Stage 1: Parental Guidance
When I was just a baby/infant, I barely knew what music was. So naturally, I just listened to whatever my parents were playing; namely my mom. She had country music rocking out of her Honda accord 24/7. As I grew up, I my disdain for country music grew exponentially stronger. Nowadays, I can't stand the shit. Personally, it sounds like every song is the same beats and lyrics; no variety. Dogs, horses, trucks, beer, slutty women. Did I miss anything?Stage 2: First Come, First Serve
Once I was more of a kid than a baby, I started to latch to whatever came my way. Which at first was mostly soundtrack music from kid movies like Pokemon, Lion King, etc. But then I found my first musical love, the Irish rock band U2. To this day, I still feel a lot of U2's stuff (mostly their older hits, there new songs are largely garbage). They were a good blend of smooth rock rhythms and meaningful lyrics. Their lyrics usually told stories; something I look for in a good group. However, as I aged further, I discovered different genres and drifted away from U2. But to this day, I would still recommend them to anybody who likes classic rock and pop. I guess I got lucky. Other people that were my age at that time clung to bands like Good Charlotte, Backstreet Boys, and other trash bands. At least U2 had some form of quality to their music.Stage 3: Ignorant Bliss
Once I got an iPod and I was a teenager, I started getting into more of the mainstream stuff. By mainstream I mean the popular music a.k.a. a sorry excuse for truly good music. All the mainstream has going for it is the occasional catchy beat. The lyrics, I have determined, are utterly worthless. They are surface level end-rhymes and nothing more. Good music needs deep lyrics and the mainstream doesn't have that, all people look at is whatever is popular or "hip" at the time. For instance, Kanye West, while I'll admit some of his earlier stuff was alright, continues to make chart toppers out of his sorry excuse for music off his new album "808s and Heartbreak." That has to be one of the worst sounding albums I've heard in my life. I'm embarrassed for anyone who calls that hip-hop or even rap. However, he's recognized and he makes money because the mainstream is so locked into him. I saw him in concert, and he's a complete asshole, yet people blindly follow him because they're enticed by the golden light cast on him by the media and the rest of the populace. But not me and you, right? We're better than that. As I got even older (late teens now), I wised up to the mainstream shit they spew on the radio and found what's truly good: real, deep, hip-hop.Stage 4: Maturity
This is the point in my life where, at least I think I've found, the truly good stuff. Hip-hop at it's finest is right here on the internet. My friend set me up to download on the web and it's changed my whole outlook on music. My music library is no longer restricted my how much money I've got or what the music store carries, just by my knowledge of what's out there (Wikipedia is a great source). With the internet, you're exposed to all of the underground stuff you usually miss out on while blinded by the media limelight. Since discovering this, my music library has grown to 2000 songs from 100 in a few months. And this is quality stuff, not Lil Wayne and Akon and shit like that that cover all the magazines and take the spotlight at the Grammy's. No, underground hip-hop is where it's at. So I beg you to heed my advice, and skip the previous three steps and get right to what I'm saying here. Get on the internet and start searching (The Pirate Bay is a good place to start). I'll be posting more blogs about certain groups that I like and everything, but in the meantime, start your search now and don't waste anytime. Music has more of an impact on your life that you'd think; it effects your mood and even your outlook and certain things, maybe even life. I can tell you right now I feel better listening to some chill hip-hop rather than watching a sub-par stand-up comic or the news. So take my advice and start searching for the MC and DJ that fits you. More to come. Peace.----------------
Now playing: Solillaquists of Sound - Our 2 Cents
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