Music: metal, indy, hip hop, punk, and variations in between.

I like music. I've always been into it and I have many in my life to thank for my tastes that I was introduced to when I was young and my tastes now.

1) My Dad Valton. He used to have a huge vinyl collection, well, when I was a kid it was huge. More like 100 or so albums. Mostly Pink Floyd from what  I could remember but also some old honky tonk, ELO, Blondie. 70s and early 80s stuff. He also gave me my first record player and "real" album - AC/DC Highway to Hell.

2) All the stoners I knew when I was a pre-teen brought to me metal. Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Slayer, Black Sabbath... good shit with some blues influence or lyrics about the devil, wizards or murderers. On top of that I played Dungeons and Dragons - had a big target on my back in the 80s.

I must mention, as most of us were little idiots at that age, I did delve into some liking of lame metal bands too. Too me that was Motley Crue, Def Leapard, Warrant ... "smiley metal" crap like that.

3) Not sure "who", if anyone, introduced me to punk/HC music. That was more about me being a pissed off little boy and discovering Black Flag and The Clash. Rollins-era Black Flag answered a lot of questions for me that no one else would touch. It was pretty much my "guide" for weal or woe. I do remember watching Cro-Mags video for We Gotta' Know on MTV's 120 Minutes. That was monumental. I even taped it on VHS and watched it over and over again. I wanted to be that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BLcCM8nPYQ

4) By junior high and high school I started exploring "new wave" as we called it. To me that was The Smiths, New Order, Depeche Mode, The Cure, Joy Division, ... all the usual subjects. I still try to figure out why I liked it (and still do). I think it was because I was crushing on all the waver and gothy chicks at first and then later I found out I liked the music and some of it was poignant to me. None of those chicks liked me anyways and thats what The Smiths are all about so I was right in that audience!

5) Jason LeMaster introduced me to prog and "lesser knowns". He may deny it but it's his fault. A lot of the stuff he liked I did not but it was the concept that he introduced and educated me about. Add to that the passion for music. Jason, if you are reading this I thank you for exposing me to another opinion. It's made me more critical of the music I listen to today.

So, other than punk/HC, my musical tastes were from my Dad, Jason, stoners, and waver chicks.

As an adult I have learned to like indy rock and hip hop. This was the result of me working at The Crystal Ballroom 2002-2003. I saw a lot of shows back then. I loved the indy rock shows as it was new to me and I was infatuated with the technicalities thrown into a pop-rock song. It was like they said, "Let's do a rock song the hardest way we can." and I dug it.

All the hip hop shows I worked were just fun, except for one that was all fights. Truth be told, hip hop shows were the least violent shows to work at my time at The Crystal except for that one. The shows and music was fun, women were flirtatious, men were having a good time and spending money.

Ok, that's it in a nutshell. Will be back in a few days with more nerd/gaming stuff.

Edit: failed to mention what I listen to now:
Metal - I like the "hipster metal" that so many deride. The Sword, High on Fire, Sleep, Electric Wizard... mostly doom and stoner metal. Also Gwar.
Hip Hop - Like most white people, I'm about 15-20 years behind in hip hop. Wu Tang, NWA, Missy Elliot, Jay Z, Beastie Boys.
What I call "My 80s": New Order, The Cure, Joy Division, The Smiths, Slayer, American HC stuff (Black Flag, Circle Jerks, DRI, MDC, et al.), and I will include some Specials and The Selector.
And Clutch, Morrissey, Motorhead, Bon Iver, Iron and Wine, Butthole Surfers, Smog/Bill Callahan, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Dandy Warhols, David Bowie, Erasure, Wolf Parade, Viva Voce, Tool, Primus, Postal Service, MC5, Barry White... on and on and on...