While radio used to be a decent medium through which to assimilate new music, especially the old pirate radio stations and of course Radio Luxembourg, it's not so much now. These days they just play whatever's popular mostly; time was when you could first hear new music on the radio, and this led to the purchase of various records by me, including Dan Fogelberg's "Windows and walls", Bob Seger's "The distance" and Jeff Wayne's musical version of "The war of the worlds". But before the advent of MTV and the internet, I used to get all my recs from friends.
I remember a guy in school had a cassette copy of Genesis' "Foxtrot", and this was the first time I had ever heard the band. I heard guys on a coach trip I was on singing (badly) "Stairway to Heaven" and didn't know what it was. A mate of my brother's brought in a single by the Tygers of Pan Tang, and I instantly wanted the album.
Then there were the record shops. We had one here in Dublin (still exists) where they played only rock and metal. You could go there and hang out for the day, listening to the best music around --- some of which was not even available anywhere else, as the guy regularly went over from Ireland to the UK to pick up the latest imports for his shop --- although you usually ended up having to buy something in the end. We didn't mind though, it was great music and the point was you got to hear it before you bought it. If you were interested in something, you could ask the guy what the band was like and he would put the album on for you, or else honestly tell you they were not great, why not try this one instead, and spin it?
I guess like most people I got my music in phases: prog rock, heavy metal, classical, country and so on, but the general rule I always applied --- and still do --- is that I don't listen to something just because it's in my favourite genre, or because I'm expected to like it. Though a prog fan, I still struggle with some bands like Spock's Beard, IQ, Dream Theater. Some metal I hate, eg doom/death. Punk I've never been into, nor dance music, and I just more or less steer clear of those genres, though I guess if I suddenly heard something I liked I would just get that artiste's music and not worry I was "crossing genres".
I've also tried to expand my somewhat limited musical tastes since starting my journal, deliberately venturing into areas I would traditionally abhor or avoid, as evidenced by my dissection of the (ahem!) genre of boybands. I think it's only fair that if you're going to slag something off you should know as much about the band(s) as possible, so that then you're talking from a position of some authority.
Anyway, again best of luck. I see you've posted your first review, and I have to say it's quite interesting. Keep it up, and like it says on one of the many sections in my journal, keep it simple.
TH
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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018
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