Musical tastes vis-a-vis time

[Vanillaphant]

Good evening, good evening.

I would like to know about TMF members’ taste in music – specifically, how people’s tastes in music have changed as they’ve gotten older.

For instance, is there a band/artist you were really into when you were growing up, but now look back at and think, ‘What the hell was that all about?’

Conversely, are there any bands/artists you once dismissed (maybe when you were in your teens/early 20’s), perhaps because they weren’t considered ‘cool’, but you now have an appreciation for?

And are there any songs whose meaning you thought you understood, but it turns out they were about something other than what you thought?

To give some personal examples:

When I was in my early teens, I was pretty keen on the Nu Metal scene. I thought Slipknot were the best thing since sliced bread! Now, once in a blue moon, I will succumb to a bit of (usually alcohol-induced) nostalgia and give one particular track a listen… But it was one of those intense, short-lived things, you know…

I used to think the Bee Gees were pretty shit. Now I really like some of their songs. ‘I’ve Gotta Get a Message to You’ is a personal favourite. (The trick, you know, is to block out any thoughts regarding their ludicrous image and just concentrate on the music! lol)

A song I misunderstood: ‘When a Man Loves a Woman’ by Percy Sledge. I used to think it was a terribly romantic song - romantic in a conventional sense, I mean. In fact, when you listen to the lyrics, it’s full of melancholy, and even bitterness. Apparently Sledge wrote the song shortly after breaking up with a girlfriend… And boy, does it show! (“When a man loves a woman/Down deep in his soul/She can bring him such misery/If she is playin’ him for a fool/He’s the last one to know/Lovin’ eyes can never see”)

Anyone?

 

[rdhd]

For me, I've been listening to things since the early 60's, so I have a lot a bases. There are some that I've come to like, such as classical and "light" jazz. As far as rock - there's so many variations there....some I took a liking to immediately, some I got into later. Some bands that I liked long ago, I can care less about now.

As far as the Bee Gees - they were around long before disco came in, where they got their shot of fame;unfortunately, it also tainted their name to a lot of us back then. But, yeh, they do have some good stuff if you look for it.

I try not to put too much interpretation into lyrics...I've seen so many interpretations of songs printed that, well... It's usually the melodies that catch me; I may eventually hear the actual lyrics, but, so be it. And sometimes in my head I play like Wierd Al, and change them a bit...

As for Percy....an old classic. And supposedly some of the better songs have been written that way. Who knows?

 

[Bohemianne]

It's usually the melodies that catch me.

^ Same here.

 

[milagros317]

My tastes in music have remained quite unchanged. I still like The Beatles and Lesley Gore, both very popular when I was 13 to 16 years old. I guess I'm a dinosaur. 😛

 

[chicago]

When i was younger, middle school age, i was very into boy bands, pop stars, etc. Now its more silly and nostalgic. Im more embarassed i ever liked thosr pop punk / emo shit like Good Charlotte, Simple Plan, Dashboard Confessional, etc. I liked other genres as well, especially motown and oldies but once i got into the later years of high school and on to college, i really dove into blues, jazz, soul, and hip hop.

 

[Vanillaphant]

Thanks for the responses so far.

As far as the Bee Gees - they were around long before disco came in, where they got their shot of fame;unfortunately, it also tainted their name to a lot of us back then. But, yeh, they do have some good stuff if you look for it.

Yeah. I think quite a few artists from that period came in for a hard time from fans when they dared to dabble with disco! lol I think maybe the genre's camp imagery and, er, air of frivolity, shall we call it, put a lot of people off at the time. Which I guess is understandable. Like I say, just the sight of the Bee Gees during that period is enough to put a person off. They looked like proper bell-ends lol.

My tastes in music have remained quite unchanged. I still like The Beatles and Lesley Gore, both very popular when I was 13 to 16 years old. I guess I'm a dinosaur. 😛

I was exposed to the Beatles from a young age. I couldn't imagine them ever not being one of my favourite bands. Lesley Gore, on the other hand, is a new one on me. Only when I Googled her (a few minutes ago) did I realize that I knew at least two of her songs: 'It's My Party' and 'Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows'. Heh.

