My brother’s “band” is over. They’re actually over quite often, like, 2 to 3 times a week. This is because we have a music area with a bar in part of our basement, and they’re apparently too lazy to take drums to somewhere they won’t bug me, so they have to stay here. Anyway, it’s been getting better. Almost to the point where I will be able to refer to them without ironic quotations.
Currently, they are downstairs listening to Alice Cooper. I assume they are picking a song to cover, as they really only have 3 original songs (written by my brother, Matt) and need something else to play (Matt is not a machine, he needs time to create amazing music– actually, I really do like the songs he has written so far!). One of Matt’s band-mate-friend-type people started mocking the song they were listening to (“Hey Stoopid”) and all I could think was how they were lucky Dad wasn’t home because stuff like that does not go down at our house.
Some of you may not know who Alice Cooper is, but hey, that’s what Wikipedia is for. Please just read up on it, and catch up with the rest of us later. See, I do not need to read some Wikipedia article on Alice Cooper. I was practically raised by Alice Cooper. Which is to say that my father is a massive fan. I’ve been able to sing along to Alice’s songs before I could sing along to much else. I never set out to learn the lyrics, they’re just a part of me, like I imagine religious passages are a part of children who are raised in an environment where they go to church and stuff. My church was the church of theatrical shock rock. (The further we get into this blog, and the more you learn about me, the less surprising the fact that I am a huge weirdo becomes, I know.)
The musical area of our basement (which in addition to drums, contains various other percussion instruments, bongo drums, a piano, and a tree of guitars) is decorated as a sort of shrine to the great eyelinered one. While the wall itself is painted to a scale model of Pink Floyd’s The Wall (ummm… not sure of the connection between the two), hanging on the wall is every vinyl record that Alice has put out. The shelves hold other Alice memorabilia.
It is a room that Alice Cooper himself has described as “cool” and “surreal.” (He was given a photo a year or two ago, which he signed for us.) Yup, we managed to shock the shocker himself with our basement fandom.
So, yeah, it’s easy to see why I am such an oddball, being exposed to that my whole life. Well, half of my life, I guess. My mother was sure to fill the other half with tonnes of Nirvana. Kurt Cobain and I have been well acquainted since I was 3 as well. Life and times of the daughter of a pair of music junkies, I guess.
What did your parents listen to in your influential years, and did it affect you in any way?
Country. Country. And more country. I then used my country roots to influence YOU, much to your parents’ dismay
I think I am so picky about music sometimes because of Dad and his constant harping on the evils of digital manipulation of music and how songwriting doesn’t matter anymore and my god, we should all go back to the days when we played wax cartridges on our Victrolas. Also Ipods are a tool of the devil that isolate us from the communal nature of music.
Okay, it’s not that bad, but it’s close. And I’ve been affected by it. I am really unimpressed my singers that don’t write their own music. They may as well be doing karaoke. I dislike most pop music because I assume they sound nothing like that live. I don’t care if you have a subpar voice, I just want you to have the same voice in concert, man. I used to point out stuff on the radio and my friends would look at me like I had nine heads.
My dad’s artist of choice is Neil Diamond and my mum’s is Cliff Richard.
There was always a lot of pop and pop rock in my life as a child.
My dad got rather excited when I started listening to metal though. He had been a secret Black Sabbath fan as a teenager, but he wasn’t allowed to listen to them (religious family). It would have been nice if he’d exposed me to them during my childhood so I didn’t have to discover MY genre of music myself. Hrmph. Lol.
It’s pretty cool that Alice Cooper and Nirvana were your parents’ music of choice.
My parents always listened to classical music, and it drove me insane. I didn’t like it at all. Now I’m sort of warming up to it however, and I’ve even started listening to it myself
I still prefer pop music though :P
My Dad was into a lot of Juice Newton when I was young, and my Mom has always listened to country, a LOT of country, but mostly Reba McIntyre from what I remember. Now Dad listens to Native American music, and some other stuff with bagpipes in it :/ and Mom has started adding some Kenny G to her mix.
I don’t listen to any of this stuff, in fact I tend to avoid the whole genre(s) altogether. Even if my husband insists that what I listen to sounds all the same (and it kind of does — but don’t tell him that I agree), it’s nothing like ^^ that.
Woooo-ooo-oow, that’s like one of my friends (or sister’s friends) saying The Beatles suck. I mean…no. One may not be a fan of Alice Cooper, or other musicians of his calibre, but that’s JUST IT; he’s a musician with talent, just like The Beatles, and to trump all over that because it’s not your genre should result in being bitch slapped.
My parents raised me (and the sister) with very loud music in the sense that they introduced us to the rock genre; they would take us down for a nap with the music blaring, and if it was turned down, we’d wake up! There was no “punk”, or “emo”, it was strictly rock of all kinds, and sometimes techno (we’re all techno junkies, TBH). The Beatles, AC/DC, Scorpions, Nirvana, Nine Inch Nails…you name it! The sister and I got into other genres, such as pop, rap, etc. (we’re all-around rock/indie fans, however), but we always go back to our 70s-90s rock. :P
My parents both like gospel music and listened to it a lot when I was little – a bit odd, considering that neither of them are religious at all.
They both like older music. My dad mostly listens to REALLY old music (like, songs from the 1800s, although obviously modern versions), and my mom listens to stuff from the 60s to early 90s.
I wouldn’t say it’s really influenced me in any way, though. My musical taste is really different from theirs, although my mom and I have quite a few artists in common.
Whoa! Alice Cooper! That’s cool. My parents weren’t too music crazy. They mostly listened to country and I HATED it! I would whine until they turned it off! LOL. Ironically enough, now that I am an adult, I LOVE country! Isn’t weird how the world works!
Your so lucky to have such cool parents. I cant think of any musical connections i have with my mum and dad.