Your Ten Lifetime Music Listening Influences

[Count Machuki]

1. Family. Momrock/Beatles from the mom, Motown from (pre)Right Wing Dad. Punk and hard rock from the older brother.
2. Radio. Taping countdowns off the radio, finger poised on the pause. Still listen to college radio, AM free form, the grown folks music station, the hip hop oldies station, talk radio, NPR, etc
3. School pals. We were into classic rock, not that modern crap the cool kids listened to.
4. Rhino records. "Check it out, we already curated all the bands, you just start here!"
5. All Music Guide. I read these reference guides like novels.
6. Going to shows. Starting in high school. Lots and lots of club shows. So many opening acts, so many club PA systems, so many friends eager to share new music
7. Record stores. It's an issue.
8. My lovely wife. I taught her about James Brown, she taught me how to dance. Plus, the Latin music.
9. Work. Classical music rules.
10. BCB. Y'all know that story. #makebcbgreatagain #bcb4life



AND YOU?

[Goat Boy]

1. Mark and Lard on the graveyard shift
2. Mojos 100 greatest albums ever list circa 1995
3. Various 90s music Mags: Q, Select, Vox, Mojo, Uncut
4. BCB
5. Skope

[Minnie the Minx]

Nice idea for a thread. I'll return after work.

[Moleskin]

In chronological order, largely

1. Big sis.
2. School friends.
3. Orbis part work "The History of Rock"
4. Mike, colleague at Insolvency Service. Introduced me to the band, tried to guide me with Pink Floyd beyond DSOTM and The Wall.
5. Bob, colleague at IEU, who lent me his original copy of the Velvet Underground & Nico.
6. Biographies/interviews etc with musicians I liked about their influences.
7. Petulant Clarksville.
8. BCB
9. Morris & Jug Band colleagues.

[Deebank]

1. John Peel and other DJs (Andy Kershaw, Radcliffe, Vance, Richard Rhys). Peel was a colossus. He didn't like Felt though so not entirely infallible.
2. Family - mainly Copehead I suppose but there was the parental Sgt Peppers, Tubular Bells and Bridge Over Troubled Waters etc. and other brothers too. And I was into Cope first!
3. School friends - you'd always share any music and we usually travelled as a pack to the big gigs (Quo, The Police and others).
4. Band mates, especially Dave and Anu. I was indoctrinated with various funky musics, especially The JB's (who I had actually put on at a gig in Brighton - see number 7).
5. Gigs - they have a lot to answer for. The Social Sec at Bangor Uni loved prog in all it's myriad horrific incarnations, thus I saw many a nouveau prog outfit (IQ, Pallas, Solstice, Twelfth Night and I suspect he was indirectly responsible for Marillion). Lots of support acts I've seen over the years have turned into favourite, most recently Gweno.
6. Glastonbury - just mooching around absorbing the vibe... Man.
7. Brighton Poly Students' Union. Booking the acts for the union exposed me to lots of things... And some music too. While Jon Ronson went on from his union job to play keyboards for Frank Sidebottom, I got to play keyboards for Dumpy's Rusty Nuts (at a soundcheck).
8. BCB I suppose. In the early days lots of MP3 projects of course, especially the Residents from the late and much lamented Mr Rory Bellows.
9. Canadian MTV - I think I may have bought a Phil Collins tape. The charm wore off when I returned to the UK and it was rapidly sold to Cob Records.
10. The NME. I'm sure it was an influence although I can't think of a single band it actually introduced me to.

