Bands/Songs That Have Opened You Eyes To A New Genre

[General Smuts]

Anoter little teaser here for you.

As a wee fella i always grew up as a Specials, Madness ska kinda guy with a punk rock twist a la Clash, Pistols with a penchant for the occasional songsmith such as Elvis Costello and Morrissey/The Smiths

Then i went all depressive and blew smoke rings up Chris Carrabba's backside indirectly opening my eyes to Fugazi, Minor Threat etc and then bumming Ian Mackaye.

Then i went to work in a newsagents picked up an NME and have worshipped at the indie alter ever since thanks to Bloc Party, The Cribs et al

But the times they are once again a changing and im digging the new sounds aswell - Grime and Gindie were the ear sex of the moment for a while thanks to this fella:

Trip 'In school i was cool with Geography and punch ups being picked on by the boy with the Transformers lunchbox.' - The man is a lyrical leg end! 'Who's That' still blows my balls off and 'Summer Sundays'

Yes Boss, Sway, Plan B, Bizzle, Does It Offend You Yeah play there part also.

Then theres been a flirtation with the Nu Rave scene thats tickling my fancy as of late thanks to Klaxons, Datarock, Late Of The Pier and so many more.

What cross genrisation has anyone else been through? Or was it always straight from Chaka Demus and Pliers to Fujiya and Miyagi for most peeps?

[Fez of Mahrez]

What cross genrisation has anyone else been through? Or was it always straight from Chaka Demus and Pliers to Fujiya and Miyagi for most peeps?

Aged 9 or 10 I liked reggae-pop CJ Lewis, Chaka Demus & Pliers, Bitty McLean etc (honestly! have all the CDs to prove it!) - also liked Nirvana a lot though, I remember being devastated when Kurt Cobain died and that was when I was 9.

Then 1994/5 hit me like a train. Oasis, Blur, Leftfield, Underworld, Chemical Brothers. Both Indie/dance stuff. That era is where my main influences have come from.

Moving towards the end of the 90s I got into System of a Down so listened to a bit of heavier stuff. Then at uni I got into Jurassic 5 and Rage Against The Machine, both way after their time. Also had a big DnB period at uni where I discovered artists other than Roni Size.

[hairy]

Too many to name Rock to metal to punk to ska to new wave to rockabilly to indie to grebo to grunge to dance to madchester to rave to jungle to crusty to rock etc etc etc all with a splattering of reggae, usually heavy dub but sometimes dancehall. Now I just like everything apart from pop which I have always hated.

This week I have mostly been listening to dubstep. Burial's Untrue took me there.

[James.]

My first real appreciation of music came in the form of grunge in the early 1990's. Nirvana, Pearl Jam (I was obsessed with Alive - what a tune, even to this day), Nine Inch Nails, etc. I had Doc Martins, black band t-shirts and everything - anyone remember the Nirvana top with the yellow face on it, that was my favourite. A hand me down from my sister as well.

Then I got into House music around the age of 13-15. Club Classics volumes 1, 2 and 3. Used to listen to Danny Rampling, Judge Jules (ahem!), Carl Cox, Brandon Block, Sasha, etc.

And it was around that time that I heard Music for the Jilted Generation by The Prodigy. Totally blew me away. I'd never heard anything like it and it paved the way for journeys into The Chemical Brothers, Underworld and Orbital. Dabbled in hardcore for awhile too.

It was then all about big beat and the like. Fatboy Slim's first album (Better Living Through Chemistry) was quality and still is a good album. Other stuff off the Skint label too. Also got heavily into chill out and hip hop like Aim, Rae and Christian, Lamb, Portishead (f**k me I love them), Massive Attack, the Roots and so on.

Bought my first drum n bass in 1997 and have loved it ever since. Albums like Goldie - Timeless and LTJ Bukem - Logical Progressions were my first ventures into the genre and I've been listening to it and mixing it ever since. This taste also evolved into a liking for breakbeat, especially albums on the Y4K label and artists like Tayo, Freq Nasty, Ils, Meat Katie, Adam Freeland, The Freestylers.

Somewhere amongst all that I heard Dark Side of the Moon and fell in love with the Floyd. Also got heavily into Radiohead.

