![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
grizzlyzoneA friend was asking me, "What sort of music do you like?"
Gee. That's a tough question.
Browsing my music collection on iTunes, I can see that my musical tastes are all over the map. I listen to a wide selection of music and none of it is is in any particular genre. I pick and I choose. A little here, a little there.
I was listening to Trentemøller the other evening and I realized a few things. The first being that I tend to like instrumental music from one-man artists/composers. Trentemøller being one example. Yanni being another. Then, they're is Ray Lynch, Mike Oldfield (Tubular Bells), Andreas Vollenweider, and Alfred Anthony, just to name a few. Blue Man Group could be added to that list, although "they" aren't exactly "one-man" are they? (By the way. I read an article where they discussed Blue Man Group now being a franchise, much like Cirque de Soleil. Performers are hired to portray members of Blue Man Group, which explains how they can be in multiple places at once.)(Make sure you check out Blue Man Group's cover of Donna Summer's "I Feel Love" with Annette Strean of Venus Hum on vocals.)
Philip Glass: Aguas da Amazonia by Uakti is an interesting album. (Philip Glass is the composer. Uakti are the performers. They're a South American group, Brazilian I think. They're similar to Blue Man Group in that they produce their own percussion instruments. In any case, they commissioned Philip Glass to write Aquas da Amazonia for them.)
I've got an interest in Surf Music. The Ventures, Gary Hoey, Big Ray & Futuras, The Duo-tones, The Surfaris and The Beach Boys are all represented. I also have some Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass.
I've got a category that I call "Biker Music". Brand New Sin, Black Label Society & Zakk Wylde, Elijah Black. I found some pretty raucous, edgy stuff off of The Shield - Music from the Streets. (Should I include an artist/group is I only have one recording from them?) The Black Maria, Brujeria, Conejo, Crazy Anglos, Damageplan, Delinquent Habits, Il Nino, Kelis & Markita, Master P, Mikal Raymo, Onyx, Peyote Asesino, SX-10, Tantric and Theory of a Deadman. (I also have a copy of Tantric doing a cover of Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain".)
I've got some Rap, or is that Hip/Hop these days? Anyway, I've got Bubba Sparxxx, Whodini, Tone-Loc, Sway & King Tech, P Money & Scribe, One Block Radius, Little Brother, Kris Kross, Eminem, Deux Process, Coolio, Chingy and 50 Cent. (Most of that is one selection from each, but I have a bit of Eminem. Don't let that sullen look fool you. The man is quite the comedian.)
I've got a nice selection of Funk. Cameo, The Gap Band, George Clinton and Parliament, just to list the major players. A lot of that bleeds over into the Disco/Dance category. Bronski Beat / The Communards / Jimmy Summerfield, C+C Music Factory, Donna Summer, Irene Cara, Pet Shop Boys, Shannon, The Skatt Brothers. (The Skatt Brothers were a Canadian group, put together to rival The Village People. You've heard it before. It's the one with the "Funky Nights" chorus.)
I was a bit surprised when I added some Spanish Guitar/Cuban Music to my collection. I never thought I'd like it. Gipsy Kings, Buena Vista Social Club, Compay Segundo, Waldemar Bastos, La Charanga Cubana. ("Chan Chan", the recording by the Buena Vista Social Club is interesting. It has what sounds like a big sheet of metal or plywood being moved back and forth and used as a rhythm instrument. It ws recorded by Ry Cooder in Cuba using a hand-held digitial recorder.)
I also have a few recordings of the tango - La Comparsita / Hernando's Hideaway. (I don't know what is it about that song that really gets me. I've got a version on Spanish Guitar and a version ny La Charanga Cubana. Which reminds me. Remember that disco tune based on Beethoven's Fifth Symphony? La Charanga Cubana has a version. The style is called "merengue".)
I was a few years late for the Hippie Movement, but I have some songs from The Mamas & The Papas; Jefferson Airplane / Jefferson Starship / Starship; Crosby Stills Nash (both with and without Young); Peter, Paul & Mary.
Classical music, especially played on the synthesizer has always appealed to me, going back to Wendy/Walter Carlos' "Switched On Bach". (Mental note: Get some Wendy Carlos.) So, I have some Don Dorsey, "Bachbusters" and "Beethoven or Bust". (I've been looking for "Bach on Wood" by Brian Slauson. Classical played on percussion instruments. Percussion as in glockenspiel, xylophone, vibraphone, marimba. Just what is a marimba, anyway? I'll have to look it up. Great stuff, in any case.)
Then, there's the parody section, with "Weird Al" Yankovic and Bob Rivers. A collection of covers - familiar songs by unfamiliar artists. I have a nice collection of variations of Harold Faltermeyer's "Axel F. Theme" programmed and played on 8-bit computers. (I kid you not. It appeals to my inner nerd. It's surprising what they could do with the old 8-bit stuff. )
I could go on. I've got a lot of songs that really defy category. For a total of 1025 items, 3 days listening time and 4.61 G.
