Prompted to write and publish this page ‘for posterity’ after a conversation with @hutaffe on Micro Blog when I asked him to summarize the ‘soundtrack of his life’.
Not unnaturally he asked me what mine was, which got me to thinking, because a few years ago - it was easy;
Today I am a little more specific, which paradoxically allowed for more variety and is more inclusive;
But after more thought - I think the real answer is …
… with Peter and Roger winning ‘honorable Mentions’.
AND - I know it’s hard. For example - I am a massive fan of Richard Thompson that goes all the way back to his days with Fairport Convention - and anyone who knows that world will understand the sheer quantity of music and artists that emerged from those connections - but - BUT - for me this exercise is not a ‘favorites’ / ‘best kind’ of list, but rather which artists I do love and follow have exposed me to other artists - different artists - that I also enjoyed and sometimes widened my musical horizons and sometimes doubled down on something I already knew.
I would never have come across Secret Machines without listening to David Bowie waxing lyrical about the band.
Steven Wilson gave me Guthrie Govan and Theo Travis who float in that world of ‘English Progressive’ that I loved so much when I was younger and through Theo rediscovered some of those musicians later work and found new artists exploring that tradition that I had been missing.
David Byrne, well … I knew Arcade Fire without him, but I wouldn’t have explored as deeply as I have, without that push - and of course Eno - already a personal staple from his Roxy days who I also get to via Bowie and there to Lanois, not to mention Fripp - who again I was a big musical fan of since the seminal ‘Court Of The Crimson King’.
The real reason for the ‘Soundtrack of Life’ question is an attempt to rapidly unpack where that person is musically. I am a big fan with likes that spread across decades and despite what that list MIGHT imply - I have a reasonably diverse taste, but I don’t want to bore people until I know that there is a mutual interest in and with the other person. So if the answer is (say) ….
.. well you get the picture, The resulting conversation would likely be very different than if they respond with something like …
A list like that reveals different genres and decades and the not so common names suggest they might be deeper into music than the passing radio listener that likes ‘both kinds of music’.
That said - I do recognize that although my list does at least span decades - there is a genre consistency that you think might suggest that I am firmly in the ‘prog camp’ - which I am - but not exclusively. That’s the thing about those three artists, you might have them in one camp - but once you explore - nope. (Best example is Wilson, who IF you know him at all, you might assume ‘Progressive Rock’, yet in my own album collection, I own around 50 or so of his CDs with genres that include ‘Electronic’, ‘Drum and Bass’, ‘Trance’, ‘Neo Folk’, ‘Pop Rock’, Jazz Fusion - bordering on to Jazz - and that’s before you even get to his catalogue of ‘Atmos Remixes’.
So to conclude this section, a final nuance of the ‘the soundtrack’ is that the names that come out are often the foundation of someone’s taste … but like all good foundations - what gets built on top can be very varied.
When I wrote the rather long winded explanation above (which emerged from a reply to a post), I named the ‘three from the past’ and my ‘current three’ with a short overview.
I am now expanding on that transition, that will lead to how I explore music, which is unpacking some great memories that I have started to detail using AlbumWhale.
I like AlbumWhale, because it is all about albums and that is the format I have always been drawn to. AlbumWhale is created by Barry Hess and Shawn Liu. All the public lists I have created can be seen here, because it is all about albums and that is the format I have always been drawn to.
So far these lists includes;
On ‘Gateway’, you will notice that though the albums featured might be bands, the focus is the specific individual that went on to influence my taste in many ways over the years. There isn’t any name that has appeared in the last 15 years or so, not because there aren’t new artists that I have found and am listening to, but none, yet, that have emerged and shaping other new discoveries. Part of that is because it takes time to onboard a new artist, get really acquainted with their catalogue .. watch as new music appears .. and get introduced to others.
But there’s more, it’s not just who is on the list, but who is not. One random example of omission .. Roland Orzabel and Tears for Fears, There are a couple of track duds in the catalogue, but on the whole, they don’t put a foot wrong … but he ain’t on that list. Why? Because despite loving his work, he has never moved me on and exposed me to new music and that is the point of this list.
Here’s hoping that this will contribute to a small appeasement of Mr. @simonwoods, who feels - strongly - that a simple list of three is just … well … inadequate.
The Soundtrack of my Life | The Top 10 Artists
Steven Wilson | Roger Waters | Peter Gabriel
English Progressive | Album Lists On AlbumWhale
Music Genres