All of that has shaped my taste with the main genres now being hip hop, drum n bass, reggae, dub, soul, funk and breakbeat. My latest venture has been into jazz (Miles Davis) and old soul by legends like Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder.

Music. Mmm.

[Bert]

I used to like pretty much anything until i was about 16 and started going out, then i just seemed to like RnB more and more.

Have a soft spot for a few dancey tunes, Snow Patrol and a select few indie songs though.

[The People's Hero]

I very much started off on my musical pilgrimage as a product of my parents' tastes. It is my Dad who is responsible for my love for Bob Dylan as well as appreciation for artists such as John Prine, The Incredible String Band, Joan Baez, Janis Ian, Dr Hook as well as an appreciation for Classical music. My mother listen to artists like Whitney Houston, The Beatles, Bonny Tyler, Dolly Parton, James Taylor, Jackson Browne.

I actually like all of these artists. Partly through familiarity but some of them like Dylan and Taylor are firm firm favourites whilst others like Joan Baez and Janis Ian are artists I'd have been unlikely to have listened to otherwise but now I really enjoy.

As I started growing up, around the age of 12/13 I seem to recall being in to Placebo, Nirvana and Reef to a large extent as well as Fleetwood Mac, Pink Flloyd, Deep Purple etc. I also got really in to some technical guitarists like Steve Vai, Joe Satriani etc etc. Of course Brit Pop came and went...

Nowadays, all I listen to is decent indie rock (like We Are Scientists), synthy, creative, beat driven stuff (Hot Chip, Ladytron) and anything which is really more like poetry set to music.. really I'm all about the lyrics (The Housemartins, Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Hefner, The French).

I used to listen to a lot more music than I do now and I used to really know my stuff, right now I'm a casual enjoyer of music. It helps me to relax. This new approach to music has led to an appreciation for Sigur Ros, classical music.

[Trumpet]

Example. Wouldn't normally listen to stuff like that, but it gave me a tiny bit of faith, in that "rapping" isn't all just about brapping someone with a different post code.

[Finnegan]

I had this massive crush on this "skater" girl who was, awkwardly, also my best friend in school. I remember her giving me the first System of a Down Album. It all went "alternative" from there.

I have to say, I never really liked them at all.

I have to say, the band that have made the biggest difference to my music taste in my lifetime were the Dropkick Murphys, though. I hopped from folkier folk-punk band to folkier folk-punk band and have ended up a folkie. Er...

[Samilktray]

Example. Wouldn't normally listen to stuff like that, but it gave me a tiny bit of faith, in that "rapping" isn't all just about brapping someone with a different post code.

Bit of an ignorant view, Examples hardly a rapper either to be honest.

[Jay]

when I was a young lad I was very short of musical influence and inspiration I loved the Beastie Boys back in the day they were the first band I really loved and I played License to ill until my tape broke and I still love them now. We never had a proper stereo in the house as I was growing up and it wasn't until I got to college that I REALLY discovered what music I loved.

it's a long one are you ready I have a very eclectic taste so have been through many road to damascus style convertions.

being 16 in the early 90's was a fantastic time for music imo I starter listening to bands like Smashing Pumpkins around the gish time, Husker du and so on my friend lent me Fugazis self titled ep and from the moment I heard the bass line to waiting room the was it I was booked and as elff said from that moment it "opened my eyes to to Fugazi, Minor Threat etc and then bumming Ian Mackaye." and I was off on a journey that I am still loving to this day moments of enjoyment along the way included amazing bands like....

Black Flag

Fugazi

Minor Threat

Minutemen

Big Black

Lungfish

Rites of Spring

Jesus Lizard

Arcwelder

ROCKET FROM THE CRYPT

Girls Against Boys

Seaweed

Jawbox

The Nation of Ullysses

Dag Nasty

The Descendents

Bad Religion

Brainiac brilliant band who are now almost impossible to find anything by.

and so on.

my next awakening happened a couple of years later when I was lent a copy of a cd called Journeys by DJ 70 minutes of madness - Mixed by Coldcut it was some weird beats and breaks thing that I hadn't heard of before and it led me to investigate further I was them absorbed in the world of Ninja Tunes and more importantly Mo'Wax which is one of the most underated labels of all time imo and almost impossible to find now introducing me to the likes of DJ Shadow, DJ Crush, Money Mark, UNKLE, Dr Octagon ,Blackalicious years before anyone else.

