Branching out Your Music Taste

[Kizyr]

Was there ever a point when you finally branched off and started listening to formats of music you never heard or had stumbled on? I know when I was at least 15-18, that I wouldn't listen to country or hip hop at all. Mostly because I didn't think any of it was any good (I'm not saying much of it is, but that's because of broadcast radio I guess), but after listening to some of it, I can't say I hate it anymore.

Or maybe a better question, what kind of music had really struck a chord with you? What had made a defining point for you? Has music ever done that for you?

Interestingly enough, there's some similarity with me there.

I grew up listening to country music (I was born in Nashville, so it wasn't that surprising). Around middle school, I tried to listen to what I thought was "popular". In high school, I finally realized that I'd rather listen to what I thought was good, particularly since everyone else's tastes conflicted (some people hate country, some hate rap, some hate rock, when I tended to like whatever sounded good regardless of the genre).

Oh, the one constant was video game and anime soundtracks. I always liked that.

So, it was probably around high school that I just started listening to whatever and stumbled upon a lot of things that I liked. This was also the "good days" of Napster, so there was easy access to anything I felt like giving a try. I ended up getting a little bit back into country, back into qawwali (which my father listens to), into J-Rock, and into various Latino genres. In college, I added French rap/R&B, Japanese hip hop, and various Arab genres to that (plus some other genres that I'm sure if I thought long enough I could recall).

The local music scene in Nashville is ridiculously vibrant, also. While I was living there, I had a few friends involved in it, so I got to see some of that. But... since moving away, I don't have the time or energy to look into the local scene here. KF

[SLyGeN]

after I got over the vocals, and others.

Harsh vocals are definitely an acquired taste, and it took me some time as well. I had to ignore it at first, but now I find that sometimes it adds to the music. It's almost like percussion, if the words are spoken correctly. Sometimes it adds to the feeling of overwhelming power and destruction.

.. it's a Metal thing.

[The Vagrance]

The local music scene in Nashville is ridiculously vibrant, also. While I was living there, I had a few friends involved in it, so I got to see some of that. But... since moving away, I don't have the time or energy to look into the local scene here. KF

I live in Nashville and wholeheartedly agree. I've discovered so much great music through random people and local shows. One of the best cities musically for sure, the whole area just kind of breathes it.