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I absolutely love music, I always have. The other day, however, I got to thinking that while music's always been a hugely important aspect of my life, my tastes in it have changed dramatically, and I started to try and do a mental rundown of how my tastes have evolved and developed, what got me into specific bands, why I stopped listening to them, and who and what influenced my music tastes. Note: I'm going to refer to my age, not specific years, because I can't be bothered with working out dates etc.

I come from a musical background. My dad, since he was around my age, has played in bands, primarily singing and playing the harmonica in blues bands such as Nightshift, The Buckstops and The Blue Note Blues Band, and the fact that he's always had music playing and the like I'm sure from an early age kinda faced me in the direction I've travelled in thus far.

Until I was seven, I didn't know a thing of music spare what I heard on the radio, and, being this was the mid nineties, that meant boybands and girlbands. As such, I didn't really care for music a whole lot. Then, sometime around that year, an album called 'K' by a band called Kula Shaker was released, and a suitable storm was kicked up about it. Tracks like 'Hey Dude' got a fair amount of airplay, and I was absolutely in love with it. I think 'K' was the first album, or one of the first, I actually asked for instead of out of the blue having bought for me. 'K' spawned an interest in the whole British indie thing that was going on, and encouraged by my dad, I mainly enjoyed bands like The Charlatans, The Seahorses and even Ash until I was about 11.

As I came into secondary school, I was exposed to a dangerous new world of music. The words 'Korn' and 'Slipknot' were thrown around all too often, and, before long, they started to pique my interest, and I rather liked certain aspects of their music, though I'm sure one of them was the fact that listening to it meant that I was 'hardcore' and too 'underground' for all my peers.

About age 12-13, I used to spend alot of time watching VH1's Rock Show with my dad. That's what really spawned my interest in, well, good music, and I became over time, a big fan of Motorhead, Hendrix and, most notably, Black Sabbath. Sabbath, as far as I was concerned, were Gods, and for a long time the most important thing to me was a thundering riff. With help, again, from my dad and VH1's rock show, I was a huge fan of classic rock, mainly the big names, and even had a small penchant for the blusier stuff, for example, Neil Young. These VH1 sessions, too, were my first exposure to Captain Beefheart, but more on that later.

So, until I was fourteen, maybe fifteen, I loved me my classic rock. I had long hair and darkish clothes, but, looking back, I was leaning slightly towards the proggier side of things, such as Jethro Tull and yes, what little Genesis I chanced upon. I was probably just fifteen when I realized that hard-rocking riffs and bombastic drum parts were all well and good, but they were just beginning to bore me.

I cast my mind back, back to the days of the Rock Show, to the most out-there thing I could remember, and it came to me, like a lightning bolt or similar... Captain Beefheart. When I first head this guy, I was like 'What,' but, spurred on by my desire for something unique, I really started to get into him. Now, at age 16, I have practically everything he released and a considerable amount that he didn't - Captain Beefheart, to me, was like the drop that started the ripple effect, and I began to spider out to anything I could associate with him, mainly Frank Zappa and the like.

The story, however, doesn't end there. It must be about a year ago now, I first visited CoNchat. At the time, I liked me some classic rock, some blusier stuff reccommended to me by my dad (namely the White Stripes and awesome, awesome North Mississippi Allstars), Kings of Leon and Captain Beefheart.