Mo'Wax Imo is a label like Dischord that changed the face of music and in years to come will be look upon as just that imo.

During my time at a college I met one of my best friends who's dad had a massive music collection and introduced me to to some brilliant music especially in terms of dub, ska, Reggae etc and I became a big fan of the likes of Lee Scratch Perry a totally bonkers bloke who produced some awesome awesome songs like Police and Thieves, Chase the devil and so on other artists like Max Romeo, Augustus Pablo, King Tubby, The Skatalites and I was hooked on Ska so it was a natural progression when I first heard the first few chords of Rancids Time Bomb when I thought.... f**king hell this is brilliant bands like NOFX, Lagwagon, Pennywise and so on and following labels like Epitaph and Fat Wreck ment a further progression.

one man who isn't an artist but have a massive effect was the legendary John Peel I picked up so many bands from his radio show I used to listen, make notes and then on teletext they used to print his entire tracklist from the show I would then trundle off and see if I could buy/order any of the stuff I had heard

anyway this isn't even half of the story but I'm probably boring you all anyway so better stop waffling on but needless to say I have a MASSIVE record collection and it keeps growing and growing.

[WetFlannel]

my mates been trying to make me like hip-hop for over 5 years now... everytime i go round he has another song for me

[James.]

my next awakening happened a couple of years later when I was lent a copy of a cd called Journeys by DJ 70 minutes of madness - Mixed by Coldcut it was some weird beats and breaks thing that I hadn't heard of before and it led me to investigate further I was them absorbed in the world of Ninja Tunes and more importantly Mo'Wax which is one of the most underated labels of all time imo and almost impossible to find now introducing me to the likes of DJ Shadow, DJ Crush, Money Mark, UNKLE, Dr Octagon ,Blackalicious years before anyone else.

Can't believe I missed Ninja Tune off my earlier post. One of my favourite ever labels, perfect for opening the eyes to obscure yet musically brilliant artists.

DJ Food, Mr Scruff, Amon Tobin, Roots Manuva, Kid Koala to name a few.

And a big fat yes to Mo' Wax as well. Absolutely love Krush. And obviously have a lot of time for Shadow, Blackalicious, Soulsides and so on.

Finally Tru Thoughts label with artists like Quantic and Alice Russell has probably been my most recent discovery of new music. That and Hot Chip.

[Bellend Sebastian]

I was five when I had my first ever piece of recorded music bought for me - it was 'Are You Ready?' by Bucks Fizz on cassette from Woolco in Loughborough. This well and truly opened my eyes to the wonderful world of manufactured Eurovision shite and from there I went on a glorious musical journey that took in such wonders as Howard Jones and Musical Youth and the undoubted highlight of Five Star as well as not one but two Wham albums. By the time I was nine I was truly at the cutting edge of music, although around this time I did show worrying signs of deviating from the golden path of pop pap by recording 'How Soon is Now' by the Smiths of the radio, an act which years later I realise my parents must have thought was very odd indeed. The hard kids at school at the time were pretending to like U2 and hilariously, gay torch-bearers Frankie Goes to Hollywood but that was only because that's what everyone's big brothers were into; well except mine, anyway - he liked Heart.

By the age of 14 I was really going places and was practically a Billy Joel completist, and spent many long hours listening to Dire Straits' Alchemy live album, hours which I will never get back. It was around this time I acquired 'Raintown' by Deacon Blue, which I firmly believe to be one of the worst albums ever made, so bad that I even realised that at the time, although even now people try and tell me that it's a good record. It isn't, and the bloke's mouth was too wide and made him look like the Joker.

Fortunately I was saved in 1990 when I asked for 'Bona Drag' by Morrissey instead of yet another bloody Eric Clapton album. His first solo single 'Suedehead' was just one of those songs that you instantly think is brilliant but I was blown away when I discovered he could produce whole albums of the stuff. I couldn't get enough of it, and within a few months I'd acquired pretty much the whole Smiths back catalogue and I've never heard anything since that really comes close if I'm honest. He may not be as good as he used to be, but for me he's still better than everyone else. Although I've never found anything I've really liked more, that one record opened up the world of music to me in that I realised that just because something wasn't that popular didn't mean it wasn't good. The world outside of the charts always seemed baffling and weird and not something you'd actually want to listen to, when of course that isn't the case at all and what is baffling is why the stuff in the charts appeals to people.

