post Re: Music that Broadened Your Taste? in Community Chat

Music that Broadened Your Taste?

Travix — Wed, 11 Sep 2019 15:53:40 GMT

Who have been gateway musicians that have widened your tastes? I discovered Frank Turner when he opened up for the Dropkick Murphys. Based on liking him I've gotten recommendation for Gary Clark Jr. and Skinny Lister. Through Gary Clark Jr. I found Nathanial Rateliff and the Nightsweats. Eventually through liking Skinny Lister, I discovered the Dead South, The Devil Makes 3 and the Bridge City Sinners. All of which are amazing.

Demon Hunter made me aware of Killswitch Engage, and I love listening to them now.

Who has lead you to new music you've loved?

Re: Music that Broadened Your Taste?

JackPhantom — Tue, 10 Sep 2019 20:05:32 GMT

9 Lazy 9 and Funki Porcini got me listening to jazz, along with DJ Vadim, DJ Food and other people on the Ninja Tune label.

Re: Music that Broadened Your Taste?

adielizasmith — Tue, 10 Sep 2019 20:49:41 GMT

My Piano Teacher! I love Debussy, Chopin, and other orchestral, choral, and piano pieces too!

Re: Music that Broadened Your Taste?

jgvasquez — Thu, 12 Sep 2019 01:31:15 GMT

Great question @Travix! For me, it goes way waaaay back to when I was a teenager (in the 80's!). Up to that point, I had grown up listening to Disco, Soul, Funk, R&B, Top 40 on the radio. (E.g., Con Funk Shun, Rick James, Ohio Players, Tina Marie, Stacy Lattisaw, Cameo, S.O.S Band, etc.) That's all I knew because it's what all of my older, cooler siblings were playing in the house.

Then one day I stumbled upon a some cassettes (anybody remember those?) that one of my brothers left sitting out. They were the B-52's first two albums - the self titled B-52s, and Wild Planet. Judging from the album art, this looked nothing like the kind of band I thought my brother would listen to. But then again, he was THE coolest of my brothers, so I HAD to listen to them! I put the B-52's for a spin on my Sony Walkman - heard that first track start (Planet Claire) with it's quirky sound and vocals - and it sounded so completely foreign and unlike anything I'd heard before. And don't get me started on what came over me when I heard their Private Idaho track for the first time. My mind had been blown WIDE OPEN and I was hooked - I needed to find more of where this music was coming from!

From that point on, my tastes, interests, and views of music changed profoundly. The B-52's were my "gateway drug" into a whole new world of muscical genres - New Wave, Synth-pop, Post-punk, New Romantic and later ANYTHING that was "unconventional"sounding if it came with rhythm & melody, a beat...anything I could move to. I was infinitely more receptive to exploring and experimenting with different sounds from that point on.

My ears have been blissfully curious and happy ever since!

Re: Music that Broadened Your Taste?

Travix — Thu, 12 Sep 2019 14:34:54 GMT

I dig it. Any new stuff that you would unconventional that you're listening to?

Re: Music that Broadened Your Taste?

Lili_Ball — Thu, 10 Oct 2019 20:23:10 GMT

The band that widened my taste was definitley Demon Hunter

Moderator edit: format

Re: Music that Broadened Your Taste?

DetectivKornfed — Thu, 10 Oct 2019 18:51:39 GMT

Like you've shared, on Pandora over the long, approximate 15 years I've been on here, I've had songs play by Gary Clark, Jr., Nathaniel Rateliff , and The Devil Makes Three as well. I wasn't familiar with them, and I like them. Since they weren't a part of my musical upbringing, on Pandora I began discovering blues and soul music, and artists such as Sam Cooke, Little Walter, Otis Redding, Little Willie John, Marvin Gaye, etc. And on Pandora that led to Chris Stapleton, The Steeldrivers, The Devil Makes Three, Colter Wall, Nick Waterhouse, JD McPherson, William Elliott Whitmore, The Civil Wars (comprised of Joy WIliams & John Paul Williams, who've since parted ways), Willy Moon, Son Little, Jacob Banks, Phildel, Caro Emerald, & others.

Re: Music that Broadened Your Taste?

CaliDude — Fri, 11 Oct 2019 18:06:23 GMT

Over a very long period of time I've always had an artist, song, or album that were my gateways into whole new areas of music:

Grand Funk Railroad / Sin's A Good Man's Brother - Hard Rock / Heavy Metal

Public Enemy / Fight The Power - Rap

Soggy Bottom Boys (from "O Brother Where Art Thou") - Bluegrass

James Brown / Get Up - Funk

Sonny Rollins / The Bridge - Jazz

Bauhaus / Bela Lugosi's Dead - Goth

Various Putomayo albums - A huge array of music from around the world

Re: Music that Broadened Your Taste?

baileyannebrave — Sat, 07 Dec 2019 21:55:14 GMT

Awesome question. 🙂

For me, definitely Lindsey Stirling was the one that broadened my taste the most, because Pandora served up Glitch Mob based on her, hahaha. I was basically solely soft rock / pop prior to that. Now I am all over the place. And this year I've been accelerating that change and learning about what some of the genres are called thanks to Pandora's "New... Now" playlists. Who knew I liked Future Bass? Now I know

Re: Music that Broadened Your Taste?

MOHLovesAlaska — Sun, 19 Apr 2020 14:36:20 GMT

Growing up on my Grandparents Dairy farm I was surrounded by country music. I never knew other kinds of music existed until I found out I had a half brother David. That is when I first heard music like Kiss, Led Zeppelin, The Carpenters and other great Artist and songs. When I became much older I started to like Jewel and other singer song writers. My favorite song is Foolish Games by Jewel. The only music that I have never acquired a taste for and that is rap.

Re: Music that Broadened Your Taste?

Glamdring — Thu, 23 Apr 2020 04:55:53 GMT

try a band called MTNS, they popped up on my Cocteau Twins station and I liked "Fears" so much I made a new station from them, now Mr Kitty and Dawn Golden and a whole bunch more are making me have some happy nights after work

Re: Music that Broadened Your Taste?

Glamdring — Thu, 23 Apr 2020 05:00:52 GMT

Singer Songwriters? you MUST check out Harry Chapin then if you haven't yet. just wish Pandora was a bit more Album instead of Singles oriented, so many songs that are awesome by any artist are on their albums but never released as singles. because you are missing out if you never get the chance to hear "Circle" off of Chapin's Greatest Stories Live album