Music defines you. It tells a lot about who you are at each stage of your life. It is an influencer and depends on who is in your life. With each new friend, each relationship you walk away with a new music collection...a new genre to add to your taste. Your music tastes mature with you. If there was a point you fought a genre, it becomes to grow on you later in life. Well in my case all but country and cheesy pop.
Early Years
Most of this influence came from my parents and family. We watched shows together like Donny & Marie and The Partridge Family religiously. They were my earliest idols. Ah David Cassidy...I Think I love You.
Disco Disco Fever -- Saturday Night Fever (even tho I wasn't allowed to see it)
Grease
Donna Summer
CHIC
Captain and Tonille
Sonny & Cher
70's Music (still the bomb)
Early Teens (early 80's)
Classic rock with a hint of heavy metal and some pop of the time ===even if I never cared for 80's music
Styx
REO Speedwagon
Journey
Foreigner
Genesis
The Who
Stones
Beatles
Pink Floyd
Led Zeppelin
Aerosmith
KISS
Queen
Police
Madonna
U2
Prince
Adam Ant
Billy Idol
Joan Jett
Blondie
Cars
Many one hit wonders of the 80's
Music then was a way of fitting in with your group of friends. Concerts were a regular (and cheap) happening. We often took tour buses to Syracuse...party buses...much booze( too much) and pot. A brief heavy metal period, but mostly classic rock that I still love to this day. Music is not the same today. I had a huge vinyl collection at one point. Then there was the obsession and infatuation...Mick Jagger, Paul McCartney and Roger Daltrey mostly. Music was a HUGE part of my growing up years.
Late Teens (late 80's)
With the change in who I hung out (David) with came a change in music taste. Rap ah the days of (now) Old School Rap. It was new. It was hot. It was a reflection of the times. Still can't be replicated. 90' came close..
Run DMC
Beastie Boys
Roxanne Shante
Whodini
Slick Rick
Fresh Prince
Doug E. Fresh
LL Cool J
Grand master Flash
Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam
Kurtis Blow
Biz Markie
Heavy D
Kool Moe Dee
Big Daddy Kane
Nothing like the soulful classics of these coroners. I still listen to all this music on a regular basis.
And R&B and Soul and Funk (now know as Classic)
Luther Vandross
Freddie Jackson
Anita Baker
Sade
Barry White
Whispers
O'Jays
Teddy Pendergrass
Marvin Gaye
Mary J Blidge (go Mary she's still on top)
Commodores
Al Green
20's (90's)
With age comes maturity. I started adding jazz, blues and classical to my taste. I always defied it due to my family in my teens but at some point you just grow up. Just trying it out .
The taste from the past evolves and continues. You add to your collection. It becomes more rounded,,,more whole. 90's Hip Hop and R&B! Reggae ahh sweet reggae ...the music I am still in love with. Never did get into Alternative, no matter how hard I tried. CD's replace vinyl!
2Pac
Notorious BIG
Snoop Dogg
Warren G
Ice Cube
Ice T
Fugees
Missy Elliot
Wu-Tang Clan
Eminem
Busta Rhymes
Jay Z (still hot)
Puff Daddy
Mos Def
Tribe Called Quest
Salt n'Peppa
Method Man
Eryka Badhu
Eve
Lauren Hill
Bob Marley
Shaggy
Maxi Priest
UB40
Tracy Chapman
TLC
Whitney Houston
Buju Banton
Arrested Development
R.E.M.
Lenny Kravitz
Sinead O'Connor
Mariah Carey
Annie Lenox
Michael Franks
Yellowjackets
Wynton Marsalis
George Benson
Billie Holliday
Dinah Washington
Sarah Vaughan
Charlie Parker
Al Jurraeu
Marcus Roberts
Astrud Gilberto
Miles Davis
Ella Fitzgerald
BB King
Boys 2Men
HTown
Muddy Waters
Diane Schurr
Diane Reeves
James Brown
Tina Turner
Etta James
30's ('00)
A leveling out...not loving the music of the times..expanding on earlier tastes. Adding new and more obscure artists. iTunesNapster/..start of the end of CD's....music is now a download....loss of the music industry. Virgin closes....as well as many other stores. Reggae is becoming a passion as well as dub. World music is introduced. Neo soul is king! Concerts start losing importance...too expensive...and too loud (oh no did I say that)a and crowded. Enjoy live venues outdoors...Central Park Summerstage/Prospect Park or small venues like Beacon or Blue Note. Best concert...LA Griffith Park (Cesaria Evora) and Cassandra Wilson at Blue Note (with smelly date). Beginning of the remix...old songs to new tunes...Verve.Motown.
Jill Scott
Eryka Badhu
Maxwell
Kanye West
Jay Z
50 Cent
Ludacris
Maroon 5
Cesaria Evora
Bebel Gilberto
Cassandra Wilson
Bueno Vista Social Club
Afro Cuban All Starts
Alpha Blondie
Culture
Capelton
Gregory Isaacs
Beres Hammond
Black Uhuruh
Isreal Vibration
Peter Tosh
Burning Spear
Steel Pulse
Barrington Levy
King Tubby
Yabby U
Marcia Griffith
Michael Rose
Verrve Remix
40's (10's)
Really losing touch with music of today...less listening and VERY few concerts...need to evolve and add new genres and artists. Spotify and Pandora rock...no need to buy music. Similar songs and a great user experience. New genres added to my taste include chill out lounge, ambient and down tempo.
Buddha Lounge
Chill Lounge del Mar
St. Germaine
Alicia Keyes
Beyonce
Lady Gaga
Adele
Hotel Costes
Future of music
If I can walk away with one lesson == go out and explore. Find a new voice. A new genre. A classic song. A compilation. It is so much easier with the apps out today. Refine/define.