How were you introduced to music?

[TheTruth]

I didn't care about music too much until a couple of years ago, when I was introduced to Blink 182 by one of my friends. I haven't turned my back on music since & never will.

[RPS]

JHS, she is 3. In a year, she won't remember her love for Green Day. When you get to the ages of 7, 8, 9, thats when their actual tastes begin. At age 3, kids don't have musical tastes. They are just kids who are happy to listen to whatever sounds nice.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

Weeell while my mum was pregnant with me she was working in an Indie record store where they could play whatever they wanted.

1980 was smack bang in the middle of The Clash - they played a lot of The Clash. I love The Clash.

May be coincidence but they have proven that what babies listen to in the womb actually can emotionally affect them when they're older.

Other than that my dad loves folk and rock stuff (from Jethro Tull to Zeppelin) and used to (and still) plays that a load. He also liked Paul Simon - especially Rhythm of the Saints, and used to play a load of reggae and ska in the car on long journeys.

So I'm pretty ecclectic with regards to all that and generally enjoy it all although developed my own tastes of course, some of which my dad doesn't care for, and some of which I've introduced him to and he's loved (Sigur Ros, Arcade Fire etc).

[Draevyn]

Well, seeing as I grew up in a hick town, it was basically country music that my parents, or the rest of my family listened to. Outside of country it was things like The Beach Boys and Steve Earle. I actually knew nothing about their being other music until my behavior landed me in a foster home. From there, their son introduced me to my first two bands outside of country and that was The Offspring and Nirvana. I immediately fell in love with those two bands and began to explore things outside of country. Nirvana's Unplugged in New York and The Offsprings Smash will always have a special place for me.

[Fanku Kaibutsu]

Like many others, I was raised on the rock music of the day. My parents(and by extension I) listened to Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, AC/DC, Metallica, Ozzy Osbourne, Guns and Roses and the like. In addition to hearing it on the radio and stereo at a young age(5-6ish) I started listening to my parent's albums on my own. About the age of 8 I got a TV with cable in my room, which led to me watching a lot of MTV and getting into Nirvana, White Zombie, Stone Temple Pilots, Green Day and so on. For a while, up until a few years ago, actually, I thought I didn't like classic rock music. As it turns out, I was just sick of hearing the same few songs that the local rock radio station plays ad nauseum, even today. Now greatly enjoy the likes of Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, and The Who.

[MalaCloudy Black]

Well, seeing as I grew up in a hick town, it was basically country music that my parents, or the rest of my family listened to. Outside of country it was things like The Beach Boys and Steve Earle. I actually knew nothing about their being other music until my behavior landed me in a foster home. From there, their son introduced me to my first two bands outside of country and that was The Offspring and Nirvana. I immediately fell in love with those two bands and began to explore things outside of country. Nirvana's Unplugged in New York and The Offsprings Smash will always have a special place for me.

Hey man, nothing wrong with country. I still have fond memories of A Boy Named Sue and George Jones' White Lightning.

[ROC]

Mine is a very similar story to all of yours. I was raised on my dad's classic rock and to a lesser extent, my mom's hair metal love of the 80s. I fondly remember having a cassette tape of Metallica's Black Album that I listened to ad nauseam when I was around 8 years of age.

Then, for a bit of time, I got into the trendy rock of the time. Around '98, I watched MTV and loved to death Garbage and Rammstein and thought that they were awesome at the time when the only other song on MTV was Brandy's "The Boy Is Mine". (Admittedly, I still think both bands are awesome.) Then when Limp Bizkit and Korn came out, I dug the Chocolate Starfish album from Limp Bizkit. (Which admittedly does not hold up.) Other semi-embarrassing likes included buying Backstreet Boys's Millenium album...on cassette tape (as well as WWF: The Music Volume 5).

Anyways, another change sort of happened when I was introduced to Muse around 2004-2005, when "Time Is Running Out" and "Hysteria". And then I listened to Absolution all the way through and was amazed. It felt so radically different especially for a band that was in the American mainstream. From then on, I sunk my teeth into every new record I could find. It started with stuff like Pink Floyd and Nine Inch Nails and slowly I dug into the great groups of music like Velvet Underground, Beach Boys, the Beatles, etc. Not to mention, Sufjan Stevens made me want to hear a lot more indie music.

