Saturday, December 22, 2007

Well, this is embarrassing

So much of high school would have been better if my parents listened to decent music.

If you had asked me YESTERDAY if I liked Bush (the band), I would have shrugged my shoulders and said, "Don't think so," not because I had hear Bush and didn't like the music, but because I was fairly certain I had never even heard a Bush song.
And I would have been wrong because, in fact, I've probably heard "Glycerine," "Machinehead," and "Comedown" about a thousand times on the radio. And enjoyed listening to those songs. And can sing along with them. But I never realized who they were by, or even that they were older, established songs (as opposed to the new Seether song that's always on the radio), until literally five minutes ago.

I now understand why Gavin Rossdale is/was hot.

I hate that I've only really begun to cultivate an appreciation of 90s alt rock and grunge over the past couple of years. How I eventually started listening to the Smashing Pumpkins and Stone Temple Pilots years after their heyday causes me nearly as much shame as the above-mentioned anecdote.
I think I would have listened to them back in the 90s, but I was never exposed to it, and the guys in my high school who listened to those bands scared the crap out of me. So I figured grunge was something really badass that would just be guys screaming and revving chainsaws, like metal, but dirtier.
All I got at home was light pop and country, which I didn't particularly like, but I thought the only alternative was hard core rap and metal. I did manage to find the Sneaker Pimps in high school, but they're still a bit obscure, and while I liked Garbage, I never loved them. And then we have Radiohead - which I only realized wasn't the same things as Rage Against the Machine or Metallica a few years ago - despite owning the Romeo and Juliet soundtrack for a very, very long time.

On the plus side, I never liked Peter Cetera, even though I have his CD. Really, it's amazing I survived my mother's musical tastes.
My only pride is that I liked Remy Zero before anyone I know (including you, Zach Braff) and I have never regretted my love for U2, Oasis, or Motown. Or Seal even. Eminem, though, I think had maybe three decent songs that will manage to not be looked back on with disdain and considerable amounts of snark. Also, while Dave Matthews Band has several fine songs, the absolute obsession kids had with DMB (and several of my generation still do) is just disturbing.

OK, so if anyone would like to improve my catalog, please do make some suggestions. I've officially stopped being a snob because while Mahler, the Beatles and Lauryn Hill are nothing to be ashamed of, I have clearly missed some important music along the way. I still don't like metal, hard-core rap, or country that's not Johnny Cash. Please educate me in a post below.
Grazie.

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In summing up, I wish I had some kind of affirmative message to leave you with. I don't. Would you take two negative messages?
-- Woody Allen