Beyond Mainstream: My Musical Tastes Over the Years

Hello, and greetings from December (November and October say hi too, even though they were forgotten…) I am quite sorry for my long absence, there have been many transitions in my life and the adjustment to new routines. However, I have returned with another entry to broaden your musical appreciation—and I mean seriously, broaden.

I was thinking about how much my music tastes have changed since I could remember listening to music, (Have many of you had the same experience? Or have you always liked the same general style?) and I thought perhaps I would share with you some of my favorites over the years, just in case you may discover something new you enjoy :) I will forewarn any mainstream fans—

Um, none of that here, sorry.

Alright, to the music! ~

1. Jazz, Big Band and Swing

This isn’t the first music I liked, but this is where I began to develop an individual taste. I’m sure everyone has heard at least some music in this area—and hopefully, enjoyed it. Honestly, who wouldn’t? It’s happy music, dancing music, and where so many modern genres were born from. Here is a classic Jazz piece sung by one (if not the) best Jazz/Scat singers: the great Ella Fitzgerald.

2. All Things Japanese

That was a big leap…

So this is when I was introduced to anime, Katamari, and the world of Japanese music.  I would often just listen to animation and videogame soundtracks, haha. I owe most of my listening to Ghibli films, so here is the theme from one of my favorites: Howl’s Moving Castle. The theme is so beautiful, so romantic... And of course I had to include an awesome Katamari song! (another favorite :) Chances are these will definitely be something new for you to hear, so I hope you enjoy them!

3. Ska Punk!!

Here is where the fun began! My older sister introduced me to a few Ska bands she used to listen to, and I immediately was hooked. O.C. Supertones, The Insyderz, MxPx and especially Five Iron Frenzy were the majority of my listening playlist. Who doesn’t enjoy hearing trumpets and trombones bouncing to a punk rhythm? Haha Ska is one unusual genre that I think will be a bit new to most…so here is one of my favorites I think you’ll like – 

4. Instrumental

Things calmed down a bit after ska, when I started learning cello. I returned to Japanese soundtracks, composers like Joe Hisaishi, Hirokazu Sato, and Phillip Glass, and classical (however this has always been a favorite). I won’t go into too much depth, but here is something unique by Glass...

5. Intro to Rock…

This is where it all began…I mean how I became a metalhead. First of all, when I was a kid I always said I hated rock and metal (I didn’t really know the difference). In fact I laughed at it, because all I could picture were those 80s hair metal bands. But when I learned a friend liked metal, I decided to give that area a chance. My first introduction to this new world was Disciple. At the time I thought they were amazing, so started listening to as many Christian bands like them I could find. Eventually I found what is now my favorite go-to group: Red. Although it is extremely difficult to choose only one, and I already wrote about Faceless, here is an awesome song by them…

6. Metal. (Today)

Aaaaaand now we’re here. I’m still discovering new bands and styles as often as I can, there are so many out there…

But I have finally found my music, Metal and classical shall be my home forever. Hey who knows, maybe you will hear these songs and discover you like metal as well!

So this is the hardest of all to narrow down for song samples. But I think these two amazing Christian metal bands I think these will suffice...

 And there you have it. A wide range of music you may have never listened to before! Or, at least, some of it. Well I hope you enjoyed them and discovered something new you like, and thank you for bearing with me on the long absence! 

Good day and God bless ;)