The legend that is Oreo the Chihuahua. Absolutely no fear, and sometimes, doesn't fully apply his brain cells. But we love him just the same.
As I've gotten older, I've often wondered from time to time, if my musical tastes had really changed in the past 47+ years of my existence {the starting point would be 1976}.
Like the majority of people, I was initially exposed to what my parents were listening to, which in this case was 50's rock, late 60's folk and early 70's country. All of which at the time, I really didn't like much. I also would listen to the 70's pop when it was actually fresh, and not super stale like it is now. And most importantly for this post, I had my first real exposure to both classical and 40's pop, courtesy of that well known animation company of our childhood: Warner Bros.
In the preceding decades, I've grown to appreciate classical music, to the point where I would often tune into it on the car radio and in one memorable instance three straight weeks on YouTube. I've also revisited a portion of the music from my childhood {60's folk and 70's}, and subsequently acquired a deeper appreciation of those genres. But, one might ask, did your musical tastes actually change in your later years? I believe it has radically changed, and for the better.
During the 25+ years spent working for the state of Connecticut, I was exposed to the endless wonders of college/independent radio. We have three very good college stations near where I live {Univ of Hartford, Trinity College and Wesleyan Univ} and subsequently I was exposed to genres that I never really thought too much about or even knew existed.
Under the rock genre, I was exposed to the 50's rock that was either high on the regional charts or near the absolute bottom of the national charts; I was soon exposed to the heavy metal genre {mostly through film and book at first} and the sub-genres, which was quickly followed by punk music of the late 70's/early 80's {e.g. Dead Kennedys and Sex Pistols}; under the "oddities" classification, I was exposed to all forms of jazz music {note, I really detest the heavy brass versions of jazz}; all types of Bluegrass, cartoon music and a newish genre called Americana {note: this is still one my favorite songs from that later genre, Happy Boy}
Again, all of this took place after the age of 30, so as you can see, I came in way late to the musical exposure game. However, that isn't to say that I went hog wild with the other types not previously mentioned. There are a few that I have either developed an overall dislike that has mellowed over the years to the point where I will sample it from time to time {e.g. rap, electronica, pop and country pop}, or just simply an intense dislike that will never change {e.g. today's R&B and death metal}.
So to answer the question, has my musical tastes really changed all that much? Perhaps. I mean, in an indirect way, college radio had/has both opened and reopened my musical horizons. When I say "opened", it has allowed me to explore other types of genres at my own pace and at my own speed {for example, jazz is a genre that you really do need to explore at your own pace}; and when I say "reopened", it has allowed me to revisit and reexamine the music from my youth, and actually gain a level of appreciation that I still enjoy to this day.
Also in an indirect way, my children have showed me how to look at their music with a slightly less critical eye than previously. I still don't quite understand/like huge swathes of their music, but now I'm a shade more open minded about listening to it {occasionally being trapped in a car will often force you to confront music that otherwise wouldn't be on your radar}.
There are still certain types/eras of music that I absolutely will not listen to unless I am truly desperate, like classic rock from the Rollicking Stone/Fred Zeppelin era to the Glam Metal era {that's mid 1960's thru the late 1980's}, the 1st/2nd wave of Alternative {1990 thru early 2000's} and roughly 97% of today's country pop {mid 2000's to the present}.
There is, however, one particular type of music that has spurred me on to explore different genres: cover songs. College radio, and to a lesser extent, a particular channel {Covers} on the Internet station SomaFM, have played cover songs that go above and beyond what you would tiredly hear on commercial radio {ex: I heard a cover of "I Fought The Law" by the Dead Kennedys that prompted me to explore their music}. Most of the artists that performed those covers would often prompt me to explore that artist's catalog, with very good results.
I think I will stick with my answer of "Perhaps". I still listen to most of the same music from my youth, but I have accentuated/enhanced that music with other types that in turn has made me a more well rounded, musically that is, individual. And isn't that what we all strive for in our lives?
I think you have quite a wide and varied taste in music, especially because of your interest in independent/college radio. A taste for jazz and classical music is also noteworthy compared to most people.
ReplyDeleteThanks. Classical was an early exposure, both with cartoons and playing it in school, but jazz was definitely a pleasantly late exposure. I think what made it more acceptable to me was that the primary stations that I would listen to heavily featured jazz programming during my work week (about 20+ hours a week), so it became my default white noise.
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