Strawberry Letter 23 by Shuggie Otis Whitehouse Road by Tyler Childers Wharf Rat by The Grateful Dead ... View more

@Alyssa, @Pandora  This is a good question, and one I don't think I can give a direct answer to.  I grew up in the '70's.  AM radio had a deluge of fresh music coming out from a lot of artists, who to this day, have a lot of staying power.  My earliest memories of just sitting and listening to music came in the summers at my grandparent's cabin, my family's time capsule of my mom's family from her childhood, and still growing with the stories of my household, cousins, all our longest friends, and anyone and everyone who was too drunk to drive back to wherever after closing down a bar and spending a few hours of afterparty hosted by my grandparents. We couldn't get much for radio at that time in the far northern reaches of Wisconsin.  What that home had for us all summer before having to head back to school life was a wide education from industrial looking, victrola-spun vinyl from the early 1900's into the 40's, and then a treasure trove of emerging rock, pop, soul, and R&B selected at the record shops by Mom and her brother & sister. These were from the 40's, 50's, and '60s.  They included music by The Zombies, Sam the Sham & the Pharos, The Coasters, Big Mamma Thornton, Richie Valli, Elvis Presley, Fats Domino, Chuck Berry, The Everly Brothers, Little Richard, James Brown, The Beach Boys, Bobby Darin, Sam Cooke, Chubby Checker, Bobby Vee, Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Bill Haley and the Comets, Johny Rivers, Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, Herman's Hermits, Dion, The Temptations, The Four Seasons, Buddy Hollie, and so many more. We took great care of the stacks and disc envelopes of 45's.  Most of our days were spent outdoors, but countless hours a week I'd spend time just listening to all this songs while alone or with friends or siblings.  We knew many of the songs by heart.  Part of the excitement of the 12-hour drive north to the cabin was that I would be reunited with the sounds that raised my family. I also enjoyed my grandmother's music she'd put on from the 20's & '30's while doing house cleaning.  She had a ton of big band music for all those parties they used to throw.  There was still one more musical joy up there, when I could play DJ for hours for anyone visiting **ahem** Pietsch.  His log cabin had a bear rug, and this beautifully sounding victrola and some of the funnest music from the early 1900's. The first 2 records I bought with my own money were an Elvis Presley album and an Everly Brothers album, but which album or artist do I first remember connecting with???  All of them, and their ever folding, moulding, down-home, rocking & rolling, as well as rolling with their music parents of an even earlier generation.  The two saddest stints of my life were the two different times I was robbed of my massive music collection, especially that first time which included all those old 45's.  I lost a part of me that day, but I still visit in my mind all the ancient caves where I dove through waves of music for hours. ... View more

Hi Pandora Community & Moderators, I'm Chan McQueen - huge music fan with eclectic interests.  I listen to a lot of singer-songwater, jam band, bluegrass, and music communicating raw, core human emotions, experience, and social change/advancement.  Forever favorites include The Grateful Dead, Allman Brothers, the Meters, Paul Simon, Bob Marley, Leftove Salmon, Gillian Welch, Pink Floyd, Aretha Franklin, and Etta James.  Other faves include various band iterations of Jeff Tweedy, Ryan Adams, CSN&Y members, as well as Railroad Earth, Bruce Cockburn, Tyler Childers, John Prine, Thievery Corporation, The Gorilaz, Sarah McLachlan, Mazzy Star, Gaelin Lea, The Decemberists, Gary Clark Jr., The Shins & Broken Bells, Beck, Ray LaMontagne, The Be Good Tanya's, Wailin' Jennies, Neko Case, Wu Tang Clan, Manu Chou, Jack Johnson, Brandi Carlile, The Black Angels, Galactic, old school favorites and new such stylings like Caro Emerald, Earl, Good Lovlies, Imelda May, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Tape Five, and Eilen Jewel, and DJ/EDM artists like Bass Nectar, Phantogram, Zero Seven, and Massive Attack.  I have so many more favorites across these expansive genres who deserve listing, but I've already gone over my time. I've suffered damage from a small town legal racketeering system over a handful of marijuana candies which caused me to lose everything in 5 years and two suicide attempts about which I'm writing a book about everything I learned, experienced, and suffered from destructive social division & hypocrisy as I'm laying out in my book.  I'm hoping the eventual success of the book will lead to political runs which I hope (huge hopes) lead to me affecting a movement of positive social/political change.  Songwriters, artists, and their music helps me distill my own  thoughts & feelings as well as better understand deep core experiences of others in ways I can communicate in basic, understandable lessons and values which I hope the greater public will internalize, connect all the dots, and apply integrated pressure to socially damaging groups and politicians.  Pandora helps me find new and old artists growing the soundtrack, joy, and motivation which I hope propels me toward honest, human leadership benefiting everyone.  Sound pie-in-the-sky?  All the greater drummers and leaders in history heard the same thing.  Nobody will ever reach the stars if nobody believes they can, and nobody believes others will. What I like most about Pandora:  Building Playlists with the help of the "Listen On" feature, personalized radio stations grown from seeds of known artists, and hopefully this community will prove to be a favorite and some members will inspire ideas and motivation which help me toward my dreams. Thank you for your time today, and possibly in the future. T. Chandler McQueen (Dreamer, music & pie lover, and student in the School of Pandora and its millions of gurus of humanity) ... View more