What music genre or artist changed your life?
Like, actually influenced your life going forward?
Honestly it was classical. I had a music appreciation class in high school and the teacher was incredible, ended up being a step by step historical analysis of how music changed over the years and how it’s all connected from Ancient Greece all the way to Tupac. I truly believe that there isn’t another musical genre that has the ability to capture such a wide range of emotions with such pinpoint accuracy as classical music without having to rely on any lyrics to explain what’s going on. What would the musical equivalent of falling down the steps sound like? Losing a loved one? Getting lost in the Sahara? Riding a bike through Paris in 1925? Traveling to different planets? It made me realize how limited other genres are because they’re so stuck in their own mold and can barely wiggle out of the predefined standards of what that genre requires. It doesn’t make that music any less important, but it’s interesting to think about.
Always wanted to get into classical music for this very reason but it’s hard to find an entry point. My dopamine seeking brain doesn’t help either
Yeah I don’t blame you, the dopamine chasing keeps piano boring
Although, I’ve personally found some really good melodic hardcore EDM and Speedcore because of it, so that’s what I’ve been aspiring towards
You might enjoy Karl Haas’ Adventures in Good Music radio show. There are some preserved on the internet archive.
Start with newer film scores that have 100% live orchestras (Zimmer and most modern film scores would be the opposite of this) and work your way backward.
John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, James Horner, Elliot Goldenthal, Danny Elfman - most these men utilize classical composition and most of their scores feature live players with small exception.
Think about why you listen to your favorite music and what meaning you get out of the music. Is it to project an image of yourself to other people so they understand you? Do you listen to stay current? What are you listening for? A beat? Dissonance? Do you have to turn the music up so loud that you can physically feel it in order to… emotionally feel it? Why? Is a whisper not as powerful as a scream? What does silence mean to you? What does sadness sound like to you? Joy? Bravery? Betrayal? Jealousy? -These were all questions my music appreciation teacher asked us.
Shoegaze and dream pop.
I will always remember the first day I listened to the otherworldly guitars of my bloody valentine, or the combination of the haunting dreamy vocals and guitars of Cocteau Twins.
I did not know music could sound so mystical and magical. It’s like being in another world’s soundscape.
Huh. Never heard of this before and so far it’s… Interesting. Side note, I have ADHD and autism so if this sounds negative or judgy that’s not my goa l- I’m not trying to come across as negative here, just sharing my first experience of this.
First few songs I’ve found and the overall sound is kinda grating on me, there’s a lot of dissonance and it feels like all the instruments and vocals are competing with each other for my attention. The vocals sound like the singers are too far away from the microphone and turned down too far in the mix, but still trying to compete with the (already loud+dissonant) rest of the track. It almost feels like unorganized chaos in a musical trenchcoat if that makes sense.
I had to turn off the playlist I found after four songs, my head is already so noisy that something so loud (broadband noise if that makes sense) makes me feel horrible.
I don’t like to hate on music, and I find that there’s some artistic merit to most genres… But this feels in my head like anti-art, I think? Where it’s clear that the people making it have talent and ability and are using it to purposely make something unsettling.
Can you expand on what’s supposed to make this enjoyable? I want to appreciate the artistic value but I’m really struggling to find it.
Hello there Hexarei. I am glad you checked it out and found it at the very least interesting. I get nervous in real life when i introduce Shoegaze to people, because I am afraid they will think it sounds…off. And then I have difficulty explaining why it sounds great to me.
Okay, I am going to assume you listened to My Bloody Valentine. The music sounds hazy and distorted, and the vocals and lyrics are unclear.
This is because the they use a lot of guitar pedal effects (reverb, delay, distortion, etc) and specific tunings to achieve the wall of sound. The vocals are buried along side the guitar effects, as it is meant to be part of the “sound”, like the vocals are another instrument in the song. The melodies are buried under all that wall of sound.
I admit MBV can sound distortion heavy and intimidating, especially their earlier stuff, where it has that punk rock energy vibe.
The beauty of Shoegaze is that there are many varieties or flavours. Some are noisy and have more emphasis of distortion, while some focus more on the droning post rock vibe, and there are others that are more mellow and chill. But it’s all to achieve that specific textured sound. That dreamy atmosphere feel, being half awake at 3am.
Maybe you can try something more mellow and chill like Slowdive
Or something more poppy like Chapterhouse
This might sound stupid as hell, but vaporwave music. It captures the essence of a feeling I’ve had since the mid 2000’s, but could never articulate in words. Then I read this thing about its anticapitalist roots, and I felt even more seen.
Arcade Fire saved me from religion and now speaks to me on a religious level. M83 speaks to me on a celestial level. Both have deepened my love for music.
