Favorite Artist/Band in Favorite Genre???

[Renegade7]

I give a lot of different genres more chances then I believe a lot of people have patience for.  I don't judge anyone on what they do or don't like, I overlap with a lot of people anyway so I'm either with you, able to keep up, or willing to learn.  I will say that one thing I've noticed is a lot of people sticking to their favorite genres and knocking others without realizing that their favorite artists in their favorite genre is influence by multiple different genres that their typically fans don't listen to.  I find that fascinating, country artists saying in their songs they have hip hop mixtapes, seeing Rap artists in Rock music videos, hearing classic songs covered in multiple different genres.

 

So this is more a thought provoking thread considering how many different genres there are out there and I do see and hear people say they don't like this one or don't like that one.  Well, what do your favorite artists like?  Would they be here if it wasn't for the different genres that influence them or came before them?

 

My favorite genre is Hip-Hop.  

 

The freestyling thing is a truly underrated musical ability that even if you don't agree with everything they have to say really good ones are just no other way to say it, impressive and talented.  It's also a very large genre with multiple different styles and sub-genres in regards to story telling and don't always need to tell a story.  There are totally corners I'm not a fan of, but I can say that about pretty much any genre I like.  It wasn't the first genre I was exposed to, but my brother gave me an E. 1999 Eternal album right in that elementary / middle school transition, and I was like "whoa".  The genre itself is also having a profound cultural impact on our society and in ways I'm sure the founders didn't see coming.  It's another means for people to come out of nowhere and make a living as musical artists, its international now, and if you've ever seen Hamilton, you'll understand what I mean by touching on what this genre is capable of.  

 

Having said all that... my favorite is Sade.  

 

Technically Sade is a band with her outfront (her band actually used to play with Maxwell when he first came out in his heyday), Sade herself has always stood out to me and one of the first artist I can remember being exposed to.  My parents typically had Smooth Jazz 105.9 on back in the day, so acts like them or Kenny G, Art of Noise, that's where I started.  But Sade... they stood out. She stood out.  Once I got a little older and started writing more, like poetry and short stories, I started actually reading the lyrics to her songs.  That was my first realization that good music is basically poetry with instruments behind them, I can read lyrics to her songs just like I was reading literature.  I've been accumulating music for a very long time, but that was the first I added to my library that has moved between multiple hard drives, computers, and NAS systems.

 

I really don't care what people think about that, call me sentimental, or whatever.  I'm a fan of art, that's how I look at it, and art has helped me get through some very rough patches in my life (as I'm sure it has for others).  But I understand that if I stay in my comfort zone I'll never truly know what I like or don't like.  I've never been able to make a decent Sade station on Pandora, but if it wasn't for Pandora, I wouldn't be close to understanding what I truly like and don't like.  I guess what I'm saying is I won't be shocked to see people say their favorite artists aren't in the favorite genre, and to stay open minded to what is actually out there, not what you assume is out there.  That's what your favorite artists do.

[pjfootballer]

At the third choice. I love it.

[Renegade7]

6 minutes ago, pjfootballer said:

At the third choice. I love it.

Ya, man, Tailgate getting way too serious these days : )

[LadySkinsFan]

My favorite genre is House/Trance, but mostly House. My Lesbian DJ best friend and I call it gay boy music because she plays for the boys too. I have lots of CDs that she's mixed, and one in particular she mixed for me before I visited Maui in 2003 that I converted to MP3 and I still play it all the time.

 

My favorite band is Oceanlab as mixed by Above and Beyond, favorite album is Siren of the Sea, with about 20 songs on it. Justine Suissa is the singer on the album and she sings lots of songs and has the best clear voice.

 

I am embedding a version of the title track performed live with Annie Drury singing in place of Justine.  Please enjoy!

 

 

 

[Renegade7]

Trance Music = Gay Boy Music?    I don't know about that.  I know enough of these cats going to those middle of nowhere festivals with E, Weed, and chicks in tow.

