Music for life ???

Mad About Drums

Pollyanna's Agent
I think it's Paul Simon who said that the music you listen when you're 15 years old (or there about) is the music you'll love for the rest of your life.

The thread about vinyl records made me think of all those records I was listening at that tender age... and yes, most of these records are still very dear to my heart :)

I've must been listening religiously to this album a thousand time, I know every little details by heart: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5W7RB_lscw

Do you think it's true?

What was your music for life? (as a listener, not as a drummer)

I could probably list a lot of album here which I loved... but I thought a little pic would speak for itself just as well...
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Hmm. Not sure, because there are some albums I have on vinyl that I wondered "what the hell was I thinking?" when I re-visited them years later. But the ones I did love, I re-bought on CD, and even some years later when I go back to those, I sometimes wonder "what the hell was I thinking?"

I think after I've internalized the lessons to be learned from a recording (and this would've been when I was in my pre-teens or so), I could shelve it and not have to re-visit it. What this has done for me is that there's rarely anything that sounds incredibly earth-shaking anymore. When we think of music as being made-up of the same 12 notes (for us Euro-centric music peoples), there's not a whole lot being said that's absolutely new. And when someone tells me it's something new before I hear it, a giant red flag goes up for me.

My old favorites are internalized, and like Larry, I find it difficult to actually buy new music because chances are, somebody else has already done it years ago.
 
Hmm. Not sure, because there are some albums I have on vinyl that I wondered "what the hell was I thinking?" when I re-visited them years later. But the ones I did love, I re-bought on CD, and even some years later when I go back to those, I sometimes wonder "what the hell was I thinking?"
I feel the same on many occasions, but equally, I'll go back to something and find musical gems that I completely missed first time around.

Henri. I think your musical sensibilities are forged in your teen years, for sure. Also, context is everything. Stuff that sounded amazing back in the day often stood out because it was fresh, & something different compared to the vernacular. One thing does run through all the old material that influenced me back then, & that's fondness. Even if I have a BO "what was I thinking" reaction, there's still fondness there, as often the music brings back associated memories.

I do take issue with the "nothing new under the sun" idea though. Yes, in one form or another, everything has been done before on a basic component level, but much newer music attracts me because it's reworked in a very different way, yet still with a nod to the masters of yesteryear. Some of it of course, is just downright garbage. I'm talking about the good stuff that's mostly off the hyper commercial radar.
 
I think I still love listening - and playing - just about all of the music I grew up with, in the 7-20 age range. There's very little if anything that I listened to and later wondered why, however there's a quite a bit that I disliked or didn't really get at the time, and have grown to appreciate as I've rediscovered them over the years. Most notably, Led Zeppelin and the Stones!

That's not to say I was just listening to bubblegum and pop as a youth, I loved me some Zappa, King Crimson, Tull, Gentle Giant, etc. And I was aware of the Stones' and Led Zep's hits, but I just didn't appreciate what they were doing enough to be into them. The Stones' Satanic Majesties album was completely baffling to me when it was new, but later I came to love (most of) it. And I really liked (most of) the Houses of the Holy LP, but most of the other Led Zep stuff was inaccessible as far as I was concerned. Back then, I couldn't have cared less who Bonham was!

Suffice to say, my musical appreciation is far wider than it was as a kid, but I do have a soft spot for the oldies & classic rock I grew up with. Part of it was learning to play drums at that time, and the music being additionally ingrained in my brain and heart as a played to records and the radio. And part of it is being taken back to people and places and events from my carefree youth. Every time I hear Magical Mystery Tour, the 6/8 section near the end takes me right back to my bedroom on Rose Lane in Phoenix, practicing the drums and hitting the cowbell in the middle of that one fill. Good times!

Bermuda
 
Several months ago I did a thread on your favorite year in music. My statements there kind of fit here...

In 1981 I was 14 and the following albums came out.... A lot of this music still drives me today.