2005, for me, was the peak year of my musical development, and in all honesty, I can attribute alot of that to CoN. I began as pretty narrow minded about music, but now, there's no limits to what I will listen to, however, one artist stands out.
Back in about February, I was doing my composition piece for my Music GCSE, exclusively on the music-creation program I don't remember the name of. The specification I set myself was 'Music to Accompany a Videogame,' and, just for the sake of it, I went in a sort of bouncy Mario-style thing. I played it back to my teacher, and, noting that the track was comprised mainly of an extremely rapid piano loop, commented that it was extremely Steve Reich-esque, who, he revealed, was a minimalist composer that experimented with looping and effects. That day, he lent me Steve Reich's 'Different Trains/Electric Counterpoint,' and, though I didn't quite realize it at the time, it really changed my perspective about what sort of music I would listen to. That opened my mind about music a fair deal, and, right now, Steve Reich makes probably just about my favourite music, even more so than Beefheart. That's kind of a suprise for me, and this penchant for minimalistic, sprawling, effect-laden kinda stuff sent me to MTV2's 120 Minutes, where I discovered bands like Tortoise, who, in turn, lead me on to even more electronic stuff such as (and thanks to Neal for mentioning them) Air, and I do so enjoy a tasteful electronic track.

Where do I stand now? In all honesty, I dont much stay still. I realized that I was looking for something different, and that I'd forgotten that I could still be drawn in by a great sound or catchy hook, and as such I've probably regressed slightly in that I now love the likes of The Strokes and ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail Of Dead. I'm drawn, now, not to something 'out-there,' but to, well, good music. I pride myself on knowing a good song when I hear it, and so many bands of capable of making great music. One thing I'm particularly drawn to is an enchanting and emotive track, and the likes of Sigur Ros, Sebastien Tellier, Arcade Fire and Air really have the ability to make that moving, bold kinda track - I like a striking, big tune - I like a song that sounds nice.

And so, that's a rather extensive and self-centered yet slightly rambling rundown of how my tastes in music have changed, and what I've been into and where they are now. Where they're going, I've no idea.

Don't feel the need to cover it as, well, extensively as I have, of course. I think this is by far the longest I've ever spent posting anything.

This post has been edited by Mimic on 19th January 2006 16:35

I did a similar trace of my music evolution a little while back. And the results were completely shocking if you know me now.

Music has always, always, always been a gigantic piece of my life. But I didn't come into realization of that until my sophomore year of high school. I'll divide segments into my age area.

Age 7-9: At this developmental stage of life, you usually latch onto whatever your parents are listening to. And my parents liked to listen to country. It seems awfully weird standing here now and remembering I used be a pretty moderate country music fan, even if it was when I was younger. At that age, I liked listening to Garth Brooks, Joe Diffie, Diamond Rio, the Tractors, and just whatever came on the radio at that point.

Age 10-12: I turned into a rock-radio hound, so to speak. This was a point when my mom and dad got a divorce, and my dad moved to Connecticut. I noticed that music started playing a bigger role in my life at this point. Whenever I visited my dad, we'd listen to this one rock-pop station. I was all about the big mid-late 90s stuff: Sugar Ray, Hootie and the Blowfish, Third Eye Blind, Matchbox 20, Oasis, Counting Crows, Barenaked Ladies, Smash Mouth. This was also the time when I bought my first CD (with my own money, mind you), which was Hootie and the Blowfish's - Fairweather Johnson. I still own it to this day and listen to it from time to time.

Age 13: As much as I don't want to admit it, for one year, I was a big MTV nut. This was back when they actually showed videos though, so I did actually get into the music. But I constantly watched TRL when I could and the music videos in the morning. At this point, I was all about Korn, Kid Rock, Blink 182. But the band I related to the most was Limp Bizkit. I remember I would walk up and down the hall in 8th grade just singing one of their songs, mostly "N 2 Gether Now". Looking back now, thank god that stopped.

Age 14-16: At this point of my life, music completely consumed me. This is the point where music became my sole purpose in life. This was also the timeframe when I got really big into my now-favorite band of all time: Rage Against the Machine. I was also really big on the modern stuff. This includes Linkin Park, Mudvayne, Nonpoint, Godsmack, Rob Zombie, System of a Down, and the like. By 16, I was also introduced to the new-wave of grunge: The Vines, The Hives, The White Stripes, Jet, all of whom I still adore to this day.