 

That's my study music, my head is hypersensitive to my surroundings sometimes so I have to listen to music with no words.  Stuff like Blackmill, Sunlounger, very peaceful.  Parents love Oceanlab, too, know since they went exploring in Pandora, good choice.

[LadySkinsFan]

It's what we call it. Gay boy music because she plays it for the boys.  At a party once in St. Pete, she played a tea dance at a small gay resort for over 5000. For a while I was her business manager helping with venues and contracts. Tons of fun, lots of partying.

 

I also love Armin van Buuren, pretty much anything by him. Here's a sample with the aforementioned Justine Suissa.

 

 

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

I got my first Hendrix album when I was 13, and it was Band of Gypsys which is an odd place to start if you're getting into his music.  I'm not sure why I picked it but I loved it and wanted to hear more.  So I snatched up every Hendrix CD I could and became obsessed.  I think the part that grabbed me the most was that there was always something new I heard in the songs, a guitar part, bass line (that's him playing on All Along The Watchtower).  You know how it is, some days depending on on your mood certain songs strike you in certain ways.  This first one is one that sounds amazing to me no matter what day it is.

 

I remember getting this album in high school right before a family vacation to the beach.  I distinctly remember having fallen asleep with my headphones on and waking up to the 2nd half of this song and having no earthly idea what the **** was going on and being completely blown away.  If you go to the link, the first comment is "2:47 onwards and upwards, with ear goggles!", which is where the best part starts....and how it should be listened to, with headphones.  How the sound moves around, forwards, backwards, it just didn't make any sense to me.  I played it over and over and over again.  Sometimes I still do.

 

 

But through Hendrix, I learned about the blues because that's what he was at his core, a true blues master.  All that psychedelic, freak out, feedback and backwards guitars is awesome but at the core there's a lot of blues.  In researching him I learned a lot about his influences and started listening to them, too...BB King, Buddy Guy, Muddy Waters, all that stuff.  Hendrix definitely had his own sound and was doing his own thing but learning about what influenced him certainly opened me up to a whole new genre of music that I'd never really listened to before.

 

 

 

[zoony]

2 hours ago, Renegade7 said:

give a lot of different genres more chances then I believe a lot of people have patience for.  I don't judge anyone on what they do or don't like, I overlap with a lot of people anyway so I'm either with you, able to keep up, or willing to learn.  I will say that one thing I've noticed is a lot of people sticking to their favorite genres and knocking others without realizing that their favorite artists in their favorite genre is influence by multiple different genres that their typically fans don't listen to.  I find that fascinating, country artists saying in their songs they have hip hop mixtapes, seeing Rap artists in Rock music videos, hearing classic songs covered in multiple different genres.

 

So this is more a thought provoking thread considering how many different genres there are out there and I do see and hear people say they don't like this one or don't like that one.  Well, what do your favorite artists like?  Would they be here if it wasn't for the different genres that influence them or came before them?

 

 

Along these lines, i have to admit a part of me died when i learned that Ian MacKaye's biggest influence was Ted Nugent

 

But have to post this account of Bad Brains recording at Inner Ear...

 

 

[JCB]

Zoony have you seen the HR documentary? Necessary if you’re a Brains fan.

[TradeTheBeal!]

Opeth Forever.

 

 

[Springfield]

I don’t really have a favorite band/artist per se.  My preferences tend to change a lot over the years.  My favorite genre may be hip hop one day, modern rock the next or classic rock another.  I tend to get into moods.

 

With hip hop, there are artists that I do like, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Biggie, Busta, Big Pun, Jay Z... a lot of the time I find myself drawn to production though.  I’ll follow a sound.  Dr Dre, Neptunes, stuff like that.  

 

With modern rock, Coldplay has been a mainstay of mine.  Plenty of other bands though, through the 90’s and into today. Used to be a huge NIN fan in the 90’s until I figured out that chicks didn’t like dudes in Downward Spiral tee shirts.  Also Nirvana. Nevermind is top 5 always.

