There are always trends in music. Whole periods of time that kind of take up a similar audio space. Like how you can tell when a song was from the '50s or '60s and how horribly '80s music has held up. Even the, at times terrible, period of "alternative" music from the '90s. I wonder what will "sound" like the 2000-2009 period or the "'00s"?
I am not sure really. But I do know that when I go back and look at some of the things I was really in to 10 year ago, I kind of go "ugh, why?"
My tastes in music have changed. Evolved? Evolved. I have always been into music, finding what I liked out of whatever I had access to. When I was a kid, like elementary or younger, it was the '50s and '60 cassettes that you could get as a series at the gas station. I loved that shit. My mom was totally supportive of it. Of course, shitty '80s pop was there a little. "Thriller" was awesome. As I got older, I started getting into classic rock. Probably because that was what my dad always had going. Alternative was kind of a part of that, so bands like Nirvana and Green Day were around for me as well. I never really got into soundgarden, smashing pumpkins or bands like that. I had some of their music, but none of it really grabbed on to me.
It wasn't until I was in high school that I started getting into other forms of music. I was a jazz band and orchestra nerd. I was surrounded by older kinds that were really into music. I kept my ears open and found out as much as I could. This was pre-internet days, so I could not just go home and start finding out band after band and listen to and download them. No, I had to borrow cds and check out listening stations and ask around.
It was around this time that I started getting into ska and punk. Again, that was what I was surrounded by and I was curious. Also keep in mind that I graduated HS in 2000 so I am not Interestingly, PHISH also made its way into my collection at the same time. That is pretty varied tastes, but I was into music and anything new or different got my attention. Now, actual punk, what we now call "street punk" where dudes had sketchy tattoos and piercings and mohawks, this was not what I was exposed to. No, it was more of the blink 182 MXPX NOFX skate punk and ska. However, the more I listened to it,the more I started to like the music that sounded like ska, but without the horns. Like, the songs still had the beat and what not of ska, but not that stupid trombone "burruurr urr urr urr" over and over. Electronic music was huge with my friends, and still is today, and i got into bands like the chemical brothers, underworld, prodigy and the future sound of london.
This then morphed into emo, and not the stupid shit emo now, but Jimmy Eat World, Weezer, get up kids etc. Then that ended up as just the punk sounds like Rise Against, Alkaline Trio, Fall Out Boy...interstingly enough, a lot of Chicago bands as they all seemed to somewhat support each other. Most of my musical meandering came from compilation discs, usually free of cheap from the record labels.
The internet was starting to be a way to discover things when I started college and not just a way to find dirty cartoon pictures, boobs, or term paper information. Then there was a huge jump between chat rooms and IM and the web as we know it today. This same time was when I really got into the music that I still somewhat listen to today. More and more alkaline trio, the lawrence arms, the broadways, coheed and cambria, dashboard confessional. The whole genre of "punk" was exploding and getting more diverse. I still got a lot of influence from those around me. As a college freshman, I just kind of started hanging around other music fans and people that knew people in bands etc, and the more I did, the more I learned. I never stopped playing music all the way through college and still play today. Whether in bands or just picking around once and a while, i never stopped playing.
I bought a ton of music. 2 or 3 albums a week at times. I just wanted to listen to and absorb as much as I could. Bands like jawbreaker were noticed for their contribution to current music. However, this was also when I started to break away from my friends. At the time, they were still into the power pop sounding stuff and ska type things and I was getting into the heavier, more hardcore screaming and sing/scream bands. The fusion of metal and punk was starting to take place again and it was really interesting to me. But, i was having a hard time finding great music still. Listening stations were disappearing, well-written reviews were hard to find, the internet had not yet truly reached me as a way to explore and learn beyond what was right there in front of me.
After college, these same bands and trends in my listening stuck with me. However, what followed out of school was a drop in friend involvement. I kind of just cut myself off from everyone I knew. Sure, I was depressed at times, I was just down and felt stuck. This was the time in my life where my love of music became a part of who I am. I found the better part of who I was through music. I cut out the outside influences and just went with what felt right.