[pcqgod]

1. My two older brothers, 70's -- early 80's
2. AOR and top 40 radio, early 80's, mainly
3. "The Record Exchange" (later "The Sound Exchange") record store in Austin, mid-80's to late 80's especially
4. Creem magazine, 80's/90's (later, Option in the 90's, Ugly Things late 90's to present decade
5. concerts/Austin music scene, 80's/90's
6. friends in my band, starting mid-90's, especially
7. Amazon (and other online music stores) recommendations, starting early 2000's
8. music discussion boards, starting early 2000's
9. parents, they were pre-rock generation, but eventually I started seeking out the music they enjoyed in life
10. Little Steven's Underground Garage and other satellite radio, last year or so

[Darkness_Fish]

1. My dad. I always remember the old turntable, which held up to 6 records at a time, sitting round listening to Buddy Holly and the likes.
2. My brother. Four years older, he heard all the goth stuff before I did, leading me down a path to music geekdom.
3. John Peel. Another fond memory in my early teens, hoping that Peelie would play some random noise or grindcore.
4. MFTEQ. An industrial/avant-garde zine that I discovered as a student, and had some of the best reviewers I've ever come across. Probably the single most important thing in shaping my music taste today.
5. Vinyl Exchange/Picadilly Records - The two Manc shops where I buy random things, hoping to like them, based on record-label, interesting cover, interesting comment on a sticker, etc.
6. imdb/rateyourmusic/here/etc - Music message boards, and especially the likes of driftin, who point me in the direction of loads of interesting stuff.
7. The Wire. Doesn't do much for me very often, but I've subscribed for years, and it does occasionally point towards interesting artists.

Not sure I can go wider than that. That's about it. The rest is largely my fault.

[driftin]

DJs and podcasts - John Peel when I was a teenager, Mary Anne Hobbs when I was in my mid 20s, Stuart Maconie in my late 20s

IRL friends - stoners, skaters, ravers, goths, and a general bunch of weirdos who got me into various forms of experimental music, as well as electronic, hip-hop, rave, goth, and general fringe-culture in general.

Internet blogs / sharing sites - Mutant Sounds, Killed in Cars, and many others that I’ve forgotten that helped me appreciate the weirder and more obscure side of music.

Music Sites - Resident Advisor, FACT, The AV Club, Tiny Mix Tapes, Bleep

Forums - IMDb, Rate Your Music, The Refuge / Das Forum, BCB etc. where I’ve met many of you and a lot of you have pointed me in the right direction, particularly fish, EdwardJH, schizo, rayge, astropolis, algroth, el-p, pcq, and evil_ae. There’s plenty of others, sorry if you’re not on this list.

YouTube channels - Myke C-Town, The Pitch Control, The Boiler Room, MrsMisanthropy.

My other hobbies - from watching films and learning about synthwave, to playing games and discovering Martin Stig Andersen.

[Count Machuki]

music mags (especially Mojo and Waxpoetics) should have a place on my list.
download blogs, too. There's TBs of music on a hard drive somewhere.....

[toomanyhatz]

1. My parents - VERY different music taste (though it does cross over in some areas) but there was always music in the house. Dad was a great singer, mom accompanied (competently) on piano. Didn't have a lot of records in the house, but those that were were treated as important. Records were bought for me as a kid - Julie Andrews singing songs from her movies, and of course the classic 'alphabet song' - but even from a pretty young age I played the Segovia albums more. My dad became a huge Edith Piaf fan when I was a preteen, so her records were always around too.

2. The radio - I grew up with hit radio. In the 70s. Meaning, hit radio was about hits and nothing else. They didn't care if it was soul hits, country hits, or FM hits. Meaning the AM station - at least in LA - would think nothing of playing Zeppelin, Al Green and Charlie rich back-to-back. Helped form my eclectic soul.

3. Local businesses - Since I grew up in the 70s, I was left to my own devices pretty often. I would walk around in Hollywood by myself from a very young age. I liked to browse in bookstores that played music, and go to local shops that had jukeboxes. I heard mostly current hits, but I also have a distinct memory of hearing Suzi Quatro's new album this way - and loving it!

4. My buds in school - I was more into music than the people around me, but one of my best friends liked Elton John. It was a bonding experience, and he's still my first musical hero (which is odd 'cause I don't play piano at all). A High School pal I briefly dated (then later was 'just friends' with) turned me on to Strawbs and Curved Air. Later I was in a band with her brother. Long story...

