What music genre or artist changed your life?
Like, actually influenced your life going forward?
Animals as Leaders has spoken so much too me without words at all. Essentially, djent and progressive metal as a whole has done this, but this band in particular has been magic. As a musician myself, I find listening to this really technical music inspired me to go to a higher level in music, and AAL was my main source of inspiration to do so.
Tosin Abasi is ridiculously talented, I can’t think of a more technically skilled guitar player.
This might sound stupid as hell, but vaporwave music. It captures the essence of a feeling I’ve had since the mid 2000’s, but could never articulate in words. Then I read this thing about its anticapitalist roots, and I felt even more seen.
Hearing ambient for the first time (specifically Eno’s Music for Airports) was an epiphany. It fits the inside of my head.
Aphex Twin
I was listening to Jonathan Coulton on the drive to an unfulfilling job that I probably would have just kept doing forever because change is hard and scary. I was sitting there that day with “A Talk with George” stuck in my head on a loop.
Don’t live another day unless you make it count
There’s someone else that you’re supposed to be
'Cause something deep inside of you that still wants out
And shame on you if you don’t set it freeThat was the day I walked out the door, sent in my resignation, and started a career that made a lot better use of my skills.
Shoegaze and dream pop.
I will always remember the first day I listened to the otherworldly guitars of my bloody valentine, or the combination of the haunting dreamy vocals and guitars of Cocteau Twins.
I did not know music could sound so mystical and magical. It’s like being in another world’s soundscape.
Huh. Never heard of this before and so far it’s… Interesting. Side note, I have ADHD and autism so if this sounds negative or judgy that’s not my goa l- I’m not trying to come across as negative here, just sharing my first experience of this.
First few songs I’ve found and the overall sound is kinda grating on me, there’s a lot of dissonance and it feels like all the instruments and vocals are competing with each other for my attention. The vocals sound like the singers are too far away from the microphone and turned down too far in the mix, but still trying to compete with the (already loud+dissonant) rest of the track. It almost feels like unorganized chaos in a musical trenchcoat if that makes sense.
I had to turn off the playlist I found after four songs, my head is already so noisy that something so loud (broadband noise if that makes sense) makes me feel horrible.
I don’t like to hate on music, and I find that there’s some artistic merit to most genres… But this feels in my head like anti-art, I think? Where it’s clear that the people making it have talent and ability and are using it to purposely make something unsettling.
Can you expand on what’s supposed to make this enjoyable? I want to appreciate the artistic value but I’m really struggling to find it.
Hello there Hexarei. I am glad you checked it out and found it at the very least interesting. I get nervous in real life when i introduce Shoegaze to people, because I am afraid they will think it sounds…off. And then I have difficulty explaining why it sounds great to me.
Okay, I am going to assume you listened to My Bloody Valentine. The music sounds hazy and distorted, and the vocals and lyrics are unclear.
This is because the they use a lot of guitar pedal effects (reverb, delay, distortion, etc) and specific tunings to achieve the wall of sound. The vocals are buried along side the guitar effects, as it is meant to be part of the “sound”, like the vocals are another instrument in the song. The melodies are buried under all that wall of sound.
I admit MBV can sound distortion heavy and intimidating, especially their earlier stuff, where it has that punk rock energy vibe.
The beauty of Shoegaze is that there are many varieties or flavours. Some are noisy and have more emphasis of distortion, while some focus more on the droning post rock vibe, and there are others that are more mellow and chill. But it’s all to achieve that specific textured sound. That dreamy atmosphere feel, being half awake at 3am.
Maybe you can try something more mellow and chill like Slowdive
Or something more poppy like Chapterhouse
Fuckin love MBV, it’s like a massage for your brain.
Punk.
I’d been pondering a change in career anyway, but I was at work one hot summer’s day, sweating my arse off, listening to my tunes on the stereo in the workshop. Pennywise - Same Old Story came on and something clicked in me. Cycled past a tiny local radio station on the way home, went in to ask how to volunteer my help, and a couple of months later I was starting on a radio production degree.
That track still fires me up to this day.
@DJDarren Oh yeah, Punk never died. It changed me completely.
Arcade Fire saved me from religion and now speaks to me on a religious level. M83 speaks to me on a celestial level. Both have deepened my love for music.
The first album I heard from M83 was Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts, and it’s been my favorite ever since. Highly recommend playing that one front to back if you have the time, it’s an adventure.
I can’t pick just one band, however, I clearly remember the first time I listened to
- Black metal as a genre
- Aphex Twin
- Aenima by Tool
- Traversee by Year of no light
- Black Sabbath
- Industrial Rock in general and Downward Spiral by Nine Inch Nails in particular
- Hyperballad by Björk
I’m sure there are more if I think for longer.
I wasn’t really in to music until a friend introduced me to Dragonforce. Little did I know that would be my gateway band to all sorts of metal genres. Depending on the mood I now mostly listen to atmo black, folk, prog, melo death, and of course power still holds a special place.
Dubstep, more specifically an artist called MARAUDA. It sounded insane and chaotic to me at first which is why it got me obsessed. The more I listen to it I realize the kind of art that it is and I love it so much.
Punk > indie > hip hop > jazz, roots, Americana, > all
I play music and I love almost all music styles as long as there is a weighty performance and evokes the human spirit.
There is just something about creation itself that I find beautiful, and there is no one genre or artist that changed my perspective.
If there was it’d be this band Subtle. That informed a lot of my ideas on what good art even means.
My favorite guitar player is Richard Thompson.
I have a bunch of fav drummers, buy anyone who’s got soul is worth a listen.
I think that’s the point. There is no best, there is only you.
I think poetry changed my musical identity more than music itself.
Jrock, specifically The Pillows, which lead to dozens of other jrock band discoveries. I don’t listen to it much anymore but it defined me and my friends from the years 16-26
Honestly it was classical. I had a music appreciation class in high school and the teacher was incredible, ended up being a step by step historical analysis of how music changed over the years and how it’s all connected from Ancient Greece all the way to Tupac. I truly believe that there isn’t another musical genre that has the ability to capture such a wide range of emotions with such pinpoint accuracy as classical music without having to rely on any lyrics to explain what’s going on. What would the musical equivalent of falling down the steps sound like? Losing a loved one? Getting lost in the Sahara? Riding a bike through Paris in 1925? Traveling to different planets? It made me realize how limited other genres are because they’re so stuck in their own mold and can barely wiggle out of the predefined standards of what that genre requires. It doesn’t make that music any less important, but it’s interesting to think about.
Always wanted to get into classical music for this very reason but it’s hard to find an entry point. My dopamine seeking brain doesn’t help either
Start with newer film scores that have 100% live orchestras (Zimmer and most modern film scores would be the opposite of this) and work your way backward.
John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, James Horner, Elliot Goldenthal, Danny Elfman - most these men utilize classical composition and most of their scores feature live players with small exception.
Think about why you listen to your favorite music and what meaning you get out of the music. Is it to project an image of yourself to other people so they understand you? Do you listen to stay current? What are you listening for? A beat? Dissonance? Do you have to turn the music up so loud that you can physically feel it in order to… emotionally feel it? Why? Is a whisper not as powerful as a scream? What does silence mean to you? What does sadness sound like to you? Joy? Bravery? Betrayal? Jealousy? -These were all questions my music appreciation teacher asked us.
You might enjoy Karl Haas’ Adventures in Good Music radio show. There are some preserved on the internet archive.
Sounds good! I’m going to listen it on the way to work tomorrow morning!
Rare Americans. Baggage and moving on are the two songs that had a large influence when going through a divorce.
