My musical tastes are eclectic, to say the least, and there's very little music I don't like, as long as it's well done. Now grant you, my definition of "well done" might not match other people's definition! I grew up in a very musical household, my mom's a pianist, my dad used to be in choir and band, my brother and I were in choir and band, my aunt was a music teacher, my cousin in a music teacher, all of my cousins on one side of the family play at least one instrument and all of them sing. So it's safe to say that we appreciate music from an educated, technical perspective as well as a simple "hey, I like that" feeling. Add to that a bunch of writers, and we're pretty picky about lyrics as well.
That being the case, it can be hard to please me. I get irritated with bands that could be good, but take the easy way out. I get irritated when you can tell someone has natural musical gifts, but no training whatsoever, so those gifts will never really be developed as they could and should be. I get irritated when someone with talent and training uses it for insipid, uninspired music. I get irritated when people who fit any of these descriptions top the pop charts, because it just encourages more people to do the same!
So who do I like most right now? Right now I'm in a female singer-songwriter sort of theme. Current favorite listens in that category are Dido, the British pop singer, Norah Jones (first CD, not the second one) and Jem. All have unique voices and create a sound which is catchy but not cliche. A new find, surprising on some levels but not on others, is Alexa Ray Joel, daughter of Billy Joel (not to be confused with some bimbo porn actress who was tacky enough to name herself "Alexa Rae Joel" purely for the purpose of exploiting a famous name). What's not surprising is that she should have a lot of natural talent, since she's genetically gifted in that department and plus was raised around music. She augmented that with years of training, so her piano skills are formidable. She also has a husky, appealing, jazzy sort of voice, similar to Norah Jones in some regards (no small compliment there). What is surprising is that she isn't taking the typical "celeb kid" route of plastering herself all over talk shows and blatantly riding on her dad's coattails; she's got herself a band, is playing clubs around the Northeastern US, and is working on demo tapes to try to get a record deal. To hear a sample of what she can do, visit her site at MySpace.com, where there are currently 3 songs available.
Growing up I listened to jazz and Big Band music, and quite a lot of classical, thanks to my parents. Thanks to my peer group, the decade I grew up in, and my own personal inclination, I switched my loyalty to metal in my teens, the louder the better. I cheerfully admit to getting an adrenaline rush off pounding bass and a strong backbeat drum section. Now, my old favorites are relegated to "classic rock" stations (boy, don't that make ya feel old!), but that's okay because I'm sick and tired of them by now. Along those lines, when I'm in an edgy mood I will listen to Godsmack or Tool, and sometimes Nine Inch Nails. The latest CD's from Tool and NIN and Godsmack were somewhat surprising, for opposite reasons. Tool's new one is a throwback to earlier, angrier days than were reflected on "Lateralus", but it's no less powerful for that. NIN's new CD shows flirtation with all sorts of new sounds (typical of Trent Reznor), some of which border on the mainstream acceptable (NOT typical of Trent Reznor!). Godsmack's new CD has some uncharacteristically thoughtful and tuneful melodies, along with some very typical Godsmack fare, and I think overall shows some growth and maturity that make me really like it.
On a totally different track, I also have been listening to Leonid Agutin's Dekameron. I first discovered this collection when I was in Russia about 10 years ago. I came home with the Dekameron tape, and listened to it constantly until it melted one day when I left it in the car in direct sunlight for several hours! I was fortunate enough to find a copy on Amazon a month or so ago, shipped direct from the Russian distributor (his work isn't available here in the US), and have once again happily played it quite a bit. Very rich musically, it's mostly upbeat with a strong salsa flavor to several tracks, along with two or three quite sweet tunes. Agutin is a trained musician, and it shows.
So those are my random recommendations for someone who wants something good to listen to that isn't necessarily the mainstream fare that gets shoved down your ears all day long on the radio!
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