5. My guitar teacher in Jr. High - He did teach us classical stuff, and a bit of theory, but he was also a big John Denver/Neil Diamond/James Taylor fan. Not big on a lot of that stuff these days, but I did like it then. And it did plant the seed that one guy with an acoustic guitar could do a lot. Natural progression from there to Dylan/Cohen/Ochs, etc.

6. Aron's Records on Melrose - Across the street from my High School. They had used records. I had lunch money. Draw your own conclusions...

7. Magazines - Mainly Trouser Press. They were really good once.

8. Review books - Yes, that includes Christgau and the original Rolling Stone Rock and Roll review. I also studied import catalogs, though.

9. Review copies - In the 80s I started writing for OPtion. If it looked interesting, I'd take a chance. All it cost me was time. Sometimes it was crap, most of the time it was at least interesting. And I got turned on to some stuff I would never have heard otherwise, and in fact formed some friendships with bands I wrote about, some of which have lasted to the present day.

10. Here - of course. #bcb4life #firethecanon #morebeatlethreads #wherehaveyougoneyellowjacket

[bobzilla77]

1. My parents - they were rock and rollers, had a record collection and took me to concerts from the time I was five. Both encouraged my interest in music, learning & playing it.
2. Our family friends Jim & Sherry from Pittsburgh who had a fantastic record collection. Any time we visited them I'd be parked in front of the stereo all day every day, checking stuff out. They got me into punk rock (Patti Smith, Devo, Elvis Costello) in 1978.
3. Friends and bandmates - still a big introduction point for stuff that's new to me.
4. College radio in the 80s - The only place to find out about a lot of things pre-internet.
5. Rock magazines - I've bought albums solely on the basis of a series of good reviews, some of which became life-changing favorites (Zen Arcade, DImension Hatross)
6. Going to shows - either checking out a band I've only heard good things about, or being at a show to see someone else or play myself & being blown away by another group on the bill.

[Spock!]

1) Alexis Korner - can't stress how much pleasure I owe to him. His radio show was enlightening, there were moments when my jaw dropped, my skin tingled, hair stood up and my heart opened - John Coltrane's Naima & Robert Johnson's Love in Vain.

2) Professor and Mrs J. Murdoch - two of my Godparents. Gave me my first record player (wind up, sharpen the needles) when I was 6 and an electric dansette type when I was 8 (still could play 78s on it). They gave me a few records too and I bought others at school fetes. Feels as if I've always had access to recorded music.

3) My dad - genetic influence as much as anything, he was particularly fond of brass bands, Polish folk music, light classical ... and in later years enjoyed Abba and Boney M singles.

4) Church - dad sang in the choir, we went every week. Still hugely enjoy many hymns of the older variety, and have a love of choral music.

5) Being born in time to be a child in the sixties and a youth in the 70's, though it's rare for me to in touch with contemporary music there was much to enjoy. Am hugely thankful to have lived through the punk/post punk era.

6) Our Price Records for whom I worked for around 8 years. Obvious opportunities to hear loads of stuff, worked with Pete Lawrence who went on to found Cooking Vinyl, The Big Chill amongst other less known people who knew about and played lots of music new to me. Was great dealing with Making Waves (record distributors) who were fans of their music and where I spent a few days visiting, going through their stock, playing things. Pete had left Our Price to join Making Waves, a mix tape he sent me one Christmas is still a huge favourite and included a few African recordings that were very new to me.

7) John Peel - simply the range. Played stuff I loved, stuff I didn't enjoy, but always interesting.

8) Jim Lloyd - presenter of Radio 2's folk show. Folk and country music were musical areas that had you asked me during my gangly youth period I would have told you that I was never likely to enjoy. I was wrong about that. Though I haven't delved deeply into country yet, I found I did enjoy folk and Jim's programme was a great educator. Didn't enjoy it as much when Mike Harding took over.

