Are your music tastes eclectic or quite narrow?

[StickyDBRmf]

No one expects The Spanish Inquisition

[WAYNESWORLD]

I’ll give most stuff a fair shout but find I invest a lot less in a single artist/ bands than I used to. That said I revisit a lot more often in my music collection ,don’t know what that says except contentment in my older choices.possibly just an old friend familiarity thing.

[madshadows]

 I like quite a lot of different musical genre's, in the last week I've listened to Maren Morris, Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit, Bob Seger, Gun 'N' Roses, Miley Cyrus, Remy Zero, Starsailor and Jo Harman, I've noticed I've started listening to a lot more female artists in the last couple of years, the only stuff I don't listen to is Classical & Jazz  

John 😎 

[ead]

Probably not for me to judge, but I actively seek out new bands (as in I've not heard them before) either live or recordings.  I'd be lying if I said there were a wide distribution of genres though.  But I do try.

I played the violin to a decent standard as a young person and was exposed to a lot of classical and I still love opera and some composers.  Then I saw Led Zep play live and my world changed.

When the kids were growing up I played them all sorts of stuff on the basis that it was fine if they didn't like a particular band or genre but I made them articulate why that was the case.  I was trying to get them to understand that for something as qualitative as music there is no such thing as good or bad taste just stuff you listen to and stuff you don't..  

Edited May 13, 2021 by ead

[zbd1960]

7 hours ago, Bassmidget209 said:

I would say I'm quite diverse. Growing up ironically I thought I didn't like music as the only stuff I was exposed to was the generic pop of the mid to late 90s (sister was a big steps fan). It wasn't until I got a hifi of my own I started investigating music in my own. In time I found indie then rock, rapidly morphing into punk which cemented a life long love  of rock, but punk especially. As I've gotten older I've explored other genres, with guitar and bass usually emphasising the songs I like. I've dived into soul and Motown, I like a lot of pop stuff, electronica, dance (even as I pretended not to like it as a teen). I don't know if anyone was listening to radio 6 this morning but the people's playlist was not too far away from my on repeat playlist on Spotify 😅. I really.like jazz as I don't really understand it! It takes me back to that kind of wonder of the unknown when I discovered punk music and first picked up a guitar ( I am aware of how rediculous that sounds 🤣).What I have noticed about myself is that my appreciation for a song, artist or genre can completely change if viewed from another angle eg seeing a documentary about them or seeing a live performance or something like that. The song doesn't change but I can go from finding it uninspiring to wanting to play it or learn it. 

As far as narrow/broad mindedness go, I suspect most of us on here will be relatively broad minded. I don't know about anyone else but if I hear a song with interesting bass or musical element I can appreciate it even if it's not from a genre or artist I appreciate. I believe you would need to see your genre as 'right' and others 'wrong' to have a truly narrow taste in music, I suspect most musicians don't feel that way, especially bassists! There is of course nostalgia. If certain music reminds you of good times dancing around with your friends etc you will get a jolt of dopamine everytime you hear it (Buck Rogers by feeder, Mr brightside by the killers and want you bad by offspring are three that jump out at me). 

I also had a weird thing in my head when I was younger that I associated feelings and emotions with colours in my head, certain songs were red and others were blue or purple, cold colours generally were more interesting with warmer colours dull and boring. Had nothing to do with band artwork or logos or anything, they would just sound 'red' haha. 

The association of pitch/sound with colours is synaesthesia - it's not common, but I know two people who have it, one is an artist.

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

4 hours ago, Dan Dare said:

I don't know nuffink about art but I know wot I like 😁

I'm the opposite - I know a lot about art but don't know what I like.

[MacDaddy]

my musical taste is extremely narrow. I only like what I consider to be good music.

[Munurmunuh]

I think a variable is how quickly your enthusiasm drops off when you move away from your sweet spot. 

For example, I love Brahms chamber works, but am pretty uninterested in either the rest of his output, or in the chamber music of his contemporaries.