Im more embarassed i ever liked thosr pop punk / emo shit like Good Charlotte, Simple Plan, Dashboard Confessional, etc.

Good Charlotte. Now there's a name I haven't heard in a few years! Ha.

I'm happy to say I was never enticed by the whole emo thing (apologies, any emo lovers out there!). As far as pop-punk goes, I really liked - and still do like - Green Day's Dookie. And I remember liking one album by The Offspring when I was in my mid-teens.

 

[milagros317]

...
I was exposed to the Beatles from a young age. I couldn't imagine them ever not being one of my favourite bands. Lesley Gore, on the other hand, is a new one on me. Only when I Googled her (a few minutes ago) did I realize that I knew at least two of her songs: 'It's My Party' and 'Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows'. Heh.

She had one other song that lasted through the decades in popularity, You Don't Own Me.
There was a reason besides her music that I liked her; she the photo below.

 

[drewskee]

I'm a big music nerd with a massive album collection, though I am not musically or artistically inclined myself. I listen to and appreciate almost all kinds of music, but I am particularly passionate as a hip hop head and soul music junkie. I'm an old soul myself, and my musical tastes and overall personality tend to gravitate towards the old school; there's simply too much new stuff out there to keep up with nowadays (a great deal of which I can do without hearing altogether), but since I never listen to the radio anymore I do my best to dig up the new stuff that I like as much as I can.

 

[UpSide2Gravity]

I'm a music junkie with a love affair for vinyl. I LOVE everything from 60's soul (i.e. Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul) to early 90's hip hop (i.e. A Tribe Called Quest: The Low End Theory), to indie (i.e. Vampire Weekend, Local Natives, Cloud Nothings, & Grouplove). I've been getting into some early Elliot Smith and have rekindled my passion for Bon Iver, specifically For Emma Forever Ago. What I've noticed, at least with vinyl, that they are mass distributing reprints of classics such as Zeppelin, Sabbath, & Hendrix so I've been revisiting those genres as well. I've grown to love everything except for pop & country. And no, I don't consider Johnny Cash country because I love Live at Folsom Prison, lol.

 

[chicago]

Lol love doesnt make it not country, but cash appealed to a lot of genres.

 

[teamtickleguy]

Sorry in advance for the massively long reply!

Music has been a huge part of my life from very early on - listening to it and playing it - and it's definitely been a musical journey in terms of changing tastes, a journey which is nowhere near complete. I love discovering new music and older music, as well as live performances and wacky cover versions etc.
My Spotify playlist is my musical bible at the moment.

It's not very often that I find an artist or band with more than 3 or 4 songs that I really like - but when I hear a song I do like, I put a lot more time into researching that artists' other material now than I ever would have done 10 years ago.

Growing up I was first exposed to folk music and went to a few gigs with my parents - a band from Liverpool called The Spinners was the main one, I have recently found a lot of their material online so have been listening to it again and I love it.
Roger Whittaker is another artist I heard when very young, a favourite of my grandparents, he still sits on my playlists - maybe because the songs are an easy listen and are nice to sing along to and remember happy family times.

Once I was approaching my teens I was exposed a lot to my parents' taste in music, on long car journeys for example - Belinda Carlisle, Big Country and Abba were artists that I liked at the time and still listen to a lot now.

I was a big lover of ballads and strong female singers when I was younger, but not many appeal to me now - Celine Dion was the main one, I went to see her at Wembley (where I was pleasantly surprised to see Mike & The Mechanics as a support act) but now I rarely listen to her - I still appreciate her vocal strengths, but it's more her material that I don't like so much anymore.

One of the first bands I liked of my own accord was the Beautiful South, this was alongside all the Britpop stuff such as Pulp, Cast, Lightning Seeds, James, Blur - all of this material I still very much enjoy.