As for the question, I don't think it's so bad to let the child gain her own tastes, but admittedly, I'm trying to get my 10-year-old sister to appreciate some of the stuff I listen to and hopefully teach her that maybe there's just as much place for a Belle and Sebastian as there is an Avril Lavigne.

[B-Rad]

Well, I was introduced to music when I was in the womb. My parents put headphones on my mother's stomach. Also, when I was a baby, I wouldn't go to sleep unless I had music, there's actually pictures of me with headphones as big as my head on laying in the crib.

When I was 2 or 3, I was absolutely obsessed with "Sledgehammer" by Peter Gabriel. My parents said I would jump around and dance and sing to the song (well, as well as a 3 year old can sing along).

As I got to double digits, I listened to a lot of stuff with my mother, so I heard a lot of George Michael, Heart, Dixie Cups, Joan Jett, Bonnie Tyler, Bon Jovi, and the like. I could sing almost any of their songs to you, just because it's all my mother listened to.

Around the age of 12 or so, my friends started getting me into rap. I loved Juvenile, DMX, Tupac, and stuff like that.

However, a few years later my sister introduced me to Marilyn Manson. I was like "what the hell is this?" She started introducing me to more stuff, such as Rammstein, Bloodhound Gang, and Korn, and that pretty much shaped my tastes how they are now. Obviously they have evolved over time, as now I am liking Muse, Linkin Park, Chevelle, Adema, and so on so on.

Funny story...well, I think it's funny. A few years back, when Savage Garden were getting huge (ugh!), my sister started listening to that. After the music she introduced me to, I was quite distraught, but figured it was part of growing up. A few years later, I have gotten her into stuff I am into (just like I got my Mom and Dad into stuff I'm into), and so I bought her a Savage Garden cd for Christmas. Up until last year, we re-gifted it to each other every year, it was good fun. Never been opened, either, just passed back and forth. On the bright side, though, like I said, the whole family (with the exception of one of my brothers) listens to what I got them into, so I never have to worry about hearing crappy music again!

Edited November 9, 2007 by B-Rad

[supergrass]

While I was slightly too young for the UK Britpop scene, my brother was at the 17/18 mark when it took full effect with Oasis and was into them in a huge way. That rubbed off on me a little at the time, and when he moved out I took his Oasis cds and found a huge love for pretty much everything about them.

Britpop was still trudging along ok at that point, which made it easy for me to find a path to the surrounding or not-too-distant bands; Blur, Suede, Pulp, Supergrass, The Verve etc.

From then, with my Oasis affinity still intact, I would start to take a greater interest in the bands that had influenced them - getting quite into The Beatles, T-Rex (My Mum was a huge Bolan fan and has many T-Rex vinyls, so she nurtured my interest in them), Stones, Stone Roses, The Las. Until eventually a newer wave of music came along.

The Libertines were, I suppose, the first time I actually sort out a band myself. In as much as nobody told me about them, I heard them, liked them, got into them. And it continued along that path to this very day.

Edited November 9, 2007 by supergrass

[Gazz]

So it's good that my daughter enjoys the music now? I don't want her growing up and being all "Green Day? Why do I like this shit?!?" ya know? Although I guess part of being a parent is passing things onto your kids.

She probably will do, but by then she'll class them as 'classic rock' or 'mom's music'.

I was brought up on my Dad's Queen, Eagles, Creedance Clearwater Revival etc. records and my mom's motown (Supremes, James Brown etc. ) 45's.

[Renegade]

My Grandad used to listen to a lot of Queen, and I remember this one song that I used to play over 'n over. "I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR NO MONKEY BUSINESSSSSS", I can't remember the title. But I eventually bought a Queen greatest hits album when I was about 8. My music tastes then went with the flow 'n followed what everyone else listened to.