Similarly, I've spent 2021 happily obsessed with Megadeth but still have no interest in listening to any Anthrax or Slayer.

If it's not really doing it for me, I can't be bothered. How the various small patches of my enthusiasm relate, I haven't a clue. Looks pretty random to me. 🤷‍♂️

[Dood]

15 hours ago, StickyDBRmf said:

Daniel J. Levitin - "This is Your Brain On Music" - musician, recording engineer, neuroscientist - great read, again and again. I am 63 and "like what I like", no rhyme, reason, or purpose. Some stuff I used to like bores me to death, and some I can listen to forever. Today. Maybe not tomorrow. Went to Berklee College of Music and was immediately put-off w/ the academia because they didn't seem to to get on w/ Dolphy, Monk, Don Ellis and Frank Zappa. Of course in middle school I was in a band doing Black Sabbath and Yes. Now F.Z. bores me except for music from Burnt Weenie to One Size. And I didn't even get to see him live until after Zoot Allures. So go figure. All I listen to is college stations on the radio while shopping for groceries. I like bands w/ female singers. I like the music I make up ( I wouldn't call them "songs" because nothing is complete and available for download) but they live in my head and they're funky and danceable. So eclectic. And QUITE NARROW. Today at least. The Wichita Lineman brings me to tears and stops me in my tracks. We had it in the jukebox@ the restaurant I had the staff would put it on if I was having a meltdown. Music. Go figure.

There's something about that song. I think I've told this story before - but once it came on the radio whilst I was at work, driving. I had to stop the car to listen to it, so intently. A very moving experience and I couldn't stop thinking about my Dad. - When I next spoke to him, I had to tell him all about my experience. He said that we used to listen to that song when I was very little!  - Though, it was The Rhinestone Cowboy I insisted on sing over and over and over as a toddler, much to the exhaustion of my parents! 

[bassace]

Any musician, classical, jazz, whatever, who hasn’t played Shaking All Over has missed out on one of life’s great pleasures.

[meterman]

19 hours ago, StickyDBRmf said:

Wichita Lineman brings me to tears and stops me in my tracks. We had it in the jukebox@ the restaurant I had the staff would put it on if I was having a meltdown. Music. Go figure.

A guy I play live sessions for recorded Wichita Lineman on one of his albums so we’d often play it live. Maybe there’s something about the melodic or harmonic construction (don’t know for sure, I’m self taught) but often I’d find it really hit me emotionally when we’d play it. He’s from Wichita so maybe he put an extra bit of push into it, I don’t know? Beautifully composed song though.

[binky_bass]

Being honest, what I listen to mostly is quite specific, but that's because I've honed down what I REALLY enjoy listening to over the years and have found a niche I love. 

That's not at all to say I'm closed to other genres, but I know what really floats my boat and I like exploring that sphere at the moment. Time will likely change that! 

Edited May 14, 2021 by binky_bass

[Mykesbass]

I listen to the widest range of music, and still keep finding stuff I like, both new,(Christine & the Queen's, Joel Culpepper) and old (fairly recent Dylan and Springsteen convert). Also love Classical, Bop, and Big Band Jazz. 

Doesn't

@Beedster have some background in the latter part of the OP's question? 

[BassTractor]

I'll listen to anything and like really everything.
Yes, I have great taste! 😁

That said, several posts in different threads by @zbd1960 could nearly have been written by me, me coming from a strictly classical background and then having accepted more and more music into my life as the decades passed.

Today, just as I'll listen to Bach but (nearly) not to Vivaldi, I'll listen to Penderecki but nearly not to Britten, to B.B. King but not to Freddie King, to Little Big Town but not to Hank Williams, to Metallica but not to Slayer, etc. etc.

As to the neuroscientific angle, I know very little and thusly am very sure I'm right ( 😉 ) in thinking that for most people, musicality as well as exposure as well as neurotransmitter combinations play important roles.