Rush - Moving Pictures
Genesis - Abacab
Billy Squier - Don't Say No
Rolling Stones - Tattoo You
AC/DC - For Those About To Rock
.38 Special - Wild Eyed Southern Boys
The Police - Ghost in the Machine
Phil Collins - Face Value
Loverboy - Get Lucky
Triumph - Allied Forces
Styx - Paradise Theater
Journey - Escape
Foreigner - 4
Squeeze - East Side Story
Joan Jett - I Love Rock and Roll
April Wine - Nature of the Beast
Pretenders - Pretenders II
Men at Work - Business as Usual.
Stevie Nicks - Bella Donna
Go-Gos - Beauty and the Beast
J Geils Band - Freeze

There's a lot of other stuff from the 60 s and 70 s I love, too, but I probably didn't appreciate them until much later. This was the first music I probably really understood and fell in love with while it was happening.
 
There are bands I loved when I was 15 that I still do. Early Metallica, King Crimson, Slayer, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Cream. I really loved those bands and I still listen to them now. For me the most 'salient' years for my musical growth so far were 18-23. In those five years I discovered music that I absolutely adore and didn't think was possible - a lot of that has to do with doing my degree and studying some very odd music. I still find new and exciting things now but the rate at which I do so is less.

In those five years I discovered madrigals, Messiaen, Merzbow, Joy Division, New Order, Brian Eno, The Smiths, Xenakis and countless others that informed my musical listening more and more. Sometimes I would find three or four different artists a week that I liked (and listen to a lot more). Every week I discover something new even now and my tastes are constantly evolving. I used to like a lot of Prog but now my selection of Prog is more limited and edges towards the more aggressive and raw material - as well as some of the 'out there' stuff. I still like some early Genesis though, despite myself.

The only thing I regret is not being on top of a lot of modern trends. I find myself getting totally lost in music history at the expense of great modern acts. Not everything I listen to is 'old' and I generally berate those that complain about today's music - I have no issue with today's music - but it's rare that I'll actively seek out a 'new' band or artist. I tend to discover them by accident and without having a TV or listening to commercial radio, I'm less likely to come across some of the more mainstream material.
 
Yes, we do tend to harbour a soft spot for the music of our teens. That makes my tastes inconsistent because I am not at all keen on heavy music these days, yet I enjoy some of the old heavy music of Purple, Zep, Sabs, Crimson, Zappa and ELP.

Like Bo, "what was I thinking?" is a common feeling too. I was in love with Slade at age 13 - spare me!
 
My thought is that we only know what we know....er, what has been set forth for us through the channels, so to speak. I do have a desert island set of recordings, but I asked the question, "what if I was able to expose more of that kind of music that was not rammed down my throat through radio...before the mtv".... Because if the bands I was exposed to were good, surely there were others...

I came up with a lot of stuff....stuff I never heard of but of a parallel style to what would be on my desert island list

Hammers Of Misfortune
Bang
White Witch
Artful Dodger ( not the eclectic UK offering)
American Noise
Bangalore Choir
Duke Jupiter
Love Affair (later changed to L.A.)
Legs Diamond
Moxy
Crack The Sky
Witchfinder General

So I have dismissed the idea that it is a specific band(s), but more that it is a level of technology, sound and style that grabs ahold and settles in....cause there are other bands doing similar stuff....with a few notable exceptions of course
 
Hmm. Not sure, because there are some albums I have on vinyl that I wondered "what the hell was I thinking?" when I re-visited them years later. But the ones I did love, I re-bought on CD, and even some years later when I go back to those, I sometimes wonder "what the hell was I thinking?"

I never had that feeling, if anything, my teens choice of music makes me smile sometimes, thinking how naive I was, but I do not question the reason why I liked such or such artists or bands, they are a part of who we are (were), it's all good to me.

mmmh... maybe you got a point with Can the Can by Suzi Quatro :)

My old favorites are internalized, and like Larry, I find it difficult to actually buy new music because chances are, somebody else has already done it years ago.

I always find something new under the sun, at least "new" in the sense that it's current and just come out, it doesn't bother me if it's similar to some of my teens music, I remember buying the first Van Halen album and thinking " Woaw, I've never heard anything like this before" the chemistry between Eddie Van Halen and David Lee Roth was very special, even after listening to the whole Purple, Sabbath, Uriah Heep, Rainbow albums, those guys took it to another level where no one has been before...

