🎵 Blog challenge - Music Edition

An interesting challenge - not least because my music tastes and growth emerge from the musicians - who do they play with - who do they listen to - who influenced them. Interestingly none of the questions below talk about the musicians - but if you have an interest - I explore that on this page … 🖇️ The Soundtrack of My Life

1️⃣ What are five of your favourite albums?

My life is albums … to choose 5 … hell no .. and if I did the list would include The Wall, Grace For Drowning, Close To The Edge, In Abstentia ….and hundreds of others …

Instead I choose 5 albums from this list .. (itself a WIP) .. 5 awesome albums that should all be so much bigger than they are .. and won’t be the usual that everybody lists … are they the ‘best’ on the list? Doubt it - because ‘best’ isn’t something I can apply to music.

• HQ - Roy Harper
• Mark Almond - Mark Almond
• Ten Silver Drops - Secret Machines
• Solid Air - John Martyn
• Forever Changes - Love

2️⃣ What are five of your favourite songs?

I don’t really do ‘songs’ … but how about these ..

• Suppers Ready + Genesis
• Afterglow + Genesis
• Permanating + Steven Wilson
• Heroes + David Bowie
• When An Old Cricketer Leaves The Crease + Roy Harper

3️⃣ Favourite instrument(s)?

• The Guitar
• Organ
• Piano
• ‘Synthesisers’ ( do they count )

… but only in the hands of good players.

4️⃣ What song or album are you currently listening to?

The Waterboys - two tracks - waiting for the new album.

5️⃣ Do you listen to the radio? If so, how often?

Not anymore.

6️⃣ How often do you listen to music?

Sadly - not as much as I used to. I used to be an NPR junkie on car journeys - but eventually it repeated and I switched to Music. The world of podcasts sucks me in a little too much these days.

7️⃣ How often do you discover music? And how do you discover music?

I recently wrote this in response to a question from @kaa who was asking specifically about a new album coming out form Steven Wilson …

My Reply

These days around NEW music - it is getting harder and harder, but roughly speaking …

1. I read all kinds of sources and it is almost at random I discover new - and old - stuff

2. For someone like (Steven) Wilson - he is just someone I keep an eye on - because of who he is and how he fits into my ‘world view’ of music. So he pops into various feeds - which I note. He is also a good source of other people - a lot of my music has always been informed by what people I like are listening to and performing with - eg - the new ‘BEAT’ with Levin et al - saw me disappear into the back catalogue of Adrian Belew - who of course I knew of - but someone like that - (Jeff Beck is another) - performs with all kinds of people - that makes me in turn explore them.

3. I have a couple of very good friends who have connected tastes - so if i see them listening to things on Apple Music - I will check it out.

4. Every now and then I see something interesting here on Micro Blog and follow through.

5. A music producing friend in Australia sends me stuff.

6. there’s a podcast called Rockonteurs that is a great source 🖇️🎵 for example

7. Bob Lefsetz and Rick Beato

Etc etc … and yes - all pretty much random.

8️⃣ What’s a song or album that you enjoy that you wish had more recognition?

See 1️⃣ Above

9️⃣ What’s your favourite song of all time?

Thinking - but I am not so much a ‘song’ person as an ‘album’ person … so not sure I can answer this. I can’t even answer my favourite album of all time.

Steven Wilson says it best (and I paraphrase) …

as a kid I loved Dark Side of The Moon. I listened to it on rotation - I dissected it and then again. There is nothing about that album that I do not know. Nothing. It is without a doubt an album that had massive influence on who I became.

AND.

I never have to listen to ever again. I don’t even want to.

🔟 Has your taste in music evolved over the years?

Absolutely. But there are some core themes that underpin what I liked as a 15 year old and has stuck with me throughout the years.

For example my parents loved Frank Sinatra, Deano and the gang. I did not - though today I can appreciate them. That said my mum particularly switched me on to Dave Brubeck - a performer I locked into at a very early age - and still listen to. Very different to her love of The Dukes of Dixieland - at the time I thought they were ‘alright’ - and my opinion hasn’t become any more positive.

I am biased towards;

• complexity and layers
• instrumental not vocal
• command of the discipline

Separately - AND - I personally find this incomplete AlbumWhale list interesting. Each album really opened up my mind to THAT artist - yes - aware of the band / musician before it - but it was THAT one that made be go back and listen to more.

Santana - Caravanserai
Bowie - Low
Floyd - Atom Heart Mother

Its a list that will never be finished - but maybe if people ask me to post the album that switched me on to which artist - I will answer.

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