[StickyDBRmf]

"You know I need a small vacation..." It has nothing to do with the lyrics, altought I scream them at the top of my lungs. When I heard "Weasels Ripped My Flesh" the first time I wondered how long they had gone on before :Thank you for coming: A girl came up to me and said my bass solo made her want to "Go to the bathroom". I still don't know if she was dissing or complimenting. REACTION. 

[Phil Starr]

6 hours ago, Dood said:

There's something about that song. I think I've told this story before - but once it came on the radio whilst I was at work, driving. I had to stop the car to listen to it, so intently. A very moving experience and I couldn't stop thinking about my Dad. - When I next spoke to him, I had to tell him all about my experience. He said that we used to listen to that song when I was very little!  - Though, it was The Rhinestone Cowboy I insisted on sing over and over and over as a toddler, much to the exhaustion of my parents! 

Coincidentally I had a moment with my daughter yesterday (who really does have eclectic tastes) over Wichita Lineman. It came up on a playlist and we both discovered a soft spot for that song. Funny how some songs just touch a nerve. 3.05 of shared musical pleasure, it all counts.

[stewblack]

Older I get the more open I am. I can love all sorts of stuff I used not to 'get'. 

Very few upsides to getting old, but this is one. 

[Raslee]

Are there others bands then, other than Gong?

Ah yes…Planet Gong, Shapeshifter Gong, Mother Gong, Pierre Moerlen’s Gong, New York Gong, Acid Mother’s Gong, Gong Maison etc 

I’m narrow yet eclectic then….and I’ve been stoned before 😉

[diskwave]

I have every single version of Agadoo....you mean there are other genres available?

[Dad3353]

1 minute ago, greavesbass said:

I have every single version of Agadoo....you mean there are other genres available?

Consult. Soon. 

[FinnDave]

1 hour ago, Raslee said:

Are there others bands then, other than Gong?

Ah yes…Planet Gong, Shapeshifter Gong, Mother Gong, Pierre Moerlen’s Gong, New York Gong, Acid Mother’s Gong, Gong Maison etc 

I’m narrow yet eclectic then….and I’ve been stoned before 😉

Don't forget Here & Now and the Planet Gong connection. I played a festival a couple of years ago and we were on after Here & Now - I was a bit nervous as Keith was a major influence on my playing back in the 70s - saw them at Stonehenge and various other places. As soon as they started I was back there, as was our drummer. Keith came up to me after our set and told me I was OK. Best night of my life!

[FinnDave]

2 hours ago, stewblack said:

Older I get the more open I am. I can love all sorts of stuff I used not to 'get'. 

Very few upsides to getting old, but this is one. 

I find I'm going the other way - the older I get, the less I feel I can waste time listening to anything I don't or may not like. Not criticising you in any way but interesting how differently people see things.

[Dad3353]

11 minutes ago, FinnDave said:

... Best night of my life!

Does your wife know this..? 

[Dad3353]

I'll listen to anything, for a (short...) while; everything gets its chance. However, I'll not suffer for long if it's not hitting the right spots. I, too, am old, and can't be wasting time panning for gold. I'm quite sure I've missed a few nuggets over the years, but I've come across gems, too, in the past. Not often enough to carry on as before; it gets its chance, that's all. 

Edited May 14, 2021 by Dad3353

[casapete]

5 hours ago, meterman said:

A guy I play live sessions for recorded Wichita Lineman on one of his albums so we’d often play it live. Maybe there’s something about the melodic or harmonic construction (don’t know for sure, I’m self taught) but often I’d find it really hit me emotionally when we’d play it. He’s from Wichita so maybe he put an extra bit of push into it, I don’t know? Beautifully composed song though.

Absolutely, one of my all time favourite songs. There’ something about the way Jimmy Webb writes that gets me nearly every time. He has written some amazing stuff - By the time I get to Phoenix, Do what you gotta do, Didn’t we, Up up and away, Galveston etc etc. If you get chance, try to catch the episode of The Great Songwriters on Sky Arts with Jimmy, it’s fantastic.