I started really getting into bands like Thursday and Underoath. But the one band that really pulled me out of that slump was Emery. "The Weak's End" was and still is one the best albums I own in my opinion. Going to see Emery then opened me up to many different other bands and I have just kept going on and on, learning and finding as much as possible. I started getting into Hot Water Music and bands like that. Bands that make music for themselves, not to fit into a genre.
Sadly, I got into Hot Water Music after they broke up, but I have seen them 2 times now since they reformed, which has been awesome.
Today, i listen to lots of things, punk, rock, americana, folk-punk, electronic, rockabilly...i am all over the place.
But, one thing that I have always said during all of these taste shifts, is that if i was ever in a band, it would not be about how amazing the guitar solos were, how fast we played, how loud we screamed, it would be rhythm, blues, old-school sounding guitar rock. Easy on the distortion, heavy on the "feeling." Bands like Lucero, The Gaslight Anthem, Social distortion, The Lawrence Arms, hot water music, Tiger Army, Against Me! and Cobra Skulls all match this sound.
To me, even before i heard these bands, this was the kind of music that I wanted to be involved in. I would go to shows and say, "I love this band, but if i was ever in a band again, i would probably not play music like this."
Well, over the last few years, I have noticed something. I am less and less excited to find a new metallic scream-sing band than I am to find a band like Lucero and The Gaslight Anthem, which is really fucking hard to do.
See, the thing is, whether it is because I am getting older, or because I have refined what I really like to listen to, there is just not a ton of new music that is getting me super excited. Things have that "too compressed" sounding effect on their guitars, or they are double-bass drum kicking with heavy breakdowns blah blah blah. Give me musicianship, give me a song with a melody. I love having music that fits my mood. But if you can create something that works for every move, then PERFECT. I would rather listen to something that could be danced to, or sung along to or just foot-tapping but it has substance. Sometimes, slower songs, with an established groove, show me much strong playing ability that some stupid fast shredding guitar solo. Anyone make make noise, but establishing that foundation of feel and rhythm is what makes a good song great.
I have started getting into it more. The feel of the music. Looking backwards into 50's music, stuff from the 60's, old school punk like the misfits. Things that are pure. I have talked about Lucero and The Gaslight Anthem before. I mentioned that I went to go see Social distortion play live for the first time a few weeks back. I realized something at that show. Lucero and Social D play music that comes from a special place, not just being in a band. Mike Ness and Ben Nicols would be doing the same thing if they were just playing alone. Part of what makes me love gaslight, and what comes through in their music, is that they are having a blast playing these songs every night. Watch them play live, they never stop smiling. They make fun of each other, screw around during songs, they are having a blast. This level of love for music is what helps make their music stand out in a sea of sameness. Social D has been around forever, but seeing them live really made me appreciate something that I had never heard before on their albums.
It is surprising how much our tastes can change. looking back, i never realized how much the influence of others helped me find new things. I mean, i have always sought out music, through magazines or the internet or record labels, but not until I wrote this did i see such a strong correlation. I think the best thing I ever did was quit listening to what others liked and really found my own sound. I followed my heart without worrying about what would follow me. I think I would still enjoy music if I had kept following the previous paths, but what I have been doing now seems to have made it be much more to me. I really don't care if you like what I like, I will just go to the show alone and have a blast.
My Top bands recently in no order:
The Gaslight Anthem
Lucero
Social Distortion
The Lawrence Arms
The Misfits
The Menzingers
Cobra Skulls
The Broadways
Against me!
Hot Water music
Emery
alkaline trio
sundowner
tiger army
ps. This stream of consciousness was written over the course of 5 or 6 hours at work. In between reports, waiting for things to download or just taking a break. I am sorry that it probably reads that way. But really, this has been sitting in my head for a few weeks and needed to be put somewhere.
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