Music: What single artist most drastically affected your taste in music?

[beowulf]

Honestly I don't think there is one artist that shaped my taste the most. It's a combination of a lot of things.

Like every white kid, I loved Eminem when I was younger, and he is what got me interested in both hip-hop and music in general. My dad was always listening to dad rock in the house and car and that's what got me into guitar music. MF DOOM (Madvillainy in particular) is who got me interested in music outside of the mainstream, and I just went down the rabbit hole from there into other genres.

Most recently it's been My Bloody Valentine and Sweet Trip. Of course I loved Loveless on first listen and that made me check out other shoegaze artists that I now like as well (Slowdive, Ride, Swirlies, etc.). Sweet Trip is more of an anomaly. Their second album is incredible and has quickly become one of my favourite albums of all time. I'm now desperately seeking more albums like it.

As far as the music I make goes, of course I wanted to rap like Eminem when I was younger and that led to me making my own boom bap-style hip-hop beats. I still do that but now the stuff I make is mostly an amalgamation of what I'm listening to at the time. I'm going to start up an electronic/shoegaze band with my friend as soon as I'm not horrible at guitar.

What?

 

[WeThreeKings]

Tool.

Theres just no band in the world where the drums are this ****ing good.

 

[Mikeaveli]

What?

Most other white kids I knew loved him and wanted to be like him like I did. Also this wasn't even at the peak of his popularity. I'm talking Relapse/Recovery era.

 

[Osprey]

I used to listen mostly to 80s music (the stuff that I grew up with) and had a low opinion of most music since. About 8 years ago, though, hearing one or two of Lady Gaga's early hits made me curious enough to listen to her first couple of albums. I liked them enough that I wanted to hear more like them and eventually listened to every Taylor Swift, Katy Perry and Carly Rae Jepsen album, as well. Now, I listen to those artists at least as much as I listen to the stuff that I grew up with. It also allowed me to be more receptive to and like 90s pop artists that I turned my nose up at at the time.

Basically, I went from being a snob with narrow, nostalgia-limited tastes to appreciating a wider spectrum and from having a thing against all modern music to listening to and liking a fair share of it. For the most part, it was all kickstarted by taking a liking to a few Lady Gaga songs, which is something that I never would've guessed would happen a decade ago. Sometimes, I can't believe that this middle-aged dude with classic hard rock tastes now likes some of the music that I do. It's like I don't know myself anymore.

 

[KirkOut]

Hearing Led Zeppelin for the first time as a 13 year old opened the door

 

[WarriorOfGandhi]

the first time I listened to Mars Volta they instantly became my favorite band

 

[Pharrell Williams]

Honestly I don't think there is one artist that shaped my taste the most. It's a combination of a lot of things.

Like every white kid, I loved Eminem when I was younger, and he is what got me interested in both hip-hop and music in general. My dad was always listening to dad rock in the house and car and that's what got me into guitar music. MF DOOM (Madvillainy in particular) is who got me interested in music outside of the mainstream, and I just went down the rabbit hole from there into other genres.

Most recently it's been My Bloody Valentine and Sweet Trip. Of course I loved Loveless on first listen and that made me check out other shoegaze artists that I now like as well (Slowdive, Ride, Swirlies, etc.). Sweet Trip is more of an anomaly. Their second album is incredible and has quickly become one of my favourite albums of all time. I'm now desperately seeking more albums like it.

As far as the music I make goes, of course I wanted to rap like Eminem when I was younger and that led to me making my own boom bap-style hip-hop beats. I still do that but now the stuff I make is mostly an amalgamation of what I'm listening to at the time. I'm going to start up an electronic/shoegaze band with my friend as soon as I'm not horrible at guitar.

you should be the pioneer of shoegaze hip-hop. i think maybe that would be milo though...

 

[Ben Matlock]

David Bowie.

I miss David Bowie.

 

[beowulf]

Most other white kids I knew loved him and wanted to be like him like I did. Also this wasn't even at the peak of his popularity. I'm talking Relapse/Recovery era.

I do not know one person that listened to him and certainly didn't want to emulate him.

 

[Mikeaveli]

you should be the pioneer of shoegaze hip-hop. i think maybe that would be milo though...

The group Dalek was doing it in the early 2000s. It's a really cool style.

I do not know one person that listened to him and certainly didn't want to emulate him.

Go to the YouTube comments of any Eminem song and see it for yourself . People still love him to this day. Hell go listen to Earl Sweatshirt's debut mixtape from around the same period I was talking about. It reeks of Eminem.

 

[Pharrell Williams]

I do not know one person that listened to him and certainly didn't want to emulate him.

did you not grow up in the suburbs in the early 2000s, because every white girl loved eminem. i think they still do.

15.48% of my facebook friends like eminem on facebook.

 

[kmad]

Aesop Rock, no question.

Never liked hip hop, thought it was stupid. Believed the cliche that everyone just sung about cars and money.

Aesop hooked me with his lyricism. I started to appreciate other aspects of his music including the beats and the flow, and that opened the door to me appreciating artists who were stronger in those areas.

Now I listen to hip hop more than anything.