Belle and Sebastian have provided me with a lot of enjoyment for a full decade now, and Euros Childs and Gorky's Zygotic Mynci even longer. As I get older. things that always seemed like a dreadful racket increasingly make sense, hence my increasing reverence for The Fall, which I've only really embraced in the last couple of years. The only new band that have got me really excited in the last few years are British Sea Power who if I was given a blank sheet of paper and told to come up with the perfect rock group come pretty darn close to what I would have imagined that to be

[Sods]

Bit of an ignorant view, Examples hardly a rapper either to be honest.

My background was so harder then yours.

Thats my view on rappers.

[hairy]

I was five when I had my first ever piece of recorded music bought for me - it was 'Are You Ready?' by Bucks Fizz on cassette from Woolco in Loughborough. This well and truly opened my eyes to the wonderful world of manufactured Eurovision shite and from there I went on a glorious musical journey that took in such wonders as Howard Jones and Musical Youth and the undoubted highlight of Five Star as well as not one but two Wham albums. By the time I was nine I was truly at the cutting edge of music, although around this time I did show worrying signs of deviating from the golden path of pop pap by recording 'How Soon is Now' by the Smiths of the radio, an act which years later I realise my parents must have thought was very odd indeed. The hard kids at school at the time were pretending to like U2 and hilariously, gay torch-bearers Frankie Goes to Hollywood but that was only because that's what everyone's big brothers were into; well except mine, anyway - he liked Heart.

By the age of 14 I was really going places and was practically a Billy Joel completist, and spent many long hours listening to Dire Straits' Alchemy live album, hours which I will never get back. It was around this time I acquired 'Raintown' by Deacon Blue, which I firmly believe to be one of the worst albums ever made, so bad that I even realised that at the time, although even now people try and tell me that it's a good record. It isn't, and the bloke's mouth was too wide and made him look like the Joker.

Fortunately I was saved in 1990 when I asked for 'Bona Drag' by Morrissey instead of yet another bloody Eric Clapton album. His first solo single 'Suedehead' was just one of those songs that you instantly think is brilliant but I was blown away when I discovered he could produce whole albums of the stuff. I couldn't get enough of it, and within a few months I'd acquired pretty much the whole Smiths back catalogue and I've never heard anything since that really comes close if I'm honest. He may not be as good as he used to be, but for me he's still better than everyone else. Although I've never found anything I've really liked more, that one record opened up the world of music to me in that I realised that just because something wasn't that popular didn't mean it wasn't good. The world outside of the charts always seemed baffling and weird and not something you'd actually want to listen to, when of course that isn't the case at all and what is baffling is why the stuff in the charts appeals to people.

Belle and Sebastian have provided me with a lot of enjoyment for a full decade now, and Euros Childs and Gorky's Zygotic Mynci even longer. As I get older. things that always seemed like a dreadful racket increasingly make sense, hence my increasing reverence for The Fall, which I've only really embraced in the last couple of years. The only new band that have got me really excited in the last few years are British Sea Power who if I was given a blank sheet of paper and told to come up with the perfect rock group come pretty darn close to what I would have imagined that to be

Sounds like it was tough at the beginning. I feel for you.

Bit further to go still and you will be there.

[Bellend Sebastian]

Sounds like it was tough at the beginning. I feel for you.

Bit further to go still and you will be there.

I never waivered. You don't when you've got Five Star to guide you

[Trumpet]

Bit of an ignorant view, Examples hardly a rapper either to be honest.

What is he then? He's white, he raps and he's from Fulham. I don't think its ignorant, he opened my eye's to artist similar to himself. I will not listen to any of this brapster stuff.

[Dr The Singh]

I was brought up with many genre's including pop, bollywood etc. The in the 80's British Music took a new turn, the FOlk MUsic of the Punjab was brought to a new audience to form what is UK Bhangra, a whole British Product, which is now being copied, by the likes of Bollywood, Pop and even Punjabi Bhangra!!