Eiffel 65 anyone? BLUE DA BA DEE.

Then around 2000 I got into rap because of Eminem 'n that's the majority of what I listen to now. I listen to a lot of other stuff as of late though.

[Keith Kannon]

I vividly remember my first song was on cassette and was The Witchdoctor by Cartoons. I was around eight years old. Beats the shit out of being raised on rock music, I assure you.

Edited November 9, 2007 by Keith Kannon

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

I can't remember my first cassette - probably NOW-something I'd imagine. I do remember having "You've Got The Love" by The Source feat. Candi Staton though which was a very good song.

My first CD single was "Ain't Talkin Bout Dub" by Apollo 440 and my first CD album was Alisha's Attic.

[Styk]

my first cassete... ACDC - High Voltage my first CD was Antichrist Superstar

[Hellfire]

I remember listening to rap when I was younger. My mom loves rap music and always drove me to school, so thats what I listened to, up until I was about 14ish. I started to listen to rock, stuff like Metallica and System of a Down, because thats what my friends listened to. I started listening to rap again at about 17, mainly due to this board. I listened to Atmosphere and Immortal Technique, which blew my mind as I hadn't heard lyrics like that before. I started digging and found a whole bunch of talented guys both in mainstream and underground, and thats what I mostly listen to now.

So pretty much, this messageboard has shapped my musical taste.

[timbawolf]

When I was a wee one my dad listened 2 stuff like Michael Jackson, Sting & The Police n stuff. When I was about 10 i was into Slipknot, Limp Bizkit, Papa Roach, Craig David etc. 1 of my older bros got me into Xzibit, Redman, Eminem & d12 etc. And now Im basically love rap. Peepz like Yukmouth, 2pac, kurupt, nas, snoop, red & meth, em, proof, crooked i, sly boogy, ya boy, shyne, tech n9ne, clipse, biggie, roscoe, eazy, bone thugs, kanye cnn and loads of others.

[lari]

My parents were into reggae. I was into the rebellious music of the time: heavy metal. Or as was in the those days, hair metal. I got into bands like Twisted Sister, Motley Crue, Cinderella and Europe early on. That was like way before I learned to read (and that was when I was six). So I was singing "We're Not Gonna Take It" in the kindergarten.

Of course my taste in music evolved a lot in my early teenage years. I got into a lot of other styles of metal music, outside of the glam metal movement. The biggest influences for me and my taste in music were Iron Maiden and Megadeth who were both well represented in the old Headbanger's Ball shows and also among my group of friends. I had already forgotten about glam metal and later dropped Megadeth among my top favourites too, but Maiden I still love and they remain among my favourites.

[VerbalPuke]

Being only four or five years old at the time, my taste in music was largely dictated by my older brothers influence. He was listening to shit like Kool Moe Dee, Motley Crue, 2 Live Crew, and then began to transition to gangsta rap which in turn caused me to do the same.

It was in fourth grade that I heard Black Sabbath for the first time, and really, everything fell into place from there. It'd be roughly 8th grade that I'd hear the Ramones and they turn out to change my taste in music for the better for the rest of my life. Damn near everything I like now can be traced back to hearing the Ramones, from rockabilly to thrash metal really.

My dad was also a big David Bowie fan so I grew up listening to a lot of Bowie.

[JimbobJoylove]

My first cassette single was Yazz & the Plastic Population - The Only Way Is Up, cassette albums were the music to 'Gladiators' (UK TV Show) and ABBA Gold. I must have been about 8 or 9 I suppose, thankfully my tastes quickly changed...

[Mattman]

I was raised on Robbie Williams and Westlife. Two artists I hate now. When I was about 7 I bought a Queen greatest hits album, still love them. After a while of Queen, Westlife, G4 and Robbie Williams I started listening to Green Day, Fall Out Boy, All American Rejects and My Chemical Romance because thats what my friends liked. Then I started to watch Kerrang because of my sister, which introduced me to Sum 41 (my favourite band.) And this message board has introduced me to Metallica and Muse and a few others. So your child may hate what you force feed them.