 

Classic rock.  It’s either The Beatles or Led Zeppelin for me and it changes on a whim.  Led Zeppelin is currently the king right now.  After that, it always comes back to who the best guitarist is either Hendrix or Clapton.

[China]

1 hour ago, zoony said:

 

Along these lines, i have to admit a part of me died when i learned that Ian MacKaye's biggest influence was Ted Nugent

 

But have to post this account of Bad Brains recording at Inner Ear...

 

 

 

Damn you zoony, that video connected me to another where Ian MacKaye gave an interview at the Library of Congress.  Fascinating.  I just wasted an hour and a half of my time watching it.

 

BTW,  I think I've mentioned before that my sister went to school with Ian MacKay and I went to school with his younger brother Alec.

[Cooleyfan1993]

Favorite genre is rock, favorite band is Green Day  seen them live in concert twice 

[skinsmarydu]

Metal or progressive rock. 

Megadeth, Kansas, Journey are faves.

[Bang]

.

 

~Bang

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

10 hours ago, zoony said:

 

Along these lines, i have to admit a part of me died when i learned that Ian MacKaye's biggest influence was Ted Nugent

 

 

 

Where'd you hear that?  

[China]

Oh, and BTW, I find "Who is your favorite band?" the type of question a 5th grader would ask (my daughter is in 5th grade).  It is very black and white.  My tastes vary by mood or day of the week or whatever, so when my daughter asks me a question like that I have a hard time giving a straight answer.  The same here.  Historically, I'm a classic rock guy, but my tastes go all over the place from big band, blues, classical, country, blue grass, folk, punk, heavy metal, acid rock, funk, trip hop, rockabilly and so on...

 

I have about 4000 songs on my ipod.  The top 5 bands (in terms of number of songs) are probably, the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones and The Who.  But that speaks more to the longevity and prolificness of those artists as much as my like for them.  I've heard their songs many, many times, so often prefer to hear something newer or fresher nowadays.

[LadySkinsFan]

I'm with you, China. I will always like the Rock of my teen and young adult years. 

 

My favorite album is the Beatles' Revolver.

 

One of my favorite songs is the Eagles' Hotel California, which has probably the best lyric, "You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave."

[Riggo-toni]

So Bang is into Lesbian music...who knew?

[zoony]

2 hours ago, Spaceman Spiff said:

 

Where'd you hear that?  

 

From Ian MacKaye directly.  Its out there, seen it in a few interviews

[Riggo-toni]

My favorite artist is Paul Rodgers, which matches my favorite genre, blues-rock.

Just watched the new Jeff Beck documentary, which I quite liked.

[GhostofSparta]

Big into Punk. I listen to a lot, but Punk is my default and what I choose more often than not. And my favorite band is Rancid, especially this album:

 

[Renegade7]

3 hours ago, China said:

Oh, and BTW, I find "Who is your favorite band?" the type of question a 5th grader would ask (my daughter is in 5th grade).  It is very black and white.  My tastes vary by mood or day of the week or whatever, so when my daughter asks me a question like that I have a hard time giving a straight answer.  The same here.  Historically, I'm a classic rock guy, but my tastes go all over the place from big band, blues, classical, country, blue grass, folk, punk, heavy metal, acid rock, funk, trip hop, rockabilly and so on...

 

You should look around more (if you haven't already), artists and celebrities get asked this quite often and in many cases can give a single straight answer even though they are eclectic and have multiple influences.  Some don't give a final single one, but when they do, its similar to why I picked Sade:  It's not just that I love their music, I respect the influence they had on music in general and they had on myself.  It's bigger then just how much I love their music.

 

Quote

I have about 4000 songs on my ipod.  The top 5 bands (in terms of number of songs) are probably, the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones and The Who.  But that speaks more to the longevity and prolificness of those artists as much as my like for them.  I've heard their songs many, many times, so often prefer to hear something newer or fresher nowadays.