Age 17-present: While I'm still huge on (some) of the present day stuff, the new music coming out is just too boring and uncreative for me. It's around the time of the pop-punk rising that I started to go backwards in time. I've gained a huge love for Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Jimi Hendrix, The Clash, The Who, Black Sabbath, Motorhead. Not just limited to classic rock, but 80s and 90s too, like Guns n' Roses, Metallica, Smashing Pumpkins, Sublime. But what I was huge on, and what I'm still riding the wave on, is grunge. Since that point, I've just been a grunge freak. Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, Foo Fighters, Local H, Queens of the Stone Age. It continues today, the more music goes forward, the more I go backwards.

This post has been edited by Sabin on 19th January 2006 17:26

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"When I turn the page
The corner bends into the perfect dog ear
As if the words knew I'd need them again
But at the time, I didn't see it."

~"This Ain't a Surfin' Movie" - Minus the Bear

Music is the most absolutely fundemental part of my character. I was raised on music and it's importance. When I was very young, we're talking age 2-5, I remember my dad sitting me down infront of his record player, putting on his favourite albums, and talking to me all about it, what he liked, disliked, the album art, the image of musicians, everything. His favourite band was Pink Floyd. There was also the Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Glam-Rock era Bowie, Supertramp, Led Zeppelin, and the man who did Tubular Bells, I can't remember his name at the moment.

Around age 6-8, during the time of my parents divorce, I discovered for myself by watching Inside Edition on TV [yes, I watched it by my own accord, it traumatized me with its stories of murder most foul] and was introduced to John Lennon, and The Doors. I loved loved loved John Lennon and Jim Morrison. Being that I never really payed much attention to them before, I found out they were dead at the end of the TV biographies, and it shattered me. I used to cry whenever I heard Imagine or This is the End. This was also the time I had my first album obsession: Tom Petty's Full Moon Fever.

Between age 7 and age 13, after my mom divorced my dad, who was extremely abusive towards her, even trying to stab her, she turned into a wild and crazy party-animal alcoholic, spending every weekend with her friends drinking looooong into the night, cranking their music at huge parties. Music then involved U2, Billy Idol, Talking Heads, Fine Young Cannibals, 54-40, and my beloved Cocktail Soundtrack. There were many many more, and I think this is where I developed my knack for insomnia. There were 5 kids at these parties usually; me, my younger sister, and my mom's best friend's 3 kids. We used to sing a long with everything, making up lyrics for parts we didn't understand. For example:

Rave On, John Cougar Mellencamp.

Rave on, Rave a seever,
and I know you got a beaver
and I'm so glad you kissed the bride
goodnight, bad boy, rave on!

Of course i said it like Ray Vaughn, as in Stevie Ray Vaughn, I didn't know the word 'rave' at the time.

For my 13th birthday, I got a mix tape from my aunt. It. Changed. Everything. It heralded the beginning of finding my own music and not just relying on my mom's collection. It featured Tones on Tail, The Jesus and Mary Chain [hell, the entire Crow soundtrack, I later found out], and brought Bowie back into my life. At the time, I couldn't understand while listening to Velvet Goldmine and John, I'm only dancing, which my mom stopped listening to long ago.

At age 14, I really got into watching the X-Files. So much I wanted all the stuff that went with it, and I found a TV Soundtrack of various artists in the store one day. I begged and pleaded my mom to buy it for me, and she finally gave in. And then it happened. I heard my first Nick Cave song. And it completely consumed my soul. Red Right Hand was the coolest most amazing thing I had ever heard in my life. It wasn't long until I found another song by him on the Batman Forever soundtrack. And then I heard nothing new from him until 1999.
From that age to about 16 I spent hours and hours listening to the Alt-Rock AM 1060 station here and fell inlove with the sounds of Grunge and Britpop.

Age 15/16. I got Ok Computer by Radiohead. It made me wanna be a rock star. I obsessed with Britpop bands like Blur and Oasis. I also fell inlove with electronica, and would stay up till 3 or 4 in the morning with my headphones on dreaming about being in a band. I spent all my money I could get from gifts on CDs.

