This is a fascinating question, especially aimed at the older demographic. I don't have any time this week, it seems like, but I might add a longer answer of my own in here later.
(Also why I didn't do a weeklymusicthread, if anyone wants to, feel free.)
EDIT:
- To be honest, if my 10 year old self had caught 28 year old me listening to this record, he would have slugged me in the mouth and called me a fag.
It's odd. It's almost as if the music has found me. I started out, really, with Pink Floyd. When I first saw qoyaniskaatsi I dug the hell out of the music, even at the age of nine, despite the fact that my mother - a classical violist - deemed that I was required to hate it. Tracks like "One of these days" and Rush's "Mystic Rhythms" were really where it was at when I was 11 or 12... but as soon as I found industrial music, I leaned towards the softer, atmospheric stuff. About then I found Sect's Telekinetic and industrial took a bit of a wayside; six months later I found The Future Sound of London and Air Liquide and it was like I was getting closer to what I heard in my head. It kind of came full circle as soon as I found Aes Dana and Solar Fields. It wasn't so much that my tastes took me here, it's more that with a gazillion different places to find music, I was finally able to find music. In High School, if I wanted to buy an album, I had to order it out of a catalog and hope it was good, based purely on what the cover looked like. Assuming the cover was in the catalog at the music store. Now? Now it's easier to refine your tastes down to the nine other people on the planet who listen to and play music like you do.
We didn't have a record store nearby, so I ordered catalogs from labels and distributors. They usually had album covers, but most of them were black smudges because they were crappy xeroxes. Then they'd take forever, because the label was actually just one dude and he'd been on vacation or used your order form as a bookmark or something. Finally getting albums from Annihilvs was like Christmas, because it took so long that by the time they arrived I'd forgotten I'd ordered something.In High School, if I wanted to buy an album, I had to order it out of a catalog and hope it was good, based purely on what the cover looked like. Assuming the cover was in the catalog at the music store. Now? Now it's easier to refine your tastes down to the nine other people on the planet who listen to and play music like you do.
I still remember when Cop Int'l announced on rec.music.industrial that their storage container had been flooded and they were blowing out their entire catalogue for $80 if you didn't mind water damage. Oneroid Psychosis sounds about as shitty with the booklet stuck to the disk as it sounds without.
In High School, if I wanted to buy an album, I had to order it out of a catalog and hope it was good, based purely on what the cover looked like. Assuming the cover was in the catalog at the music store. Now? Now it's easier to refine your tastes down to the nine other people on the planet who listen to and play music like you do.
I remember this well. For years my brother had a collections agency hounding him for the 10 CDs he bought out of a catalog for $5 up front and the promise of more purchases that he never made. I remember going to record shops and you could ask to hear certain music if they had an open copy. I would sit there for hours sometimes, with a pile of CDs in front of me whittling it down to one, maybe two that I'd buy. The amount of music easily available now is mind-blowing and awesome. From an accessibility standpoint, it's a great time to be a lover of music.
| I remember going to record shops and you could ask to hear certain music if they had an open copy.| That was an hour drive for us, and even then your only real choice was Rare Bear in Santa Fe. There is no comparison to a world in which you had to burn half a tank of gas in order to go to a goddamn Hastings if you wanted to buy a Cure CD... or burn half a tank of gas twice if you wanted to order some Skinny Puppy. 'cuz they had Too Dark Park, Rabies and the single for Censor and that's all they ever had and that's all they would ever have and why can't you buy a Poison CD like normal people?
That was an hour drive for us, and even then your only real choice was Rare Bear in Santa Fe
-and yet you still made the drive. Why? Because music rules. Did you also listen to radio stations hoping for a song to come on so you could hit "record" on your tape deck? You'd end up with a copy of that Cure song, with some annoying DJ introducing it. I had whole tapes filled with songs like that. I'd call in to stations with requests just in hopes of recording the song requested. I'd lay in bed with my arm draped over the side, finger resting on the record button just waiting to hear the beginnings of a desired tune.