Sometimes it takes one brilliant performance to introduce you to an artist - I was blown away by David Bowie singing 'Life on Mars' at Glastonbury and he's now one of my heroes. Bruce Springsteen's live gigs also influenced my developing interest in him. Similar thing with Meat Loaf.

The recent Hyde Park gig by ELO immediately elevated them to my list of favourites - so many songs that I'd never really heard and although I'd been aware of ELO, it's the lesser heard stuff that's the best.

Film soundtracks often introduce me to new artists as well - Johnny Cash, Jesus and the Mary Chain, Cocteau Twins, Malcolm Vaughan, Urge Overkill and INXS to name a few.

I think the UK charts have much more strength and variety now than they did 10 years ago - I quite like Ella Henderson, The Horrors, Ellie Goulding, Amy McDonald, Dry The River, Lorde, Paulo Nutini, Twin Atlantic, Tribes - even the more poppie sorts like Taylor Swift and Rita Ora can come up with some genuinely good pop songs which stick in the mind and on the playlists, whereas when I was growing up there was a real dire period of boy bands like Westlife, Blazin Sqaud and nonsense like Steps, with glimmers of hope provided by bands like Texas.

A lot of the current/new music I listen to at the moment falls into a kind of electro-synth pop/ambient sort of genre - Haerts, Beach House, Chvrches, The Naked & Famous, Metric, Rae Morris, Ting Tings

I recently realised that the female voice rather dominates my playlists, so I've also been listening to a lot of male songwriters - Richard Hawley, Lou Reed, Cat Stevens, Rodriguez, Frank Zappa. As well as some 70s/80s male bands - The Cure, Echo and the Bunnymen, Prefab Sprout, Thompson Twins

One of the stranger things is that although I am a trombonist and pianist, I have never really had much interest in listening to other trombonists or pianists - it baffled my fellow music students at University that I couldn't really name any leading trombone players or brass bands. My favourite type of music to play as a trombonist is show songs in theatres - it's great to feel part of a production, music mixing with acting and dancing, I love the fact it's live and is different every night and you have to be really on your toes. I went through a period of hating playing the trombone, yet now it's a hobby, a second income and an overall delight!
I do now like listening to brass bands and also dance/swing bands with bandleaders such as Ray Noble and Glenn Miller - I would love to be able to jive properly, it's just the best fun!

I often like to research other wartime artists and listen to some really old stuff whilst thinking about what it would have been like to live in those times and what those songs meant to people at the time - Vera Lynn, Tennessie Ernie Ford, George Formby etc

I think I will start dipping my toes into Classical music next - I heard a symphony by Bruckner on the radio last week, which got me thinking that I really should listen to more orchestral stuff.

I can't imagine ever getting into death metal and for some reason I can't listen to Barry White or the Bee Gees - unless it's earlier stuff or later stuff - I don't really like disco music. Not keen on rap either, but I'll tolerate Tinie Tempah/Eminem/Professer Green

One of my favourite songs of all time is Moonlight Shadow by Mike Oldfield/Maggie Reilly.

If I ever get married I'd like my first dance to be either 'I Only Wanna be With you' by Dusty Springfield or 'Perfect Match' by George Jones and Tammy Wynette.

I'm really bad at lyrics though generally, I rarely listen to them or really take notice of the meaning - I am probably missing out on a lot with this attitude - I must try harder.

Sorry, I've typed far too much.

Cheers
TTG

 

[IrvingKrebb]

I don't think there was any band, or any type of music that I look back and think, "what was I thinking?" But when I was younger, I was a big music snob, and there were a lot of bands I automatically didn't like for various reasons. Nirvana is a good example; Nirvana "broke" when I was a senior in high school, and at the time I was a punk - a Ramones, Misifts, Dead Boys, Sham69, Dead Kennedys, Meatmen, etc. etc. - punk. The fact that my classmates, who had up till then been listening to MC Hammer and whatever else was on the radio, were now coming to school in Docs and dying purple streaks in their hair, made my young blood boil. It wasn't till years later that I realized Nirvana was actually a really good band. Not my cup of tea in some ways, but a damn good band none the less. I still like all the old punk stuff, (I'm listening to The Dead Boys as I type this,) but because I eventually learned to be open minded about different musical styles, my tastes have expanded.