Age 17. I fell in with the 'outcasts' at school, as they were the only ones I managed to ever become real friends with. Up until i was 15 I lived in a small prairie town with no friends. Moved to the city, and instantly made friends. Some of the kids were kind of annoying, Manson worshippers, you know the type. But there was one girl who listened to the Old School Goth music, like Bauhaus, Alien Sex Fiend, Virgin Prunes, and *gasp* Tones on Tail! We talked a lot about music in our past, and she was truly impressed by my life. She confessed that she too, loved Full Moon Fever. There were many metal-head in our group as well, but that music never really did it for me. That was the same time I met my current boyfriend, we just celebrated our 7th anniversary last week.

between then and now, not terrifically much has changed. There have been a few modern bands I've gotten hooked on, The White Stripes, The Faint, but the vast vast majority of my music collection lies inthe years before 1997.

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The first duty in life is to assume a pose,
and the second duty is...well, no one's found out yet.

I have never had an ounce of musical talent. Heck, I was just always happy listening to it.

At about 6-10, I was listening to music that my parents hated and I figured that's why I liked it then. I was big into the old hairbands like Guns 'N Roses, Skid Row, White Lion, Black Sabbath, but it was Metallica's One that blew my mind the first time I heard it. They quickly became my favorite band.

Around 10 or 11, Nirvana got big and helped bring about the grunge revolution. In the years that followed, I liked to listen to the new additions to Metallica, Smashing Pumpkins, Red Hot Chili Peppers and The Vandals.

When I first started high school, the big mess with Cobain happened which realy made me shun off most of his music while everyone else mourned. From there, I started listening to the Misfits, Marilyn Manson, Rancid, Dead Kennedys, Rage Against the Machine and a bunch of local death metal bands and even painted up my face from time to time like the Misfits. I no longer liked Metaillica anymore because of their Load album and haven't listened to anything of their newer than that.

Probably my junior/senior year in high school is when I found the type of punk that I really liked to listen to. Bad Religion, NOFX, Operation Ivy, etc. became tops on my favorites list. I also started branching out a little into Hip Hop with DMX, Tupac, and later some Immortal Technique. Lately though I've been listening to the sounds of Devildriver, Soulfly, and older Slayer, Seputura, and 88 Fingers Louie. I still listen to these regularly and nearly countdown the days to the next NOFX or Bad Religion release, but occaisionally reminisce with most of the ones I grew up loving.

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"Knowledge is power.
Power corrupts.
Study hard; be evil."

Anyone who speaks to me for an extended period of time, (read: ten minutes, tops.) learns quickly that I'm an avid music fan, to the point of it being my addiction and chosen path in life. From a very early age, I've been a music hound and it's something that's helped me through those cloudy days. Looking back, I've never really changed my tastes so much as expanded them. Anyways, here's my little breakdown of when and how it started.

Around the time before I was born, my parents had heard a rumor that a mother who listened to a lot of music would get a more intelligent child, I guess this was negated by the fact that she smoked during her pregnancy with me, but still. I've been told they played a lot of Police, Beatles and Zeppelin. When my parents finally got to take me home, the first song I ever heard while alive and kicking was "Stairway To Heaven", played in my Dad's car.

From then, until about the age of five, I didn't have much of a say at all in the music I'd listen to. At home, my Dad was always playing The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Hendrix, Cash, Dylan, Black Sabbath, AC/DC, Pink Flyod, basically the classics. My Mom played a lot of the Police, Barry White, Micheal Jackson, Luther Vandross, she was very into that sort of thing, sensual music, as it were.

Then I started going to daycare where I was exposed to things like "The New Kids On The Block" and a lot more Micheal Jackson. I used to pretend to moonwalk into giant towers of lego buildings I had made.

