When I was a child (say 14 years old to as far back as I can remember), I liked folk, country and martial music. I had albums by Trini Lopez, the Kingston Trio, Peter, Paul & Mary (hated that Puff song, though--still do), Burl Ives, Pete Seeger, The New Christy Minstrels, The Brothers Four, Etc. I also liked to listen to albums that belonged to my dad or my uncle-in-law (when we visited), such as Johnny Horton, Johnny Cash (late 50s-early 60s material), Hank Williams Sr., Roger Miller, Claude King, Pee Wee King, and Marty Robbins. I really loved historical ballads. I also, for some silly reason, really loved martial music--you know, military marches. I was very hawkish as a child.
A friend gave me The Beatles - Meet the Beatles for my birthday in '64 (or so) but I just wasn't in to pop/rock at that time at all. Can't say why, though. Perhaps it was because they were singing about love and girls rather than battle and glory? I really don't remember.
In, or around 1973, I ran across Genesis - Live somehow, and it brought about the first change in my musical direction since I was born. I immediately become hooked on prog-rock--Camel, Caravan, Druid, Renaissance, M. Frog Labatt, Gong etc. But mostly Genesis. But I also became a big glam rock fan at that time too--David Bowie, Mott The Hoople, Roxy Music, the New York Dolls, Be Bop Deluxe, T. Rex. My mom and my aunt (married to my uncle-in-law that had all the good country albums from earlier), along with nearly all of my friends, and everyone at my high school, were fans for the Top40 music of the day. Chicago, the Eagles, The Average White Band, the BeeGees, J. Geils Band, Rod Stewart, Fleetwood Mac. Yes, my mother listened to the same crap that my high school acquaintances listened to. Pretty sorry sate of affairs for rock the early to mid 70s. I liked the fact that no one I knew listened to, or had even heard of most of "my kind of music." To me, being a rebel had always meant rebelling from your peers--everyone rebels from their parent's generation (doing what your peers do in music, dress, slang--that's not being rebellious, its being a lemming).
Prog rock and glam rock lasted, for me, until I heard Television for the first time around the very end of 1978. Their debut album, Marquee Moon, came out in 1977, but since I hadn't listened to the radio since 1964 or so, I had to read about new stuff in rock magazines or run across stuff by accident. [I still don't listen to music on the radio. I listened to KROQ (an alternative rock station) during the early 1980s when I still lived in Los Angeles, and I listened to the Thistle & Shamrock program on NPR for awhile during that same time, but since 1993 (Nirvana-grunge takeover) now only listen to NPR news if a radio is turned on).
My college sweetheart during the late 70s pretty much just listened to church choir music, along with Mozart, Handel, Telemann, Vivaldi, etc, so I just listened to that for awhile. I'd say, that all in all, that classical is my favorite music, and it's what I typically listen to when alone. But, classical music puts my wife to sleep like right now, bless her heart. My wife and I agree one type of music, discussed later.
So, for a couple of years though I was a punk (1979-80), listening to the Damned, the Clash, The Jam, the Sex Pistols, The Buzzcocks, Generation X and later I added the Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, the Vibrators and the Zippers. This phase lasted less than 2 years, but my head still hurts thinking about it. I was working with my dad in construction (as sprinkler-fitters), and my dad had two partners--one was from England, the other from Ireland. My dad's ancestry was Native American, Welsh and English [I'm adopted--my natural parents were born in Germany. I'm a tall thin blonde. My adopted parents were short, squat, dark-haired, with very high cheek bones--they looked Native American. My adopted mom was as close to being full-blooded Cherokee as one could be these days. I made for some funny "mail man" jokes.]. So, anyway, we'd go to either an Irish or English pub after work for beer, and they argued, and argued . . . . and argued (but none would ever fail to "stand their round."). So, for several years I listened to Genesis, Steeleye Span, Fairport Convention, the Albion Band, Ralph McTell alongside of the Wolfe Tones, Christy Moore, The Clancy Bros & Tommy Makem, the Pogues, the Oysterband, the Chieftons, as well as a couple of local Southern California Celtic bands, the Mulligans and Innisfree. From prog rock to grog rock.
The next, and last change in music direction came in 1989, when I met my [second]wife [had been divorced already for 6|PLS| years, so no bad ideas you guys]. She was (and still is) an alt/indie rock fan (she's 11 years younger than I, and feels like Doof about this music thread-- "I've never heard of any of these groups. I didn't know that you liked glam rock. What's prog rock? You listened to Johnny Cash? Trini Lopez!?!"
So, since 1989 I'm a big alt-rock fanatic--the Smiths, The Church, the Grapes of Wrath, et.al. But my wife and I still have different tastes. She likes new wave dance music like Depeche Mode and New Order, and I don't. I like paisley underground bands like Rain Parade, Dream Syndicate and Game Theory, and she doesn't. We both agree on jangle/power pop, such as R.E.M., Let's Active, the dB's, Guadalcanal Diary, and The Connells, and on indie pop, twee pop, chamber pop and on shoegazing. Her favorite band is, perhaps The Stone Roses. We find that there is a lot that we can both listen to and enjoy. She loathes anything with even the tiniest twinge of country, though.
Lastly, I have to add that since 1989, I've reevaluated my position on the Beatles, and find their early work immensely enjoyable. Much to the great pleasure of my wife and I, we've rediscovered the Searchers, the Turtles, the Dave Clark Five and most importantly, the Byrds, and listen to the music of 1963-1967 quite a bit now. The music in my computer (and therefore on Music01) is alternative and oldies.
Favorites (no order):
Trash Can Sinatras - Cake
Byrds - Younger than Yesterday
Byrds - Mr. Tambourine Man
Byrds - Turn! Turn! Turn!
The Church - Starfish
The Bible - Eureka
The Chills - Submarine Bells
The Church - The Blurred Crusade
The Connells - Boylan Heights
Placebo - Black market Music
Railway Children - Native Place
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Topic: test II (Read 17834 times)