 

[Vanillaphant]

One of the first bands I liked of my own accord was the Beautiful South, this was alongside all the Britpop stuff such as Pulp, Cast, Lightning Seeds, James, Blur - all of this material I still very much enjoy.

The Beautiful South were another band I was exposed to from a young age and still enjoy now. (And the Housemartins of course.) 🙂

No mention of Oasis I see! Does this mean you were on the side of Blur in the Britpop battle of the bands? 😛 I was very much in the Oasis corner; though in time I came to dislike Oasis (they spent most of their career being their own best tribute band), and warmed to Blur later.

I think the UK charts have much more strength and variety now than they did 10 years ago

Yeah… I suppose this is true. What I think is also true, however, is that 10/15 years ago there was a greater disparity between music that was a genuine artistic expression and music that was just cynical money-making cack. You tended to know where you stood with any given artist in this respect. I think that the art and the industry are now more intertwined than ever, with the result that many consumers are being duped into believing they’re supporting pop stars with genuine artistic integrity (cos they have a ‘strong image’ and a sassy attitude or whatever), when in fact, musically speaking, a lot of it is still insipid dirge. The capitalist element of the industry has become more implicit is all – and therefore more palatable to the consumer. Such is my opinion, anyway. (Or it could just be that I’m becoming a grumpy bastard. lol)

I recently realised that the female voice rather dominates my playlists, so I've also been listening to a lot of male songwriters - Richard Hawley, Lou Reed, Cat Stevens, Rodriguez, Frank Zappa. As well as some 70s/80s male bands - The Cure, Echo and the Bunnymen, Prefab Sprout, Thompson Twins

Weird you should mention Prefab Sprout. The chorus of their song The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll I’d heard several times… But up until about two weeks ago, I’d never given the song a proper listen. I was surprised at how much I liked it! It’s so ridiculously 80s – but consciously so, I think. The lyrics are obviously tongue-in-cheek. And the video is ludicrous! Puts me in a good mood. 🙂

It wasn't till years later that I realized Nirvana was actually a really good band.

Good to know you came round in the end! 😀 In Utero is still one of my favourite albums.

 

[teamtickleguy]

No mention of Oasis I see! Does this mean you were on the side of Blur in the Britpop battle of the bands?

-- Haha! Yes, I made a glaring but deliberate omission - I certainly knew more Oasis songs than Blur songs at the time, so either my friends were more into them, or the radio stations I listened to played them more or something, but although I wasn't wild about them, I did (and still do) let off steam by driving to their music, or singing along loudly and jumping around when an Oasis played in a pub or something

In my final school assembly, our Head of Year played 'Stand by Me' and had the lyrics up on a projection screen, so 150 18 year old boys singing at the top of their voices. That moment stayed with me for sure.

I got into Blur slightly later, it's the sort of intelligent music you actually listen to, the sort of lyrics you pay attention to and the sort of music I'd actually buy and keep in my collection. Oasis I can take or leave.

Weird you should mention Prefab Sprout. The chorus of their song The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll I’d heard several times… But up until about two weeks ago, I’d never given the song a proper listen. I was surprised at how much I liked it! It’s so ridiculously 80s – but consciously so, I think. The lyrics are obviously tongue-in-cheek. And the video is ludicrous! Puts me in a good mood. 🙂

'The Old Magician' was the first song I hear by this band - another song that I enjoy the lyrics of.

 

[xionking]

Music has always been a huge part of my life, shaping me accordingly and helping me to develop more of an understanding of this somewhat messed up world we live in.

All through my years in school I was a metalhead. Metallica still to this day are my favourites. Then Slipknot, Devin Townsend, Machinehead, Korn. It cayered to my angst but it wasnt about that. It qas about the musicianship. The sound. The heaviness!!

