Your are the lyrics man, ROTF.

But if you were to do the same for Jackson Browne, you would find some incredibly profound and insightful lyrics, (OK not the rib-tickling play on words that you get with people like HMHB). But, some of his best and most profound were written when he was hardly out of his teens.

Basia produced a nice debut album, OK I didn't personally think it that strong but I'm glad people like it. If you are being at all objective though, the debut albums of both Browne and JT are legendary for a reason - so lets try and enjoy as much as there is on offer.

Best,

Steve

As you say, good job we don't all like the same thing.

quote:

the debut albums of both Browne and JT are legendary for a reason - so lets try and enjoy as much as there is on offer

That's fine I'm not disputing that they are albums many folks enjoy and that they are worthy.

Is it possible to be objective when discussing what we like in popular music? Not sure it is or that it matters. We like what we like.

I think Dean was looking for a pattern, whereby we could we could predict what music a particular person might like. OK, it can be easy at the extremes if you play me a hip-hop artists and a folk artist then it is obvious which I'll choose.

However, Steve, is it a surprise that I like Lenoard Cohen, but not Neil Young? I can't explain the logic of why I do - it may just be Neil's voice that doesn't appeal. Why I like Grace Slick and Janis Joplin, but not Amy Winehouse. Perhaps, there is no rationale ......

Anyway, two men in white coats have arrived to take me back to the farm .....

Enjoy your music

ATB Rotf

quote:

Anyway, two men in white coats have arrived to take me back to the farm .....

Oh heck, not them again. Tell them you are a doctor - works for me.

Steve

I agree with Howard in a couple of his posts on this thread.

Firstly, it does seem amazing/odd that when you have so much shared music taste with an/other person/people there are some things you just can't abide, but the other/s love.

Secondly, does your childhood music affect your later musical choices?

I do find myself increasingly listening again to music of my childhood/teenage years.

e.g. The Dennis Brain Mozart Horn Concertos (the first music I am conscious of hearing, at my uncle's), JMJ Oxygene (the first LP I bought), ELP, The Jam, Siouxsie, The Cure, and especially Rory Gallagher - all of whom from the age of about 20 to 30 I almost completely ignored, having had a near-obsession during growing up years. After a more recent 10 year lull, I am now really getting back into opera.

It's odd - but great fun - this ebb and flow like the tide on the shore.

James

quote:

I, too, had a strange music teacher at school. We had to sit silently and listen to classical music and if we didn't seem to enjoy it, got hit over the knuckles with a violin bow. Fortunately, he left the school quite suddenly and his replacement was far more tolerant. We were allowed to play music during lunch breaks.

The ninth and last compulsive year in school, this was in the 1970's, we had a young and cool music teacher who had long hair (as I said, this was in the 1970's) and played rock music. We even did some kind of recording that was sent to a well known independent record company!

Music I don't get:

- Gensesis, The Smiths, Frank Zappa (I held high regards for his view on life on a whole, it was just the music never understood), Beethoven.

JohanR

My music teacher always wore a gown - I think I found an old film of him teaching (please click here to see it)

quote:

Originally posted by ROTF:

quote:

the debut albums of both Browne and JT are legendary for a reason - so lets try and enjoy as much as there is on offer

That's fine I'm not disputing that they are albums many folks enjoy and that they are worthy.

Is it possible to be objective when discussing what we like in popular music? Not sure it is or that it matters. We like what we like.

I think Dean was looking for a pattern, whereby we could we could predict what music a particular person might like. OK, it can be easy at the extremes if you play me a hip-hop artists and a folk artist then it is obvious which I'll choose.

Enjoy your music

ATB Rotf

Yes I am looking for a pattern but not many people have put forward why they feel they got into certain music in the first place and why they might be trying out new stuff in their 40's that they would have never listened to in the teens. I feel I have a handle on my core musical loves though and I have not lost the rebel and curious person in me who at age 16 was listening to South London pirate radio and going to Reggae/Soundsystem Blues parties and now is exploring genre's like Classical and Improvisational music. It was not always the case though in the 90's I did just listen to a limited selection of 12" and LP's and became a little blinkered to newer music. So I could say are there many people on here suffering the same malaise and just got themselves into a musical rut? and are not giving the diversity of music out there a chance to win them over?



Dean..

The Bug and Massive Attack are some that i have been listening to on regular basis. Also a little bit of Amon tobin, also like you said squarepusher is top notch when it comes to bass. His production work beats alot of other stuff that is mainstream crap.

Dear Dean,

The answer lies in Radio broadcasting for me. I am avid listener to a lot of music I would never want to buy in recordings, and indeed I am "reducing" the number of recordings on a continuing basis. I think this is a very healthy situation, as there is "core" of music centred round the great Viennese classics, and also round two German Baroque Masters - Bach and Handel - where I suspect that I can never learn enough!

