool
years but those sounds left a mark as I was drawn back to all of that and the
rediscovery was equally amazing. When I was between 10 and 12 I discovered all
of the late 80s pop metal bands and this led me to my Uncle's record
collection. My Uncle Bruce has a fantastic rock n roll record collection and I
loved when I would get the chance to go over and check them out. This
exploration led to a deep love of music by some of the greatest artists to ever
plug in a guitar and start a band - Led Zeppelin, The Doors, The Who, Deep
Purple, KISS, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Cream, Thin Lizzy - just to name a
few. The line was set and I was hooked, I was now a music fan for life.
I still say music fan, and I think that's important. Sure I
probably have a predominantly rock collection and it's my go-to, but I
appreciate so many different things. I love to confuse Spotify; I pull up so
many artists that it tries to recommend new things and sometimes I can see the
smoke fizzling behind the screen as it tries to compile what it thinks I'll be
interested in. I love that. I've never understood the people I've met that only
seem to be able to listen to one genre of music and they can't be bothered with
anything else. What happens when those records get stale and you don't want to
hear that lyric for the millionth time? I think it would get boring pretty
fast. So take a chance on something new and expand your horizons just a
bit...you never know, you might just end up hooked yourself.
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