Music Musings

Sometimes I will use the expression, "I love music as much as you possibly can for someone who doesn't know how to play an instrument". Obviously that is debatable, but the point still stands that I love music and it occupies a significant portion of my life. I was a late bloomer when it comes to music; I didn't purchase my first CD until I was 15, and in high school I mostly listened to more of the generic alternative and punk music that is pretty mainstream. I had the bands I liked that I found online that didn't get radio play, but they were still big bands, just big bands that didn't get radio play. That couldn't be further from the point that I am at now. Where is that point? Well, my favorite music genres are folk/pagan, avant-garde, symphonic, and industrial subgenres of metal, and the majority of the gothic subgenres.

My music tastes really started to shift once I bought a new car after graduating college. The car came with a trial of XM satellite radio, and I found myself listening primarily to 1st Wave. I really enjoyed (and still do) new wave and a lot of the electronic music that came out of the 80s, and I started to become more and more familiar with it. The new wave sort of led me to synth pop and dark wave, and there were a couple of occasions where car rides on Sunday nights had me listening to the Dark Wave segment on the radio, which is where my affinity for gothic genres really started to cultivate. I learned that "gothic music" was not just the same dozen of Cruxshadows, Combichrist, Apoptygma Berzerk, VNV Nation, and Assemblage 23 songs my previous girlfriend played hundreds of times on repeat, so the genre I thought was stupid actually became one that I loved. The only real band from a goth subgenre I enthusiastically liked prior to that was The Birthday Massacre, as they opened for Mindless Self Indulgence back in 2008, which was my first real concert I went to.

So where does the metal come in? Well, I never liked metal previously, but that all changed when I searched Youtube for "This Corrosion", and an In Extremo Video came up. I enjoy covers, so I clicked it, not knowing it would introduce me to the genre I love most: folk metal. The common thread in 99% of the music I listen to is it is not your vanilla vocals, guitar, bass, and drums. That was what metal tended to be in my experience, primarily because the metal I heard was all garbage from the United States. Add some niche to it, like bagpipes, harp, hurdy gurdy, shawm, accordion, violin, etc, and you've got an entirely different animal. I couldn't get enough of it. Over time, my acceptance of different vocal styles grew, and I now listen to some stuff I never thought I'd listen to in a million years. But it is all so wonderful and eclectic, and that is why I enjoy it.

Finally, I am very passionate about supporting local musicians. Local music changed my life. I'll spare the long story, but I was in a rut, and going to local shows was the hobby that got me out of it. I met new friends, discovered new music, got into photography, and have some of my best experience before, during, or after local concerts. It's saddening that mainstream music gets so much attention when the breadth and depth of talent in the local scene is so immense. Everyone can do themselves huge favors by going to a few local shows and discovering some new artists. I would just encourage people to think about something they are passionate about and how good it makes them feel. Isn't that something you want to support? That is what supporting local artists and musicians is all about.

Well folks, that right there is your starting point for all of the music related posts to follow. I can't teach you how to play guitar, but I will try to open up a new world of music that isn't very widespread. I'll talk about how the music makes me feel, I'll dispel misconceptions, and I'll show you how you too can find local Chinese electronic folk metal bands at the click of a button. Yes, the universe in which I operate is to find "local bands" that are in other continents than the I one I reside in. If you find one new band you like, whether it's someone I share or simply because you're prompted to explore your local scene because I mentioned it, I've been successful here.