 

I have enough music on my computer that if I tell you, you'll know how I got it.  I also have about 100 pandora stations (I remember before I had pandora one that I was at the point that if I wanted to add a station, I had to delete one first). It's an interesting point you bring up, those bands you have make timeless music, so I feel like when I'm not in the mood for Post Malone or Halsey, I can come back in time, no problem.  I love random playlist basically mixing all my music, but not everybody can handle bouncing between Aaliyah, Marilyn Manson, Miranda Lambert, Rare Essence, No Doubt, Tinsley Ellis, Outkast...

 

I hope my future wife not only likes that but does that, too, but I've accepted I like so much music that I like stuff that others don't, is what it is at this point.

 

I regards to number of songs I like in relation to how much I like an artist, that's tough.  I consider the number of Bob Marley songs I like to be neck and neck with Sade, but I can listen to CunninLynguists - "Piece of Strange" album all the way through any day of the week (I can't do that with "Soldier of Love" album).  And not all songs I like are created equal, as Halsey is realitively new in her exploded popularity, but songs like "Bad at Love" and "Now or Never" speak to me in a way that some of my tried and true favorite songs just don't. 

 

My respect for hybrid groups (like early Linkin Park and Gangstagrass) also gives a different amount of weight to how much I enjoy their music.  I remember getting crap for liking early Linkin Park and not being obsessed with Hip-Hop instead, and that fueled my personality to like what I like, not what I'm supposed to like. It's funny because I listen to early Linkin Park now and feel I've kind grown out of it, but that era for them has a special place in my heart, like 90s Outkast (there's a certain point where both became something I didn't like, no nice way to say that).  So of course the next direction of the post will be eras of artists/groups you liked, because asking someone if they like Kanye West's music is such a loaded question right now, you don't make a Kanye West station, you make one based on a song from Graduation album and before.

 

I'll give my top 5 later as I see where this thread goes, but yes, many of them are not hip-hop artists.  But if somebody asks you "what your favorite artist/group is?", don't limit your answer to who's music you like the most.  It's supposed to be a loaded question, its not supposed to be easy.  Tupac is a borderline cliche answer, but not everyone that says that knows he has a poetry book out.

[China]

4 minutes ago, Renegade7 said:

 

 

I have enough music on my computer that if I tell you, you'll know how I got it.  I also have about 100 pandora stations (I remember before I had pandora one that I was at the point that if I wanted to add a station, I had to delete one first). It's an interesting point you bring up, those bands you have make timeless music, so I feel like when I'm not in the mood for Post Malone or Halsey, I can come back in time, no problem.  I love random playlist basically mixing all my music, but not everybody can handle bouncing between Aaliyah, Marilyn Manson, Miranda Lambert, Rare Essence, No Doubt, Tinsley Ellis, Outkast...

 

I hope my future wife not only likes that but does that, too, but I've accepted I like so much music that I like stuff that others don't, is what it is at this point.

 

 

 

I have been selective about what is on my ipod.  I remember hearing about the kid (who was 17 or something) who sailed solo around the world and had an ipod loaded with 10,000 songs for his trip.  I remember thinking that I don't think I could find 10,000 songs that I like.  I don't just load up entire albums unless I like all the songs on the album.  I don't want to have to constantly be skipping songs I don't like.  But like you, I enjoy putting it on mix and having random songs that don't necessarily go together play right after one another.  Fine by me, as I like them all.  My wife and I have overlap of the music that we like but both have music that the other doesn't really care for.  I will listen to heavy metal, and she will listen to religious music.  But whoever's driving gets to play their music.

 

 

[LadySkinsFan]

When I am roadtripping, I get to choose the music, Dancer doesn't get a vote. She sleeps most of the time anyway.  I don't turn the music up as high as when she's not in the car.