The project for me is to become acquainted ever more deeply with this music till I die. I have no reason at all to want to diffuse my focus to take in a larger range, but I enjoy allsorts of music outside this "core" repertoire. But I have no ambition to deepen my acquaintance with it via recordings. The Radio provides chance encounters that are in themselves the greatest pleasure.

Recently there has been discussion of the carrying capacity of the new server devices, and all I can say is that the HD in the HDX is going to prove more than large enough for me!

But the abolition of good radio broadcasting would be an utter catastrophe! Fortunately the UK is not the only country in the world offering fine Radio broadcasts ...

________

As an aside, when I used to play orchestral bass, if not entirely for a living, certainly enough to make my living more comfortable than it would otherwise have been, I once asked our orchestral leader [first violin] if he could tell when I loved the music being performed, or was doing a professional job only. He said that in performance there was no difference, but once the music ended I would beam uncontrollably if I loved what we had just played! But musically the playing was indistinguishable when I played Bach [loved] or Britten [to say I disliked I would be an understatement - my honest view would require un-Forum-worthy words to be added], and so I was pleased that my discrimination never peeped through. But there is nothing to make you dislike music more than performing it! And the reverse!

_________

It is interesting to see what appear inconsistencies in peoples' taste, where two seemingly similar, to me, artists are not both enjoyed or disliked, but I understand this well enough in the field of orchestral music. I love Sibelius but not Nielsen, which two composers might be thought quite close in some respects, but they could hardly be more different in their emotional effects on me.

ATB from George

Hi Dean,

I read your post above and thought I would try to explain why I got into certain music in the first place, and why I am now trying out new stuff in my 50s. Many may dismiss my tastes as questionable, buy hey, it comes from the heart and its my personal experience, so be kind!!

My core music tastes stem from my teens (early 70s) when I was exposed to Reggae and Tamla Motown at a local youth club. The sound system may not have been state of the art, but it got me up on the floor joining in with more enthusiasm than talent and having a whale of a time. The key thing was the music had pace and rhythm and banging bass lines!

The first live concert I went to was to see Slade in Wolverhampton and as a lad from the sticks, I found the performance so exciting and exhilarating. I never thought of Slade as glam rock; they were simply a band that played music that to a 14 year old was absolutely magic!

I was in various plays at school and I recall that the background music chosen by a couple of cool guys in the Drama department was DSOTM for a production of Taming of the Shrew and Meddle for an Alan Pinter play. At the time the music struck me as being arty and kind of hippie and not half as exciting as the stuff in the disco – after all, it wasn’t exactly music you could dance to.

There were essentially three camps at school. The skin/suede heads, the ones in the middle and the greebos. Most of my musical influence came from friends who were in the first group – hence the liking for reggae and tamla. Friends in the middle group got me into both choral music and folk music whereas the hairy greebo friends had me listen to CCR, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin etc; I was not so keen on this stuff and freaking out was not a form of dance I enjoyed! In some ways I was exposed to a broad church, but by the same token it was not very adventurous as none of the genres went beyond the middle of the road offerings in each case.

The late 80s brought a different bunch of friends who introduced me to the Police, Roxy Music, Ultravox, OMD, Bob Marley and Gary Newman. Some punk friends tried to get me into Devo and such like, but punk was too wild and dangerous for what were probably my safe, conservative tastes at the time. One visit to a punk disco put paid to that particular genre of music.

Marriage and my yuppie days got me into Dire Straits, Chris Rea, boursin cheese, fondues and black tower. I am glad to say the only hang over from those days is a lasting liking for DS and CR.

In some ways the late 80s, the 90s and the early 2000s were a black hole for music. I rarely listened to anything much and it has only been in the last four or so years that my interest in music has been revived. I guess I was well and truly in the rut that you mentioned.

So I ended up a collection of CDs but I was not so much bored as overly familiar with the music. I knew I wanted to expand my horizons, but didn’t know how. A good find was Pandora, (sadly now inaccessible), but better still was finding new friends who are musically aware (sounds better than audiophiles!!) and who have introduced me to a much wider and more varied church.

I have now expanded into world music, progressive rock (for that read Pink Floyd) and Kraut Rock to name a few. Hell I now even have some Jazz music in my collection now.

So, as mentioned above, I just don’t “get” Dylan, Cohen or Sigur Ros, but hey, by the same token I can understand why others don’t get the music I like. I guess that you can't make yourself like a particular type of music, but the reality is that as the years pass, your tastes do change, and change is a good thing, so there is hope!

One of the reasons I have decided to join the music room is that there is a wealth of experience here and information to tap into – and you can ask for opinions and suggestions on what to try next.

Reflectively yours

Garfield

"There are 2 types of music, blues and zippedy doo dah" Townes Van Zandt

Any Townes fans around here?

Fender (Strat)

Lindsay,

I've seen that quote before is he serious about it or is it just a joke quote. If he is serious isn't that a bit on pretentious side?



Dean..

quote:

isn't that a bit on pretentious side?

This is pretentious for the sake of it and all the better for it IMHO, the stupendous Gentle Giant.