Dude. What part of "New Mexico" don't you understand? We had country, we had butt rock, we had gospel and we had Mexican. Frickin' MTV was as underground as we got.Did you also listen to radio stations hoping for a song to come on so you could hit "record" on your tape deck?
Never experienced New Mexico but it sounds rough. We at least had college radio and even an "alternative" station which at the time meant Pearl Jam and Nirvana and if we were lucky some Fugazi.
Shit. We partied when we got Z-rock. Of course, we also partied when we got a Subway, because that meant we had a KFC and a McDonald's and a Subway. It was almost, but not quite, as cool as when we got a Domino's in 6th grade. Pizza... that comes to you! can you imagine?
You could enjoy your za while listening to Mandatory Metallica! I grew up in a relatively small town too. When we got a new stop light it was a big deal. Getting a Taco Bell was a huge deal. I drove through countless towns like that today (7 hours in the car) and it got me thinking about how I'd fare if I had to live like that now? I can't imagine living in a town with only two restaurants, both of which attached to a gas station. But there are a TON of towns like that out there. Difference is, the kids in those towns have the internet now, we didn't.
Depending on the town, the Internet might not be that great. People in my father's home town still have to use dialup. There isn't much of the Internet that's actually usable on dialup anymore. When I went to my grandmother's funeral a few years ago I ended up having to tether to a cellphone to deal with a work emergency. We really need better rural service.
Africa is where the most exciting things with cell phones are happening.
tether and stolen hotspots is all I have. until they invent stretchy fiber that is. some times I can see that I have email but not have enough bandwidth to answer it. to tell you the truth it keeps on coding rather than surfing.
When I was a kid, I listened to a lot of rock. Nirvana was really recent and pop-punk was on MTV and fortunately for me I had a lot of friends with cool older brothers who introduced me to Black Flag, Fugazi, Bad Brains, and Dead Kennedys and other punk staples. They also got me into Fishbone, Radiohead and generally pointed me in the direction of a really great record store where they had friends and I went wild. Fortunately, my dad is an audiophile and supported my interest in music. Also, we were one of the first families in the neighborhood to get a CD player, so he felt better about rebuilding his own collection if he could use me as an excuse to go to the record store. Anyway, I'm still mainly into rock. I don't listen to as much jazz as I used to. Maybe it's because I don't play music anymore, but learning music theory and using it to figure out what the fuck was going on was pretty interesting for me and my school buddies. Currently I find myself drawn to things that are more melodic, not necessarily softer but I have noticed that I'm drawn to harmonies more and more. Not too long ago I got an album by The Staves, called Dead & Born & Grown. They're three sisters who sing kind of folky-indie music. To be honest, if my 10 year old self had caught 28 year old me listening to this record, he would have slugged me in the mouth and called me a fag. The first song on the album is called Wisely & Slow that I find absolutely gorgeous. The harmonies man, the harmonies. When it comes down to it though, I'm still predominantly a rock guy. As I sped out of the parking lot at work, today like every day I was playing The Black Keys as loud as the shitty speakers in my 21 year old car would allow without reaching the tearing threshold. Yes, I have blown enough speakers to feel comfortable identifying that. Unfortunately, I have trouble these days finding new rock that I really like, so if anyone has any ideas, that would be great. Also, maybe it's because there are so many more quality female vocalists in bands these days, or at least it seems they're more in the spotlight, a lot of the albums I've gotten and liked recently have featured female vocals, though it's not something I go out of my way to look for.
Favorite band of the 21st century by miles and miles. American Slang is one of the best albums ever made. Here's some stuff:Unfortunately, I have trouble these days finding new rock that I really like, so if anyone has any ideas, that would be great.
inre: this btw
I used to listen to a lot of the Birthday Party
http://youtu.be/yaWn0qcRYFA I find myself listening to a lot more Grinderman now
http://youtu.be/69Q4vw25YJI but seriously folks I find myself listening to less pop music today.