I turned 18, House music took off here in 2005. Proper house music though. Not the edm garbage that hit the US shores in 2008-2009. Although full credit goes to the Chicago scene for being a huge influence of the sound that became House.

I initially loved heavy electro, it seemed to compliment my love of heavy metal. I even had a time where dubstep consumed my life 2009-2011. But that wave was shortlived.

My taste in House music has signifcantly changed as ive gotten a bit older. For me now, it's all about the groove, the funk, the boogie. Guys like Andhim, Super flu, Hot Since82, Dan Steinberg, nice day summer music.

Still love my metal. My roots will never get left behind, and I relish the opportunities to go and see my favourite bands live when they tour here.

In saying this, Im often complimented by my versitle tastes in music, able to easily accommodate to seeing Slipknot on a Saturday niggt, head straight into town to play a 2 hour house set, followed by an hour of edm thumpers for the kids, then finish up with reggae recoveries back at mine over joints, usually sprinkled with some Fleetwood Mac and Deathcab for Cutie.

 

[DontAskJusTckle]

I've always felt that music is a world within itself with a language we all understand, with an equal opportunity
for all to sing, dance and clap their hands.

As for my tastes, there's some variety involved. I like the old jazz like Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Dave Brubeck. I tend to favor thoughtful, atypical rhythms and time signatures. Stuff like Mahavishnu Orchestra, Billy Cobham, and especially Frank Zappa.

When I was very little, my mother used to listen to the radio all day. The FM stations she liked referred to their format as "Beautiful Music." Stuff from Percy Faith like Theme from a Summer Place or Moulin Rouge. My personal favorite from those long ago days is Aurthur Lyman's Yellowbird.

Those songs were the first music I fell in love with, but certainly not the last.

 

[Tornado of Soles]

I still remember the first CD I bought it was the batman and robin movie soundtrack i can't really remember who was on it but I bought it at a blockbuster store lol. When I got into 6th grade I loved blink 182 sum 41 green day and the offspring.when I got into 8th grade I got super into eminem and Dr dre and then when I was in high school got into zeppelin sabbath iron maiden guns n roses etc etc and now I pretty much listen to any hardcor, metal ,rock, country, rap dubstep punk pop I give it all a chance very cool thread I enjoyed reading everyone's responses 🙂 cool thread

 

[Amnesiac]

I used to listen to Vanilla Ice back in 1990, like everybody else in my class, so that's DEFINITELY a "What the hell was that all about?" moment.

Unfortunately, I can't say it was "The Drugs." It wasn't.

I find that my tastes remain the same as when I was in high school, but I've learned to branch out and develop a liking to the stuff that's connected to it in a way. I never listened to Led Zeppelin or Pink Floyd in high school, but they were big influences on the Grunge music that I cut my teeth on, so I was able to backtrack it (Zeppelin music was never in movies and never played on TV which is why I never heard them, because I didn't listen to classic rock). By the same token, I'm able to listen to new music that has its roots in that classic music and I find that the new music and old music that have the same sonic and topical foundation are what's appealing to me, regardless of what generation.

Except Emo. 'Cause FUCK Jimmy Eat World, that's why.

Curiously, though, I find that oftentimes, the influences are split: for instance, I might listen to a band that was influenced by both Bad Company and The Smiths, but while I listen to Bad Company, I don't listen to The Smiths. There does seem to be a disconnect between certain genres of certain decades for me (British Synth-Pop vs. American New Wave, for instance).

However, as I age, I find that I start liking music I hated. I always liked The Spice Girls--although you'd have had to cut off a few fingers to get me to admit it back in 1997--but I always HATED Backstreet Boys and N'Sync. Nowadays, whenever I hear songs from either band on the radio or loudspeaker, I find myself listening to it fondly. Not because I've developed a TASTE for the music, but because as long as I'm listening to it, my brain is back in 199_ and not 2015.

At least THIS future looked brighter than the one we got.

But I will NEVER EVER EVER like NuMetal. I tuned that shit out when it was new.

'Cause FUCK Linkin Park, that's why.