 

[Chubbinz]

Hendrix awoke my musical soul. Mr. Bungle touched that soul in the no no spot and sent me off into musical tangents I never would have considered.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

the first time I listened to Mars Volta they instantly became my favorite band

I kinda sorta have that feeling with Captain Beefheart. If Peon wasn't the first song I'd ever heard from the band - and hadn't been hooked after the first listen - I don't know how willing I'd have been to listen to his other stuff, since it's very challenging and still, some of it still doesn't work for me.

 

[Shareefruck]

I kinda sorta have that feeling with Captain Beefheart. If Peon wasn't the first song I'd ever heard from the band - and hadn't been hooked after the first listen - I don't know how willing I'd have been to listen to his other stuff, since it's very challenging and still, some of it still doesn't work for me.

That's pretty lucky. I think most people get exposed to the intrigue of Trout Mask Replica first, and spend years and years confused and frustrated by what they're missing before finally warming up to it. (even partially) Liking Beefheart right away or early on is completely unheard of, from what I've seen.

I had a love/hate relationship with it for at least 5 years.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Trout Mask Replica tore off the top of my head and ripped up my brain up like a pitbull with a pillow. It was the most audacious and inconceivable thing I had ever heard, and I couldn't stop laughing.

To me, that's what great art should do. I started thinking about music differently that day.

 

[Know Your Enemy]

That's pretty lucky. I think most people get exposed to the intrigue of Trout Mask Replica first, and spend years and years confused and frustrated by what they're missing before finally warming up to it. (even partially) Liking Beefheart right away or early on is completely unheard of, from what I've seen.

I had a love/hate relationship with it for at least 5 years.

I really liked Safe as Milk the first time I heard it. I had already listened to a lot of other "weird" bands though, so that probably helped. I've listened to Trout Mask Replica 3 times now and I also like that album. Right now it's a 3/5 and Ant Man Bee is one of my favorite songs

 

[Shareefruck]

It's interesting how with music, it really helps to sort of slowly work your way up an invisible staircase of accessibility.

When I was younger, only awful formulaic radio pop seemed listenable to me, but after I quickly got sick of it and it started to sound grating, acclaimed modern-ish stuff like Arcade Fire/Radiohead/Modest Mouse started to interest me, but I still didn't understand why anybody enjoyed the old classics. Then once I got comfortable with the (now obnoxious to my ears) Pitchfork-y cannon, the first level of that whole Stones/Beatles/Zeppelin/Pink Floyd thing clicked and seemed a cut above the modern stuff to me (with the weirder old stuff still seeming completely indecipherable). Then once I got comfortable with the normal classic stuff, the Velvet Underground/Brian Eno/Joy Division/Dylan/Punk/Post Punk/New Wave level suddenly opened up (some of the classics now seeming a little bland, safe and uninspired in comparison), which only after that lead to Krautrock/Ambient/Jazz/IDM level clicking, and then after that, the Beefheart/Free-Jazz/Minimalism stuff that I seem to like most now, and I assume it's just supposed to go on and on like that. Each progressive step initially seemed unfathomable before I had firm footing on the previous one.

I had tried Trout Mask Replica early on (around when I first started opening up to older music) and it was a complete disaster to my ears, but each time one of those stages opened up for me, TMR sounded a little less unlistenable, and now it's one of my favorite albums.

Then when you hear opinions from people who appear to suspiciously fit in one of those categories, complaining about one of the more challenging ones, it's tough not to make assumptions about them potentially going through the same thing without knowing it, and you risk being an ***-hole about it if you're not careful and jump to conclusions.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

That's pretty lucky. I think most people get exposed to the intrigue of Trout Mask Replica first, and spend years and years confused and frustrated by what they're missing before finally warming up to it. (even partially) Liking Beefheart right away or early on is completely unheard of, from what I've seen.

I had a love/hate relationship with it for at least 5 years.

Well, I still do struggle with a lot of Trout Mask Replica but I love Lick My Decals Off, Baby although it's similarly challenging.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

I really liked Safe as Milk the first time I heard it. I had already listened to a lot of other "weird" bands though, so that probably helped. I've listened to Trout Mask Replica 3 times now and I also like that album. Right now it's a 3/5 and Ant Man Bee is one of my favorite songs

Safe as Milk is great but I don't think it's anywhere near as weird as albums like Trout Mask Replica or Lick My Decals Off, Baby. For example, I showed a buddy of mine Electricity and Abba Zaba and he was able to kind of dig/bob his head to it right away, whereas Peon sent him into a 15 minute rant about how baffled he was that anyone could like this - and then played it to his mother and sister who are musicians, to try to prove a point - and to this day, still makes a grimace when I mention Beefheart.

 

[kook10]

Safe as Milk is great but I don't think it's anywhere near as weird as albums like Trout Mask Replica or Lick My Decals Off, Baby. For example, I showed a buddy of mine Electricity and Abba Zaba and he was able to kind of dig/bob his head to it right away, whereas Peon sent him into a 15 minute rant about how baffled he was that anyone could like this - and then played it to his mother and sister who are musicians, to try to prove a point - and to this day, still makes a grimace when I mention Beefheart.