It still does happen these days, in all styles... suddenly it hits you and you're hooked...

Henri. I think your musical sensibilities are forged in your teen years, for sure. Also, context is everything. Stuff that sounded amazing back in the day often stood out because it was fresh, & something different compared to the vernacular. One thing does run through all the old material that influenced me back then, & that's fondness. Even if I have a BO "what was I thinking" reaction, there's still fondness there, as often the music brings back associated memories.

Yes, most of it was fresh, it was new music back then or at least only a couple years old...

Yes, our teens music is a time travelling machine, we're suddenly transported back to that wonderful place full of good memories and no worries, definitely good times :)

I think I still love listening - and playing - just about all of the music I grew up with, in the 7-20 age range. There's very little if anything that I listened to and later wondered why...

Same here... I always knew that I had very good taste in music :)

I was never into the Stones in my teens, I didn't like their sound, they were too dirty sounding for my tastes, I knew a few of their big singles of course... I discovered the Stones at a later stage and I was able to appreciate them then...

There's many bands I could have listen to in my teens, but didn't for whatever reasons and later discovered them, bought their albums and liked what they've done.

In 1981 I was 14 and the following albums came out...

Rush - Moving Pictures
Genesis - Abacab
Rolling Stones - Tattoo You
AC/DC - For Those About To Rock
The Police - Ghost in the Machine
Phil Collins - Face Value
Styx - Paradise Theater
Journey - Escape
Foreigner - 4
Joan Jett - I Love Rock and Roll
April Wine - Nature of the Beast
Pretenders - Pretenders II
Men at Work - Business as Usual.
Stevie Nicks - Bella Donna

I loved those albums Mary... geez, April Wine, Sign of the Gypsy Queen was my favorite track on this album https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRspvAucho4 and I liked Future Tense too https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEzxa9wzblQ

Yeah, I had my Rush moment too, an incredible band...

The only thing I regret is not being on top of a lot of modern trends. I find myself getting totally lost in music history at the expense of great modern acts. Not everything I listen to is 'old' and I generally berate those that complain about today's music - I have no issue with today's music - but it's rare that I'll actively seek out a 'new' band or artist. I tend to discover them by accident and without having a TV or listening to commercial radio, I'm less likely to come across some of the more mainstream material.

I do not have that regret Dunc, I have a daughter who take care of that for me, because of me, she's heavily into music... and she knows her rock history too, thanks to her mad father, so she knows when something might be of interest to me :)

Yes, we do tend to harbour a soft spot for the music of our teens. That makes my tastes inconsistent because I am not at all keen on heavy music these days...

Yes, definitely a soft spot for the yesteryear music that we cherished at one point, but it doesn't make our choice in music inconsistent, we've evolved and broaden our tastes in new horizons and discovered new bands and artists, it doesn't make our teens taste less valid for that reason, having said that I'm still seduce by today's music when someone produce music similar to what I listen all those years ago.

I was in love with Slade at age 13 - spare me!

Geez, Mama Weer All Crazee Now, Cum on Grea Feel the Noize :)

My thought is that we only know what we know....er, what has been set forth for us through the channels, so to speak. I do have a desert island set of recordings, but I asked the question, "what if I was able to expose more of that kind of music that was not rammed down my throat through radio...before the mtv".... Because if the bands I was exposed to were good, surely there were others...

In my teens, there was no MTV or anything like that and I did not really listen to the radio either, my parents did... but I use to go to the record shop, listen to bands and artists and buy records. As an apprentice, I remember spending a month's worth of wages in 2 days on vinyl records and then begging Mum and Dad for fag's money :)
 
I actually remember my 15th birthday. I got a grey Members Only jacket, a new Sony Walkman that played cassette tapes, and my uncle gave me a cassette tape of Genesis - Three Sides Live. Man, I wore that tape out and it is still my favorite Genesis album. Why I don't own a copy today? I can't say.