I've gone from listening to primarily classic rock such as Pink Floyd, The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones, to Indie Rock/Pop and other music. At this point I've really evolved to listening to anything ranging from electro-pop to experimental and drone influenced French Folk Music, and almost everything in between.
I essentially had the same progression. Beatles, Floyd, Zeppelin, Dylan, Stones and then as I got older I expanded in to more progressive, Indie bands. For me, classic rock was a solid foundation for appreciating the music to come. In particular, the Beatles taught me to appreciate structure, both lyrically and compositionally, while also appreciating that touch of chaos and serendipity you can't fake. They could be calculating and completely earnest on the same album, even in the same SONG. #thebeatles taught me most of what I know about making music. How have my tastes changed? Well, I suppose I don't actively seek out angst-ridden music anymore. All of the hard-rock music of my youth I still love, but I often wonder if I would if I heard it for the first time now? So much of music is context. It's such a personal thing that relevance has a lot to do with it. I'm no longer a high school kid fighting authority. So I don't empathize with that type of art as much as I used to. If I do, it's in a more nostalgic way and less immediate. This week I listened to Neil Young Harvest, Beck Sea Change and Stevie Wonder * Talking Book*. -all if which were very enjoyable. P.S flagamuffin, you should just make this the #weeklymusicthread, it's an interesting angle for one.
You've went from being against the man to being the man. Duh. But really, I think that happens with a lot of people. Which probably explains why you don't see many older people at those kind of shows. Harvest is one of the greatest albums ever recorded, I used to despise Neil Young but he's since grown on me a lot. Also, made the #weeklymusicthread but I'll happily delete it if this gets used instead!
Definitely don't delete it, but can you change the community tag on this post? That's be great. Thanks for posting the weeklymusicthread, I always look forward to them.
I wasn't the person to submit the community tag on this post so I don't believe I can make that change. Anytime, I too look forward to them every Sunday (or around then).
I was the one and once I submit, it can only be changed by another community member and in the event that a number of people submit a com-tag, the most popular prevails.
This is where I started, too. Thing is, I've still never found a modern album that joins the ranks of Rubber Soul or Blonde on Blonde or Exile on Main Street. Seriously. There are a few that've gotten sort of close, but not really. I wonder if that's because the music you listen to in your youth always seems better? I've observed this before but never really asked anyone if they had the same opinion.
I think Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is right there with them. I also think Sea Change and Yoshimi are too. I'd throw The Bends in there as well. I know others would argue that there are better Radiohead albums, but I disagree. There's no doubt that nostalgia plays a large part in the equation, but for quality of songs and cohesiveness of albums I think all of those are right up there. No doubt there are a number of others too. What make bands like the Stones, Beatles and Dylan so damned impressive is how many times they appear on the best albums all time list. That's really a unique and special thing. I'd say Wilco is in that ballpark and I think history will see it that way.
It's tough. You named four albums, three of which are among the 15 best modern albums. I love them all. But basically everything by the Stones I consider out of that ballpark -- never mind Simon & Garfunkel or Dylan. There's some weird divide in my mind centering around the time I was born. It's like I see music of the last 20 years as not being worthy of inclusion in that company (yet?). Maybe someday. But a U2 album from 1988? Sure, yeah. So that's weird. Never really thought about this much, it's interesting. Other albums I consider probably worth being in the Rolling Stones-level discussion -- Kid A, In the Aeroplane over the Sea and the album I'm listening to now, American Slang.
I used to listen to a lot of loud, angsty metal from Scandinavia when I was younger. I still like that music but I have found myself drawn to quieter stuff. I got into hip-hop listening to My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, which really shows my (lack of) age. I try to seek out new music to broaden my tastes, but it feels more like they are just moved around a bit and stretched from time to time. New music gets pushed out as new ones appear. The good ones leave something behind in the mind. Maybe the changes in mood that we expect from music are more important. Some music is angry and provides catharsis, some music is soothing, some music is especially intellectually stimulating? This sounds like a possible topic for another hubski thread.