Finally, around the age of 7-8, I started choosing my own music. Thanks to my much older cousin's recommendations, I checked out Rob Zombie, Nine Inch Nails, Korn and Marilyn Manson. All of which became instant favorites with me and still are to this day. Thanks to my exposure to radio, I learned about Bush, Soundgarden, Oasis, Nirvana, Cypress Hill, The Backstreet Boys, The Spice Girls, Smashing Pumpkins, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Rage Against The Machine, yes, these were all radio bands here in Montreal. Throughout all that, I never lost my interest in "Mommy and Daddy's music", which I'd later lovingly call, "The Classics". It was around this time that I picked up my first guitar, an acoustic that belonged to my Dad. I haven't stopped playing since.

That sort of music taste lasted until my first year in highschool, where suddenly, everyone was into rap. Names like Dr. Dre and Eminem, Dmx and Snoop Dog were on everyone's tongues, I couldn't help but listen in to some of it myself. I didn't like it at all at first, but I did always appreciate the background music and it's rythm.

Then it happened, I got bitten by the "metal" bug. Nothing was heavy enough for me, I had to listen to it all. I got into Metallica and Pantera and that got me started, from there I went into Slayer, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, Guns N Roses, Anthrax, White Zombie and then eventually; Cannibal Corpse. Once I had heard Cannibal Corpse, when I was in my second year of highschool, something snapped in me. I needed more of that sort of intensity, so the european I went. Bands like Cradle Of Filth, Dimmu Borgir, Children Of Bodom or Dying Fetus were always in my earphones, blasting out at full-force until my eardrums were almost shot and bleeding. I kept on going heavier and heavier until late into my Highschool career.

Now, suddenly, something called "Emo" was starting, it wasn't the trend it is today, but it was definatly starting out strong...er..well, for emo, anyways. Bands like Dashboard Confessionals, The Used, Taking Back Sunday, that sort of thing.
Now, I needed something that WASN'T that kind of music, so I recessed into an 80's music phase, tired of my former metalhead ways. I got into Duran Duran, INXS, Poison, Motley Crue, Cinderella, David Bowie, Skid Row, Quiet Riot, Twisted Sister, WASP, and then went back to the 90's with Jane's Addiction, Alice In Chains, Pearl Jam (who I had previously detested) and that sort of thing.

That brings us to two years ago. Emo was developing into the trend-powerhouse that it is now at a quicker pace and sad to say, some of the music appealed to me. Taking Back Sunday and Brand New became my guilty pleasures. The Used was somewhat tolerable, hell, A Static Lullaby, The Arcade Fire and My Chemical Romance were a constant listening requirement for me. It was too damn catchy and I just couldn't resist, then suddenly, they took a page from many years ago and became "hardcore".

This opened the doors to a lot of older "hXc" bands to me, like Poison The Well, Converge, Dillinger Escape Plan and Eighteen Visions. Then Atreyu had formed and became quite popular with their "Lip Gloss and Black" single and that too, had me hooked. I got into From Autumn To Ashes, As I Lay Dying, He Is Legend, Glassjaw and what not. I don't care what anyone thinks of the screaming or whatever, the musicianship in a lot of those songs is downright brilliant.

Which leads us to now, the only thing I've recently gotten into is this whole "return to rock" trend that seems to be on everyone's agendas. I really don't know the names of these bands because I only ever see them on t.v. or hear them at bars, but one that stands out to me is Head Automatica, those guys are sheer brilliant. This whole thing, it really isn't so bad.

So I guess you could say I've been into a lot of the musical trends that've gone down over the last two or so decades and I'm a huge fan of the 60's and 70's, given. I'd take the classics over today's modern music, but I'm a sucker for a catchy beat or rhyme too, far be it from me to be musically closed minded.

I'll admit it: I do own both Aqua cds. I do own every Backstreet and Spice girls cds and yes, I do still remember all the words to the songs, I even listen to them from time to time. I'll listen to anything at least once and won't pass judgement on a musician, artist or group until I've at least heard a single song.

Oh, and Madonna? Stop pretending to make music. Thank you, goodnight.

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Okay, but there was a goat!