Twenty-Four Years of Music

Hey All:

This is my first blog so just kind of bear with me, here we go!

Music as a whole has had a huge influence in my life, but just about anyone can say that.  I realize that there are very few people that can say they do not enjoy any kind of music, but for the most part, we as a society do enjoy listening to it.  Sadly though, music has really lost its focus that it once demanded.  Gone are the days of the family sitting around the radio to listen to the newest single by Johnny Cash or Buddy Holly, now it is almost as if music has taken a backseat to the rest of the world.  Almost like a white noise for our everyday tasks.  Not for me though.   Ask any of my coworkers, if a song comes on the radio that I enjoy, I will almost stop paying attention to my current job and sing along with the song, play the air guitar to feel the passion that the artist had when he or she wrote that lick.  I will admit that I use music as background sound while driving or working on tasks that need to be completed, the very first thing that I do when I buy a new CD (no P2P file-sharing or Torrents here, they steal the music that I will gladly pay to support), is pop it into the CD player when I get home, that way I can really listen and hear the intricacies of the song; the way the note sustains, how the bass follows a mellow line, the amount of attack on the snare drum, these are all there for a reason. 

I wouldn’t really say that music has changed me over time, more like I have changed and my musical tastes have followed.  When I was young, I would listen to country (that was my mom’s choice, which was the only option), so I knew songs by Reba, Tim McGraw, Brooks & Dunn, and Garth Brooks.  But then as I got older and started watching MTV, I found a new style of music, Punk Rock.  Now I know this may stir up some trouble about who I list as punk, but here it goes: Bad Religion, Black Flag, Pennywise, The Clash (Punk culture, not necessarily sound), Sex Pistols, Face To Face, etc.  The punk rock scene was mine home in Jr. High and High School.  Then, towards the end on my senior year, I discovered metal, oh was that a fun time for my mom- coming home to see her sweet, innocent boy listening to Metallica, Pantera, and Iron Maiden.  This was not what she expected.  But in my defense, I was not listening for the hateful lyrics that had infected the metal scene; I was listening for the speed, the passion, the agility of the musicians that wrote these songs.

I like to think that I am very well rounded when it comes to my musical tastes, I can get pumped up by August Burns Red blasting through the car stereo on my way to band practice, or I can relax at the beach with The Zac Brown Band playing low on the background, or write a blog about the music in my life with Andy McKee just dancing around on the guitar, painting a picture with the sounds.  I am hoping that with the focus on music that will endure this class I can learn even more about new artists, or about my current favorites.  I cannot wait to see what this course has in store for me.