As some of you may know, I deeply like old rock music from the ‘70s and ‘80s, and it goes way beyond the usual popular stuff. I’ll even take the time to listen to albums that contain songs receiving little to no exposure on the radio, usually by forgotten bands that most haven’t heard of.
I’d say the most unknown band that’s in my library at the moment is Bloody Mary: a U.S. hard rock band from 1974 that is so obscure, no one knows who the band members were as their sole album doesn’t feature songwriting or performer credits. It didn’t help that the record was released through the unsuccessful and unmarketable Paramount Records (yes, a division of the movie studio; they had a record label at one point), and the “mystery” members broke up after its release. Yep, that’s that.
Other than rock music, I like most things old in general. Pop, funk, fusion, alternative, glam, metal, electronic, ambient/new age, ‘90s DnB, disco (yep), and so on. For some reason, new music just doesn’t sound right to me. Maybe it’s because of older analog recordings sounding more genuine and rich, or more so due to the fact that I can’t understand current music trends that are sometimes god awful to bear with. As a result, new rap music sounds horrible to me, alongside auto-tuned pop garbage and songs that try to give a “chill” vibe, but end up boring me. Music these days just doesn’t sound very authentic to me.
A long, long time ago, musicians in the ‘60s did not have advanced mixing technologies and capabilities, therefore most of the stuff recorded then were from actual instruments that were recorded live in multiple takes. Take a listen to The Beatles’ Anthology albums for example, and you’ll gain an understanding of what the fab four and George Martin had to do to make the songs we know and love today. Same thing goes for Pink Floyd and their early ‘70s stuff, though through more complicated methods.
I credit my dad for making me appreciate all the old music that’s available to me. He’s a big fan of Electric Light Orchestra, and I suppose I got influenced by him playing their albums all the time. Forget what’s popular on the charts; I’m good with the oldies.
As for sub-genres, my favorite is definitely nu-metal, but I'm also a fan of death, thrash, power, and alternative metal! I occasionally listen to rock, emo, and grunge music as well.