Am I an expert at any of these artists? No. I only collect what I like, which may not include their popular hits.
Browsing my music collection on iTunes, I can see that my musical tastes are all over the map. I listen to a wide selection of music and none of it is is in any particular genre. I pick and I choose. A little here, a little there.
I was listening to Trentemøller the other evening and I realized a few things. The first being that I tend to like instrumental music from one-man artists/composers. Trentemøller being one example. Yanni being another. Then, they're is Ray Lynch, Mike Oldfield (Tubular Bells), Andreas Vollenweider, and Alfred Anthony, just to name a few. Blue Man Group could be added to that list, although "they" aren't exactly "one-man" are they? (By the way. I read an article where they discussed Blue Man Group now being a franchise, much like Cirque de Soleil. Performers are hired to portray members of Blue Man Group, which explains how they can be in multiple places at once.)(Make sure you check out Blue Man Group's cover of Donna Summer's "I Feel Love" with Annette Strean of Venus Hum on vocals.)
Philip Glass: Aguas da Amazonia by Uakti is an interesting album. (Philip Glass is the composer. Uakti are the performers. They're a South American group, Brazilian I think. They're similar to Blue Man Group in that they produce their own percussion instruments. In any case, they commissioned Philip Glass to write Aquas da Amazonia for them.)
I've got an interest in Surf Music. The Ventures, Gary Hoey, Big Ray & Futuras, The Duo-tones, The Surfaris and The Beach Boys are all represented. I also have some Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass.
I've got a category that I call "Biker Music". Brand New Sin, Black Label Society & Zakk Wylde, Elijah Black. I found some pretty raucous, edgy stuff off of The Shield - Music from the Streets. (Should I include an artist/group is I only have one recording from them?) The Black Maria, Brujeria, Conejo, Crazy Anglos, Damageplan, Delinquent Habits, Il Nino, Kelis & Markita, Master P, Mikal Raymo, Onyx, Peyote Asesino, SX-10, Tantric and Theory of a Deadman. (I also have a copy of Tantric doing a cover of Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain".)
I've got some Rap, or is that Hip/Hop these days? Anyway, I've got Bubba Sparxxx, Whodini, Tone-Loc, Sway & King Tech, P Money & Scribe, One Block Radius, Little Brother, Kris Kross, Eminem, Deux Process, Coolio, Chingy and 50 Cent. (Most of that is one selection from each, but I have a bit of Eminem. Don't let that sullen look fool you. The man is quite the comedian.)
I've got a nice selection of Funk. Cameo, The Gap Band, George Clinton and Parliament, just to list the major players. A lot of that bleeds over into the Disco/Dance category. Bronski Beat / The Communards / Jimmy Summerfield, C+C Music Factory, Donna Summer, Irene Cara, Pet Shop Boys, Shannon, The Skatt Brothers. (The Skatt Brothers were a Canadian group, put together to rival The Village People. You've heard it before. It's the one with the "Funky Nights" chorus.)
I was a bit surprised when I added some Spanish Guitar/Cuban Music to my collection. I never thought I'd like it. Gipsy Kings, Buena Vista Social Club, Compay Segundo, Waldemar Bastos, La Charanga Cubana. ("Chan Chan", the recording by the Buena Vista Social Club is interesting. It has what sounds like a big sheet of metal or plywood being moved back and forth and used as a rhythm instrument. It ws recorded by Ry Cooder in Cuba using a hand-held digitial recorder.)
I also have a few recordings of the tango - La Comparsita / Hernando's Hideaway. (I don't know what is it about that song that really gets me. I've got a version on Spanish Guitar and a version ny La Charanga Cubana. Which reminds me. Remember that disco tune based on Beethoven's Fifth Symphony? La Charanga Cubana has a version. The style is called "merengue".)
I was a few years late for the Hippie Movement, but I have some songs from The Mamas & The Papas; Jefferson Airplane / Jefferson Starship / Starship; Crosby Stills Nash (both with and without Young); Peter, Paul & Mary.
Classical music, especially played on the synthesizer has always appealed to me, going back to Wendy/Walter Carlos' "Switched On Bach". (Mental note: Get some Wendy Carlos.) So, I have some Don Dorsey, "Bachbusters" and "Beethoven or Bust". (I've been looking for "Bach on Wood" by Brian Slauson. Classical played on percussion instruments. Percussion as in glockenspiel, xylophone, vibraphone, marimba. Just what is a marimba, anyway? I'll have to look it up. Great stuff, in any case.)
Then, there's the parody section, with "Weird Al" Yankovic and Bob Rivers. A collection of covers - familiar songs by unfamiliar artists. I have a nice collection of variations of Harold Faltermeyer's "Axel F. Theme" programmed and played on 8-bit computers. (I kid you not. It appeals to my inner nerd. It's surprising what they could do with the old 8-bit stuff. )
I could go on. I've got a lot of songs that really defy category. For a total of 1025 items, 3 days listening time and 4.61 G.
Am I an expert at any of these artists? No. I only collect what I like, which may not include their popular hits.