YOUR FAVORITE MUSIC

[*after8*]

so we all have our fave genre of music, the type of music we prefer over everything else... and all the groups/bands/whatever we listen to usually fall into the same kind of 'sound'.... and so i'm curious.

what is it exactly about your "kind" of music that touches you? what thing in a song grabs you and makes you love it so much? why are your fave artists your faves?

what is it? is it the lyrics? the intensity? the fact that you can relate to the song? you love the instruments played? the suspense? how it makes you feel like you can't sit still? how it reminds you of......... whatever? what is it, damn it!



as for me.. my music of choice is electronica.
and i love it specifically because of the multitudes of different sounds come together and create something beautiful.. how tempo and beat and sound can create mood and emotion -- without any words. i love it because it reminds me of before, and of good times.. and how so much suspense can b built with beats.. and leave you desperate for the next 'release' in the song. and i strongly believe that anyone who thinks "techno sux!!!@" either hasn't heard any GOOD music, or hasn't been listening.

[Rainne]

Now nobody laugh....my favorite kind of music is country.

My CD collection is full of Killswitch Engage, In Flames, Iced Earth, other metal-ish stuff....but I can't resist a good country tune.

I feel like some of the songs were written specifically for me. Like someone was spying on my life and made a song about it. Weird.

[IGemini]

I used to listen to country a lot, but not if I can avoid it now.


Favorite genre? ...I dunno...I'd have to say that it's between electronica and metal right now. Nightwish is on the top of my list.

EDIT: Okay, more detail necessary.

I tend to appreciate music that has a good melodic feel to it, and is either usually upbeat or relaxing. Harmony is good, too. This is why I disagree with rap and hip-hop music, because rap is just a rhythm background in addition to having some rather distasteful lyrics, and hip-hop melodies are designed so even the most tone-deaf person can sing them and still sound good. I can hear it now: "Techno involves rhythm, too!" Well, a good portion of that library part is vocal trance, which does involve actual singing, and with rhythm in techno, it usually involves more than three intsrument types and more than two measures of it. It's also much faster, at around 120 bpm plus (rave as well and that pushes 160 or more). I don't typically agree with alternative rock which has fallen in on the past decade because most of it follows a certain harmonic pattern that doesn't appeal to me.

[Rainne]

People usually flip out when they find out I listen to country. Not something you'd expect from a pink-haired pierced girl. :P

[chiukit]

um... asian-pop. i like the beats and stuff, to me it sounds better than most english songs. i especially like taiwanese-pop or hk-pop, not only because i understand it (lol), but that i believe its easier to express things in chinese than in english, and for me it sounds better to have things expressed in chinese cose i was brought up with that language. jay chow is one of my favourite artists, cose some of his songs just fit me so damn well. and in some of his songs, he sings in a way that he sounds so fucking depressed... "if youre gonna walk away, please remember me... if youre gonna be sad, please just forget me."

[Lone_Raider]

I like so many genre's of music. I can name a bunch of songs from Classic Rock, alternative, punk, metal, rap, or classical music that move me. I hate to say this because of the above posters but Techno and Country are the only two genre's I really don't like lol.

If I absolutely was forced to only pick one genre though I'd go with the so called "alternative rock" of the late 80's through mid 90's. Why? because it's real, it was a small Oasis of music between two seas of endless pop trash from the 80's and late 90's early 2000's. The songs weren't about "Hey Girl I'm missin you" they were about life, hardships often included. And the sound just kicks your ass, no over the top ridiculous guitar solo's, no synthesized beats, just guitar's and drums thrown at you. The bands don't care if you hate them, they don't want to be number 1, they just wanted to play music and talk about life with a rock/punk theme.

[Crash Override]

Music is an integral part of my life. I live, eat, and breathe tunes like it's my job. Therefore, it's extremely difficult for me to pin down a specific genre of music that I enjoy, because my top ten albums quite literally span every major genre out there.

That said, I suppose my favourite "style" would be the old acoustic singer/songwriter format. I find the acoustic guitar to be a more intimate instrument in general, and it really allows the artist to convey his/her feelings in a way that electronica, or hip-hop, or balls-to-the-wall rock music never could. Lyrically, musically, I can just soak it all up and develop a personal connection to the music; I usually can relate to the lyrical aspect of that kind of music immensely.

I say "style" and not "genre" because you have all sorts of disparate elements in the acoustic singer/songwriter format - bands like Dashboard Confessional don't sound anything like Dave Matthews, yet both can fall under the acoustic singer/songwriter style (I refer more to the Dave Matthews/Tim Reynolds-ish acoustic stuff, and less to the full band stuff; same with Dashboard). A lot of artists have acoustic songs that I really appreciate, and the fact that acoustic guitar is my instrument of choice draws a further personal connection between these songs/artists and myself.

Some songs that fall into that category:
Dashboard Confessional - Screaming Infidelities
Coldplay - Green Eyes
Dave Matthews - Crash Into Me
Brand New - The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot
John Mayer - Daughters

I can appreciate all sorts of music, but for me to truly be affected by a song, I need to feel a personal connection to it, and the acoustic singer/songwriter thing does that for me.

