<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Meh @ Apr 29 2009, 07:31 PM)
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Hmm...
Pink Floyd, Porcupine Tree, Muse, The Mars Volta, Radiohead, Sigur Ros, Jeff Buckley... is my type of music.
I do like falsetto a fair but and anything that takes music to a higher level. I'm not one for three/four chord songs on shredding guitar by mop haired superstars - so no Oasis or any of that landfill indie that infests the charts for me![/b]
I heart Hall's music taste. Can't wait to see the Mars Volta in Oxegen, though besides Francis the Mute I don't think they've produced any great albums. Francis the Mute however is simply amazing.
As for my own music taste.
I stayed quite indifferent to music untill about 4 years ago, when at the ripe old age of 15 I came along some rocking. First of course it was the very easily accessable world of heavy-rock. A couple of catchy Darkness songs kicked that off and I grew to like bands such as System of a Down which I could generally rock along to. This has been left behind for the most part as it's all very simple for my liking but it was an important stepping stone...
But then I found Led Zeppelin III in the living room...and from there it bloomed. I still consider them one of the greatest rock bands ever. Their diverse range, excellent individual talents which seemingly fuse effortlessly into one. The Eagles are considered the band the produced much of the great acoustic work of the era but I think LZ more than match them for that. They dabble in various other genres and Led Zeppelin and Led Zeppelin II of course set the scene for the arrival of heavy rock due to their heavier take on the rock-blues of the time.
The late 60s and and 70s held my imagination for a long time. From the witty British Invasion bands through to the emergence of the likes of Deep Purple and Black sabbath. The 80s are a lost cause to me. When I think of 80s all I can think of are the artificial Hair-rock bands with limited talent and an anthem writing machine. The best thing to emerge from the era was the influence of the keyboard which would inspire the indie 'dream pop' revolution of the mid 90s, the Red Hot Chilli Peppers and a want for musical change that manifested in the emergence of grunge.
I can sense a sigh of discontent that generally comes with the word grunge, but the depth of grunge is often underestimated. The winding and seemingly irrellivant solos I accept are an unwanted side-dish to a music that's often reminiscent of the 70s. Chris Cornell's early vocals (before his vocal-chords were shredded by smoking an who knows what else) bring back memories of robert Plant in the Immigrant Song. The likes of Pearl Jam's debut album Ten are full of songs of raw emotion that refuses to distract from the music itself. The influence of Nirvana on an entire generation can't be forgotton and there are various groups besides the big Seattle 4 often forgotton but just as important. Many of these forgottan bands are those 'supergroups' formed by members of members of the big four
et al. This closeness and sense of community shines again reflects back to us what the Grunge scene really was...a reincarnation of true rock. For when else was the great age of supergroups but the late 60s and 70s when the world was blessed with the likes of CSN & Y and Cream.
Lest I forget another great benefit of Grunge I deliver message of the reaction from Britian to this new wave of popular American aritists infringing on the Biritish Charts. I give you Brit-Pop. Very different to what's emerging in Seattle at the same time but equally influential. The likes of Oasis remind us of the Beatles (some would even say a poor impersonation) and Pulp and Blur dealing with many social issues of the time. Music by the people for the people?? A stark contrast to the glam-ballads about being a rockstar.
What of now? Our first post mentioned the popularity of poor quality emo. Screamo and Emo have the same unforunate ratio of talentless pretenders : musical maestros as most other genres. Unfortunately it's the talentless who often succeed in that market. In the ranks of those who experiment (Radiohead) or slowly build a fanbase (Elbow) we still see a steady stream of great rock bands emerge. Every generation is plagued by the popularity of manufactured homogenous bands loved by those who are little more than indiffereent (or simply bandwagoners). It's the bands we remember in ten years time that I'm usually listening to. I rarely delve in the music of the moment.
I do however see an emergence of bands willing to expeiment with complicated math-rock and eloctronic productions with great talents. Songs like Atlas by Battles assure me that something new is always around the corner and this era is no write off for musical talent.
I also like to delve in some forms of Metal and more experimental classical music. But that's for another day. At the moment I'm sliding towards sould and blues...with Billy Withers and Bobby Bland coming to mind, unchartered waters for me that I look forward to washing my hands in.
Why do I like the music I like? Not because it's what's cool at the time. or what sells. But because some musician wanted to write it, and developed it with care and though influenced by something he heard written with thought and care. It's then that I want to listen with both thought and care. This the music I grow attached to. When something is grown with care it is easy to care for it.