I am probably more in your buddy's camp. Some music is made to be appreciated as art, but not necessarily provide joy in listening. I will never get the people who cream their jeans over Stockhausen and poopoo a 4/4 beat. It's like they lack the visceral connection to music and it should rather be viewed under glass. I encourage everyone to bash the hell out of a drum set or better yet stand in front of a dimed Marshall stack just once. Now, that will affect your taste in music.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

I am probably more in your buddy's camp. Some music is made to be appreciated as art, but not necessarily provide joy in listening. I will never get the people who cream their jeans over Stockhausen and poopoo a 4/4 beat. It's like they lack the visceral connection to music and it should rather be viewed under glass. I encourage everyone to bash the hell out of a drum set or better yet stand in front of a dimed Marshall stack just once. Now, that will affect your taste in music.

I can't get behind that sentiment frankly. How can you truly appreciate a work of art - unless we have a different definition of appreciation - if you don't get any sense of enjoyment out of it? I will say though, to this day, I still don't understand the point/idea behind John Cage's 4'33. I'd love to have someone explain it to me.

 

[kook10]

I can't get behind that sentiment frankly. How can you truly appreciate a work of art - unless we have a different definition of appreciation - if you don't get any sense of enjoyment out of it? I will say though, to this day, I still don't understand the point/idea behind John Cage's 4'33. I'd love to have someone explain it to me.

Well I define appreciation as the understanding and recognition or acknowledgment of something's merit. For instance, I can appreciate Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, Trans Siberian Orchestra, and Frank Zappa et al, but I do not enjoy listening to them.

Most acts, including most of them above consider the audience's enjoyment in making music, or their sensibilities coincide with their audiences and so the music resonates. Sometimes musicians disregard audience enjoyment or common (even their own) sensibilities in favor of their art (or just self indulgence). I think Beefheart does that much more than most. I can see and appreciate what he did as an artistic endeavor and its impact, but doesn't make for an enjoyable listen for me.

John Cage similarly sought to challenge people's notions of what music is. I can appreciate that he wanted to demonstrate that 4 minutes 33 seconds of the sounds of a befuddled audience was music as much as traditional instruments. Does it make it enjoyable? Not particularly.

 

[Runner77]

It would have to be three artists for three different styles of music.

Metallica for me into metal as ...and justice for all just blew me away when I got it in 1989. Right after getting it I went out and got all their previous albums and started listening to heavier music in general like Iron Maiden, Megadeth, etc.

Rush for prog rock/metal. I still remember the first time I heard Tom Sawyer, I just found it amazing and from their became a Rush fan and started learning more about prog music and buying prog albums. I realize that I really loved albums that had a story that was woven in all the songs. Especially these days with the popularity in mainstream music of using online services to listen to one song. Listening to a whole album from start to finish seems to be a lost pastime.

Finally Joe Satriani. First album I listening to was lent to me by a buddy in 9th grade, Flying in a Blue Dream. Was amazed what he could do with a guitar and have been a huge fan ever since. I then branched out to more instrumental music with amazing guitarists.

For me it was Deep Purple, with the albums In Rock and Machine Head. I followed guitarist Richie Blackmore after he split from the band and saw him live with Rainbow but nothing he did with Rainbow came close to his previous gig.

Another album I got into was Frampton Comes Alive. Frampton's melodic guitar work and intricate solos on Do You Feel Like We Do remain a favorite.

From that, I got into prog, which is where like you, I followed Rush. I too loved Tom Sawyer. Another song that gets overlooked and in my view, features one of Lifeson's best guitar sequences is Trees -- if you can isolate his playing on that song, the melody is so infectuous. Too bad it's drowned out by Geddy Lee's playing. If you can catch someone doing a cover of just the guitar work on that song, it would provide a good idea of its appeal.

That led me to pursue a ton of other musical styles, including fusion, funk, electronic music and rock in all of its forms. I've gone off the beaten path a bit looking for that prog fix. My favorite prog piece is PFM's Harlequin. The composition is sublime, the execution is masterful, only the singing is not as good as I would have liked. Still, only a mild irritant, the music more than makes up for it.

 

[Trap Jesus]

MF DOOM for me. I was a pretty casual hip hop fan growing up, who just listened to the likes of Eminem, Jay-Z, Outkast, etc. every once in a while; the usual big-name artists of the early/mid 2000s.

I don't think it was until the later part of the 2000s that I heard Madvillainy, and it completed changed my view on hip hop and made me way more interested to delve deeper into the genre. I don't remember how or why I listened to it, may have been seeing it mentioned on a forum or something, but I did. After hearing that, I got into MF DOOM's then fully-formed discography and numerous different features, and started branching out to other "underground" artists after that. Artists like Aesop Rock and El-P became new favorites. Just kind of a spiral after that, going back to listen to 90s stuff like Wu-Tang (I still remember only knowing "Gravel Pit" out of their entire discography, not even "C.R.E.A.M."), and almost every other subset of hip hop you want to name, right up to the trap music of today. Hip hop is now easily my most listened-to genre.