How have your tastes in music changed?

Really, my tastes in music changed by ever expanding. For me it was about embracing an already wide palate and working with some of the tougher records till I understood what about each genre's classics made them classics. I escaped late '00's bubblegum by embracing new wave to start with, and from there I just added, in order: classic rock and prog, then grunge and britpop (slowly chipping away at a wall I built after '89), to punk, to HC, on through metal, officially smashing a post-'97 wall I built after the first one crumbled with indie, got blown away by industrial, and then dabbled in hip hop, at first via trip hop.

For about 45 years (!) my musical tastes haven't changed much.
That is: before the musical earthquake of the Modern Prog Polls since three weeks.
I'll explain.

I grew up as a prog kid (they exist!)
My older three brothers, the heroes of my youth, were teenagers when I was a kindergarten kid.
My oldest brother was into ELP and ELO.
My middle brother was into Genesis, Yes, Kayak and Earth & Fire.
My youngest brother was into Procol Harum.
All three brothers and my sister were into Focus.
My parents were into Thijs van Leer's solo albums.

For the past 40 years my tastes have been symphonic and crossover prog.
Three weeks ago the wise gurus of PA have decided to launch new polls.
I like polling.
I LOVE polling.
That's what I did for the last few years at PA: polling and posting in the Just For Fun section.
And searching for unknown jewels in the classic prog database.

End of june: Summer Madness polls.
I love polling!
Classic polls, so much the better.
Week 1: filling in the gaps of the classic albums I didn't know.
Week 2: ready for more classic polls.
They didn't come.
Modern polls.
WHAT?
(Sigh) alright, I'll give it a go.

I liked it.
I loved it!
Biggest surprise of all: I listened to Zeuhl and RIO!
I like Zeuhl, I love RIO!

After 45 years, I'm ready to move on...

I grew up on hard rock and metal mainly, and hard rock and metal are still my favorite types of music with progressive rock added on. My tastes haven't really changed a whole lot, other then the fact that I went through a Dubstep phase but soon realized how bad it was. All sounds the same, and there isn't really anyway to make it sound different.

Edited by Pastmaster - July 11 2015 at 17:24

Forgot to mention I've also made an effort to listen to more music with women as main songwriters, since I've noticed they're somewhat underrepresented in my listening habits.

It's been a whirlwind since 2005 or so when I started out with hard rock and heavy metal, also some of the classic rock biggies like PF and LZ.  I mean, I did listen to Beatles and a few pop groups before that but 99% of my collection was Indian music until then.  I actually heard Firth of the fifth for the first time not long after getting familiar with 'old' Metallica.  So metal dominated for about a couple of years before I went back to prog, a bit tired of both the extreme repetition in metal and the intolerance towards 'non metal' of many metal listeners.  Well, the prog phase too peaked out by 2010 and I began to get into electro acoustic music, if that is the right word.  The artists I have in mind specifically are Morton Feldman and Terry Riley.  Also kept filling up 'gaps' like post punk in the meantime.  Caught up with jazz classics as well.  Professional and personal responsibilities as well as my writing aspirations have taken up my time since and it has become difficult to follow a scene patiently.  So for the last four-five years, it's been more about whatever comes to me by way of recommendations from friends, PA, the internet in general, etc.    

Moogtron III wrote: For about 45 years (!) my musical tastes haven't changed much. That is: before the musical earthquake of the Modern Prog Polls since three weeks. I'll explain. I grew up as a prog kid (they exist!) My older three brothers, the heroes of my youth, were teenagers when I was a kindergarten kid. My oldest brother was into ELP and ELO. My middle brother was into Genesis, Yes, Kayak and Earth & Fire. My youngest brother was into Procol Harum. All three brothers and my sister were into Focus. My parents were into Thijs van Leer's solo albums. For the past 40 years my tastes have been symphonic and crossover prog. Three weeks ago the wise gurus of PA have decided to launch new polls. I like polling. I LOVE polling. That's what I did for the last few years at PA: polling and posting in the Just For Fun section. And searching for unknown jewels in the classic prog database. End of june: Summer Madness polls. I love polling! Classic polls, so much the better. Week 1: filling in the gaps of the classic albums I didn't know. Week 2: ready for more classic polls. They didn't come. Modern polls. WHAT? (Sigh) alright, I'll give it a go. I liked it. I loved it! Biggest surprise of all: I listened to Zeuhl and RIO! I like Zeuhl, I love RIO! After 45 years, I'm ready to move on...

that gets you a Johnny T as well



makes all the time we invested into it. Putting it together and getting it out... all worth it.

My tastes were in the more "classic rock" genre of the 60's, 70's, 80's (and now 90's), etc. Ever since the start of the decade I've been pulled into more of the prog rock genre thx in no small part to Rock Band and Guitar Hero; Yes pretty much helped me open the gate to the world of prog. I still have this "classic rock" etch, but it wasn't as big as it was several years ago.

I grew up around jazz, but the first music I connected to was mainstream rock/pop punk. It did its purpose. Then I got into Hendrix, Zeppelin, Queen, etc. for a while. Also got into hair and speed metal for a short period. Then got into Yes, Radiohead, Sigur Ros, Battles. From there it just expanded to punk, classical, jazz, metal, what have you.

well.. other than the Neo selections.  And that wasn't the fault of Tom and our Neo friends here.. just the best of what it has to offer was.. umm... unsatisfactory and too LONG

I tell ya.. bring back the 40 minute album..

Age 8-10: The Beatles, Rolling Stones discovered
Age 10-12: Kiss, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden favorite bands
Age 12-15: Mostly heavy metal, thrash metal, some extreme metal. Started listening to some prog - Marillion, Rush, Hawkwind
Age 15-20: Mainly alternating between prog and metal, some dream pop bands discovered, electronic stuff like Karftwerk, Tangerine Dream, Gandalf. Discovered Gary Numan
Age 20-35: Alternating a bit back and forth between the above. Tomita added to the discoveries. Rediscovered The Beatles. Added industrial metal to stuff I like, and grunge.
Age 35-  : Taste in music is ever widening and encompassing. A greater tendency to like a lot of music, but the ones I truly attach to on a deeper level aren't all that many. Some jazz and classical added to my listening pool, and have started appreciating the subtle elegance of AOR to a greater degree. Generally more and more intrigued by the use of subtle nuances, no matter what the music is all about. I've come across country music that isn't loathsome and that can be listened to without firing up my vomiting reflex.