I have Townes Van Zandt's "Live at the old quarter" and think it's great!

Tried OK Computer recently and wonder what all the fuss was about...

quote:

why they might be trying out new stuff in their 40's that they would have never listened to in the teens.

Funny you should ask. At the tender age of 48 I suddenly started enjoying Jazz after hating it all my life. I don't knew why! It's great fun discovering a new music genre with lot's of unknown stuff.

TVZ is great, btw. I have a strange but very good live with him, Steve Earle and ... well, don't remember his name right now.

JohanR

Great to know City Boy are remembered by more than just me - I have all 7 LP's, the last of which was called "It's Personal" and was only released in small numbers in Scandanavia..

quote:

Originally posted by Steve S1:

quote:

There is only one band that I have ever bought every LP they made and that was "City Boy" - the Birmingham band who had a big hit with 5-7-0-5. Sadly, they were never well known and remain relatively unknown.....

Not by me. "Young Men Gone West" - great album. Worked at a place where they came along as support for Smokie of all people.

They were superb.

Mind you I also remember Queen circa 1974ish, being blown off stage by a band, I think called "Nutz". The rest is ....as they say, history.

Steve

I suspect my musical tastes were initially forged by what my 4 older brothers were playing. Mostly The Beatles, Dave Clarke Five and I suspose, more of the "rockin'" style of pop music at the time (mid to late 60's).
My parents listen to a lot of classical & choral records, so I suspose hearing good vocalists and musicianship at that young age meant that out of tune or bad vocalists still don't float my boat (Dylan etc.)

I also remember that by 12 years old, it simply wasn't cool to like certain kinds of music.
Our school seemed to be "Soulies" and "Rockers" and rarely did the two side mix!!!

I never liked soul and HATED Northern Soul. Mowtown seemed to be the same to me and I didn't like that either.

One day, I heard a song called "September" by Earth Wind & Fire, loved it so much I bought the single which I then hid at home and only played it when my brothers were out, in case I got "caught out". I think the next (or was it the other way round?) single I bought was "Play That Funky Music" by "Wild Cerry", also hidden away at home....
Oddly, I did get caught out and was shocked when one brother said "great song" - and he meant it!
I then started to appreciate some soul music, Motown and other genres.
By the time I was in my 30's, the only music I really disliked was "Country". Then that changed about 12 years ago and I now have quite a large country collection........ As long as it's not too twangy!

I think your surroundings, frame of mind, maturity, friends, parents etc. all have some influence on musical tastes but it is odd how a song or band that send shivers down my spine and make me tingle (in a good way) leave other people cold.

I guess we'll never know why...

quote:

Our school seemed to be "Soulies" and "Rockers" and rarely did the two side mix!!!

I never liked soul and HATED Northern Soul. Mowtown seemed to be the same to me and I didn't like that either.

Same here - but unlike your good self, I've never really come to terms with soul music with the exception of Aretha, of course, and some of the Temptations more psych stuff.

I think I was one of the very few at school who liked The Incredible String Band.

quote:

I think your surroundings, frame of mind, maturity, friends, parents etc. all have some influence on musical tastes but it is odd how a song or band that send shivers down my spine and make me tingle (in a good way) leave other people cold.

John Peel had a big influence on my taste and to a lesser extent Alan Freeman (not 'arf) - on Pick of the Pops he used to play new album tracks and I got to hear things I would otherwise never had had the chance to become aquatinted with. He played lots of Zombies and Argent for example as well as groups like Warhorse, Man, Alice Cooper and Black Swan (who remembers echoes and rainbows, it's just a click away).

I do like songs that sound distinctive and yet stay within familiar ground.

ATB Rotf

quote:

Originally posted by JohanR:

quote:

why they might be trying out new stuff in their 40's that they would have never listened to in the teens.

Funny you should ask. At the tender age of 48 I suddenly started enjoying Jazz after hating it all my life. I don't knew why! It's great fun discovering a new music genre with lot's of unknown stuff.

JohanR

That's so true getting into a new genre opens up a huge world of interest and Jazz has nearly a 100 years of recordings and funnily I started with modern Improv jazz then Miles Davis and John Coltrane and now have got into Ben Webster who is a great link to the glory years of Jazz, so its Duke Ellington and Count Basie next maybe.


Though when it comes to what you come to like when you are older is maybe because there is no real peer pressure to stick to a certain select few genre's. You are mature enough to take some risks in exploring new genre's for me this is Classical music which would have been frown upon in my youth, because its poncy and arty farty but now I can say to anyone, up yours if you don't like it I do. .



Dean..

quote:

[The] new genre's for me this is Classical music which would have been frown upon in my youth, because its poncy and arty farty but now I can say to anyone, up yours if you don't like it I do.

Dear Dean,

No need to aplogise to me. I resisted all the jibes from nine year's of age and onwards, once I discovered the classics. My attitude was Love me, love my music. Thus I refined the circle of my friends, who had to be mature enough to get over it!

ATB from George