At that age I was listening to the usual stuff: Van Halen, Scorpions, Iron Maiden, Ratt, Motley Crue, Journey, Tom Petty, Cars, The Clash, Whitesnake, Great White, Def Leppard, KISS, and a lot of the stuff that Mary O listed. I didn't catch the Metallica/Slayer wave until a couple years later because by then I lived up in the mountains.

I still like and listen to some of the songs from back then. Especially stuff like the Clash, Van Halen & Tom Petty. Some of that stuff has real staying power, some doesn't. I still play a couple songs nobody has heard of on my guitar such as Face the Day by Great White and Nobody Knows by Billy Squier. It's a lovely song.
 
I would partly agree with the statements. There are a couple bands from my teen years that I still enjoy. But lately I've been discovering bands from my youth that I paid no attention to and now really love. Namely Big Star. They flew under the radar yes, but what an awesome sound!

The "what was I thinking" band Iloved then and not now has gotta be Jethro Tull. Good musicians, but....eh. Bungle in the Jungle is good though.
 
Nobody Knows by Billy Squier. It's a lovely song.

ONe of my favorites. A side of Billy most don't know. That was a song dedicated to John Lennon, I believe. Beautiful stuff.
 
If I were told that I could only listen to 25 albums for the rest of my life these would be my 25. They are in no particular order John mayer would not be my number 1 but this will give you the Idea and maybe tell you a little about myself.


1. John Mayer - Continuum
2. Justin Timberlake - FutureSex/LoveSounds
3. Flaming Lips - At war with The Mystics
4. Phish Billy - Breathes
5. Dave Matthews - Band Busted Stuff
6. Miles Davis - Bitches Brew
7. Medeski - Martin & Wood Shack Man
8. Public- Enemy Fear of a Black Planet
9. R.E.M - Monster
10. Michael Jackson - Thriller
11. The Beatles - White Album
12. Pink Floyd - The Wall
13. The Beatles Abbey Road
14. Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti
15. Frank Zappa - Hot Rats
16. Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane over the Sea
17 Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited
18 Neil Young - Harvest
19. Herbie Hancock - New Standard
20. Thelonious Monk - Brilliant Corners
21. Bob Marley - Exodus
22. Regina Spektor - Begin to Hope
23. John Lennon - Imagine
24. Red Hot Chili Peppers- Stadium Arcadium
25. Nick Drake - Pink Moon
 
Face the Day is a quintessential LA Sunset Strip tune....great tune...one of Great White's best for sure. I remember when I heard that on KNAC for the first time
For sure. It's such a great lick. I use it when I'm trying out guitars at GC. I loved KNAC...great station it was. Pure Rock!!

ONe of my favorites. A side of Billy most don't know. That was a song dedicated to John Lennon, I believe. Beautiful stuff.
No kidding? I did not know that. Thanks. I still get choked up sometimes when I sing it because it feels so personal and I'm a little emotional when I sing.
 
I listened to alot of music when I was that age that I dont enjoy now.

I still enjoy most of it though.

Not sure what I would have though about what I listen to now...would need a time machine for that answer.
 
No kidding? I did not know that. Thanks. I still get choked up sometimes when I sing it because it feels so personal and I'm a little emotional when I sing.

I hear you. Thinking I should add this one to my vocals list but, like you, I'm not sure I could get through it. May give a try, though.
 
Hammers Of Misfortune
Bang
White Witch
Artful Dodger ( not the eclectic UK offering)
American Noise
Bangalore Choir
Duke Jupiter
Love Affair (later changed to L.A.)
Legs Diamond
Moxy
Crack The Sky
Witchfinder General

Slightly off topic, but I nearly fell off my chair - I have not heard another soul mention Crack the Sky since I left Baltimore decades ago. Nice!
 
Slightly off topic, but I nearly fell off my chair - I have not heard another soul mention Crack the Sky since I left Baltimore decades ago. Nice!

If you knew where I was exposed to that first Crack The Sky album, you would fall off the chair again..a Public Library somewhere in the deep vanilla milk-toast caverns of a typical midwest suburb..

I think your comment on-topic because it reinforces the notion that there are other acts out there that many would covet had they been exposed to them...Crack The Sky is one such example...
 
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