[Don Simeone]

metal...forever...

because it irritates me less than other kinds of music...

lately i've especially started to hate the alternative music scene...the way i see it it's full of fucking nazis...especially here in belgium where to be cool you have to listen to morons who cant play their instruments and sing idiotic lyrics about nothing, and everyone expects you to like that kind of music, and not to like anything else because anything else is "stupid", it's irritating...(of course these people forget that i am infinitely cooler than they are :) )

i also like metal because it's complicated music...especially the kind of metal i like...it's comprised of layers of melodies...you'll often hear people who dont have a brain fit for listening to music (people who listen to pop or alternative crap) complain that metal is noise...this is because for them it is noise because their brain cannot pick out the different melodies that intertwine in a metal song, thus resulting in noise...people who listen to metal can pick out exactly the right melody to hear, whether it be voice, guitar, bass, keyboard or even drums, and because of this a metal song becomes a smart succession of different melodies...

is it a coincidence that a lot of people who like metal also like classical music ? i dont think so...






on a side note : rainne : IN FLAMES !!! RAWR !!!!...my favorite band...

[ProstheticMind]

I don't really have one "type" of music that my whole collection can be thrown into, though I do listen to some "types" more than others -

-drum & bass because its nice background music & has a great beat (ltj bukem, anything off of Good Looking records)

-some hip-hop because its fun to dance to (a tribe called quest, jurassic 5), thoughnone of that gangsta-rap garbage, though - I don't really give a damn about how many ho's you've got or how big of a player you are

-downbeat electronica just because (alpinestars, massive attack, portishead, tricky, bjork)

-a little bit of the more pop-ish sounding indie out there, because its great fun and I have a love obsession with keyboards (the dandy warhols, the anniversary, the kissing tigers)

-beck (I don;t think you can really put this guy into a category, but hot damn he's awesome)

-lots of post-rock (rachel's, minus the bear, etc) because I like the way in which the instrumentals are given a higher priority over the vocals, and because it all flows so well

Overall, though, my favorite type of music has always simply been anything where the artist(s) are genually loving what they're doing, and when that attitude comes through in their sound (doesn't mean the songs have to be "happy" or whatever, just means that the music and lyrics are sincere.. if that makes any sense).

[smartypants]

Country... why? Lol i couldn't really tell ya... i like the melodies.. lots of times the songs are fun and upbeat.. or they have a good love song wehn ya need one... lots of the songs.. i don't really listen to the words.. just more.. the melody.. and the music itself... i guess that's why.. sort of..

[HurleyGirlie]

I like ska because it sounds happy. And no, all ska does not sound the same!

[Onlykrc]

hard to choose between hip-hop and pop/rock

i love to listen to hip-hop when i'm in a party moody and don't really fell like thinking and just need a good laugh and some great beats. despite the "vulgarity" sometimes, there are always meaningful songs that i can relate to and scream "that's me too!" at.

i love pop/rock when i'm in a thoughtful singer sorta of mood. i listen to it when i wanna hear songs that really have a message. i dunno, it's just that certain songs from this genre hit home and get me real emotional.

[tadaoNakamaru]

Trip-hop and downtempo music.

Groups this includes:
Massive Attack, Amon Tobin, The Mercury Program, Cinematic Orchestra, dZihan & Kamien, Kruder & Dorfmeister, Portishead, Sneaker Pimps (circa Becoming X), Tosca, Tricky, Peace Orchestra, Tortoise, Sofa Surfers, Jazzanova, etc. That's to name a few.

Also, I listen to my fair share of alternative rock and hybrid music (rap/rock like the Beastie Boys). Also post-rock.

Bands that would fall under this:
Beck, Steve Burns (yes, Blue's Clues), The Flaming Lips, Radiohead, Beastie Boys, Gooding, Incubus (circa SCIENCE), Godspeed You! Black Emporer, American Analog Set, Fly Pan AM, Exhaust, Do Make Say Think, A Silver Mt. Zion, and so on.

Music weaves everything together.

[AppleBlossom]

I guess that my favorite type of music is pop-alternative and pop-punk. I love music in general (well, most styles/genres), and I like stuff like hip-hop and rap and all that. But when it comes to the music I feel the strongest connection with, I grab something like Matchbox 20 or Linkin Park. The lyrics seem to always have some meaning for me, no matter what mood I may be in at the time. Lately Unwell and Somewhere I Belong have had the strongest emotional connections.

When I'm feeling really angry or really frustrated, I like to pop in Eminem, especially the Eminem Show CD. I just really like the way he says what's on his mind, and doesn't really give a damn what anyone else thinks.

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

my favorite genre is anime soundtrack music, especially things by Yoko Kanno and Weiss. There's always something i can find that suits my mood, whether happy-bouncy (Cats on Mars, Cowboy Bebop), sad and lonely (It's Too Late, Weiss), or just feeling good (Battlecry, Samurai Champloo).

i also like Eminem, just because he has a good sound and lyrics that make me think (well, most of the time...), and i love his voice. =^_^=

[Asphodelle13]

I can listen to just about any type of music(except country)..But my heart lies in rock&roll. Growing up as a adolescent I listened to the oldies station..That's what got me started on The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, The Doors, Pink Floyd, and others...Besides my love of classic rock I also like some metal and alternative. Basically anything that falls into the 'rock' genre(and not pop or rap) I'm willing to listen to. And I also love movie soundtracks like the LotR trilogy, Gladiator, Braveheart, & countless other scores. I've listened to some anime soundtracks as well and find them quite interesting..like from Cowboy Bebop or movies by Hayao Miyazaki.