What is your favorite type of music?

[MNSOTA]

I'll listen to pretty much anything...however I do not enjoy rap/hip-hop or country one bit.

My music collection is pretty eclectic. I am a big fan of Scandinavian folk/folk fusion music...favorite groups are Vartinna, Hoven Droven, Hedingarna. Nothing quite like the sound of electric guitars mixed with amped up Hardanger fiddles.

In fact, most ethnic folk music is a favorite of mine. Another favorite artist of mine is Keith Secola. He's Ojibwe from northern Minnesota, but his band and studio are based in Arizona now. His most famous song (at least on the reservation circuit) is called "Indian Cars" which pretty much describes life on the Rez. He mixes Ojibwe vocalizations (think of the singing you hear at Pow-wows) and drumming with electric guitars, and flutes from the southwest Native American traditions. Another of my favorite songs of his is about Chivington (he's about as popular as Custer among the Natives).

Opera also has a home in my collection. However, let this be said, I do not like Wagnerian opera...too long and drawn out for me. I can't imagine even sitting through one of the Ring cycle operas. I think part of it has to do with sitting in all those music history classes having to listen for musical "motives"...a very important thing in Wagnerian opera...but I'll save you from the music history lesson today. I do like a good Mozartian opera, and a good Italian one by the likes of Verdi, Puccini, and Bellini, and Rossini are always appreciated. Although American history buffs, would like the opera "Nixon in China" by John Adams.

Instrumental classical music depends on my mood. Sometimes I'm all about a loud, crashing symphony by Mahler...when other times all I need is a bit Telemann. As an oboist, the bulk of my repetoire is Baroque (thank you Vivaldi and Telemann). Although, pit music (opera, ballet) has some great parts.

I do listen to a lot of classic rock...mostly because it's the only station I can tolerate on the radio here (it's either country or annoying Christian programming). I like classic rock, however, I find that they play the same songs over and over and over on those stations.

And as a product of my generation, I still enjoy cheesy 80's rock. Not the greatest quality of music, but everyone needs some fluff from time to time.

[nanwynnfan]

I'm coming through my eighth decade of exposure to pop music and have to say that my taste is eclectic, selecting bits and pieces from a variety of music styles. Roughly chronological:

1. Ragtime, and its spillover into 1920s-30s pop-jazz and stride piano:
-Jelly Roll Morton, Fats Waller, Count Basie, Jay McShann ... and the current stride piano atar, Judy Carmichael; 8-to-the-bar boogie-woogie blues;

2. Big Band & Swing, favoring the instrumental numbers much over the vocals, especially Tommy Dorsey "Song of India," "Dry Bones," "Getting Sentimental over You." [Other favorites, differing styles: Miller, Thornhill, Basie, Shaw, Goodman,]Kenton. Although his music today would be seen as super-schmaltzy, ultra sugar and honey, Sammy Kaye's arrangements had some beautiful harmonies and subtle innovations in instrumentation. In the vocals, the groups: Ink Spots, Mills Brothers, Andrews Sisters, Dinning Sisters

3. Breakup of the big bands, small groups: Brubeck, Peterson. Cole; also resurgence of Dixieland Jazz.

4. 1960's, cage dancing and peace signs: Mamas & Poppas; Lovin' Spoonful, Beach Boys, Beatles.

5. 1970s: C,S,N,Y; Dead; ABBA, Ronstadt, Newton-John, my first real exposure to country music as well ... favorites, Crystal Gale & Emmy Lou Harris

6. Pretty much passed up the disco rage and got more into classical with favorites being Grieg, Ravel, Beethoven;

7. Over the last 20 years or so it's been, for me, individual performers, or even individual performances, often revisitations of older forms by current performers:

Ry Cooder - revisiting the Cuban roots of jazz; putting out another album "Jazz" which revisits blue, funk, dirge influences on jazz, displaying virtuousity on a wide variety of guitar "cousins;"

Ernestine Anderson - revisiting the blues, "Ain't Nobody's Business if I Do;"

Tracy Chapman: "Give Me One {Good] Reason;"

I have tremendous respect for modern performers who revisit old "standards" and then display a unique appreciation of the forms they revisit:

Examples: Alanis Morrisette's rendition of Let's Do It" [Cole Porter] in the fairly awful film "It's DeLovely" ... nobody ever sang it better; AND, in the same film, Sheryl Crowe's singing of "Begin the Beguine" as a dirge/lament, nails the essence of the song [although many ctitics condemned it];

.... similarly, Neillsen, Rod Stewart and Sting's revisitations of old standards have generally nailed it in interpretation and performance.

Over the years there are some novelties that stick; like the Ted Weems Orchestra rendition of "Heartaches" [1938], which captures upbeat rythms and syncopations and incorporates the then-popular rhumba craze and tops it off with Elmo Tanner's whistling solo.

After all these years just found and ordered an all-time favorite, Jan August's piano rendition of "Miserlou." Beautiful.

Favorites, in order: acoustic guitar, jazz and standards; classical; revisited blues; ragtime & dixie; .... individual selections beyond that.

[uber]

Industrial metal and alternative rock.

[Joe Strummer]

Acoustic Folk (City and Colour)
Heavy Metal (Avenged Sevenfold/Bullet for my Valentine)
Punk (The Clash, The Offspring)

[Joe Strummer]

Not to piss off any Rap fans but...

Raping to me is just these guys rhyming to computer simulated drum beats.

And I hate when I see this kid whereing these gangster clothing that grew up listening to Rock. Its all image. I see why people who grew up with it love it but for many people they have no reason to.

[SugarBaby]

What's Bob Dylan considered now? He's certainly not folk anymore, and he rocks pretty damn good for an old guy, or any guy for that matter. So rock I guess. I wish you could vote for more than one as I like a variety of music. Like:

Leonard Cohen
Lucinda Williams
The Moody Blues
Warren Zevon
Robert Plant
Doc Watson
John Prine
Allison Krauss
John Cowan
The Fairfield Four
The Nashville Bluegrass Band
Frank Zappa
Mark Knopfler
Mott the Hoople
Procal Harem
Carlos Santana
BB King
SRV...just to name a few

[sebboH]

See? You don't like Neil Young either.

[SugarBaby]

Originally Posted by sebboH

See? You don't like Neil Young either.

Well to be perfectly honest...I don't. But don't tell Paul.lol If you don't blab he'll never find this thread over here.

[sebboH]

There might be some hope for you yet.

[AlexdeLarge]

Originally Posted by sebboH

There might be some hope for you yet.

Hobbes old boy, to be, and I'll quote "Dylan's biggest fan" and not like Neil Young AT ALL makes know sense at all....but then most people in the southland make no sense at all.

Tell ya what it is.....Neil put the south down in a few of his early tunes, and T and her hubby can't get over it. Hubby don't like him, so Sugar can't either...weird huh?