9) Books! So many that alerted me to music - Charlie Gillet's Sound of the City, Paul Oliver's History of the Blues, the work of Peter Guralnick, even the NME's Book of Rock (both of them, the 1970's paperbacks).

10) Friends I made during my school days: Tony & Gib. Tony had great taste with a penchant for modern stuff, Gib's family were looking after a friend's record collection while he was of travelling. A treasure trove of musical delights.

[Velvis]

1. My dad for Beethoven.
2. My cousins for Beatles and folk singles.
3. A sack of miscellaneous 8-tracks my dad brought home.
4. Radio
5. My cool stoner friend Tom.
6. My college roommate's Beatles collection.
7. My theater friends in college, who played the B52s, Ramones, The (English) Beat and the White Album at every party.
8. The Rolling Stone Record Guide (the first one with the red cover).
9. My first wife, who passed on her love of Led Zeppelin and other heavier stuff.
10. My friend Dave, who always found good power pop.

[toomanyhatz]

This was a great thread, unfortunately started around the same time as the mass exodus.

More contributions, please?

[Minnie the Minx]

I forgot about this!
I will return.

[Hightea]

1. early 60's family radio - early rock- a little jazz influence from dad as he had control of the family record player.
2. Woodstock - sort of not really the event (although my dads friend was in the movie) - we all watched the Dick Cavett Show the next day and mom bought some of the albums. This took over the music in our house. Although there was always Bowie in our home.
3. Summer of 74 - brother came home from college with a trunk chest full of his roomates albums. Played a different album every day.
4. 77- first year I went to see live shows those experiences (both good and bad) shaped my musical influences-Billy Joel, Led Zep, Pink Floyd, Yes, ELP, Genesis, dead, hot tuna, tull, Nektar
5. WNEW - new york rock station from early 70's to 80's it was the staple - in early 80's my brother was friends with some of the Dj's so he got the promo albums.
6. friends from 8-11 grade. We hung out with an inner circle of musicians and music worshipers. We spent most days going to a friends house each day and listening to something new that someone brought (one of those guys would have been Matt Pinfield) before the usual rock. Sometimes over and over. Part was going to Cheap Thrills record shop in New Brunswick, NJ they had JEM imports cutouts for .99 cents. Endless european prog. Also other friends
7. Oldest brother cbgb junkie in mid 70's and for a portion of the time lived with him. After playing tons of it he got me to appreciate certain stuff. I've used that experience to open myself up to almost anything. I never would have thought it at the time but today it's a big influence.
8. wow running out - College - opened me up to dancing and dance music. I was a fan of some dance music before college but it became so much more in college. 80's alternative college dance music.
9. In 89 moved to NYC and listened to a lot WDRE on long island. This got me into Brit Pop, Women singers and early grunge.
10. 2000 walked into a lower east side bar and next thing I know I'm in a NYC music scene hanging out with the NYC blogger girls and going to 100 concerts a year, hanging with up and coming bands, managers and promoters.
bonus 11. NEARfest festival - 10 years of prog festival talking to people, listening to prog bands new and old and purchasing tons of cd's.

[Flower]

Mostly in order ...

!. My Dad .. When I was five years old, he bought me a record player and a stack of 45's which he added to from time to time. He also bought me a transistor radio when I was seven or eight and would tell me about people such as Alan Freed. My parents also had a great Harmon Kardon stereo system.

2. AM Radio DJs .. Cousin Bruce Morrow, Herb Oscar Anderson, Ron Lundy, Harry Harrison, Dan Ingram, Danny Dan Daniels.

3; FM Radio DJS .. 'Alison Steele, the Night Bird .. Scott Muni, Pete Fornatale, Jonathan Schwartz, Rosko.

4. Friends .. Hanging out with friends, listening to their siblings records.

5. Movies and Television .. Some great scores and tracks which alerted me to composers and artists that I've not heard before.

6. Living in New Orleans .. Music all around, friends, the French Quarter, festivals, Gambit the local free newspaper.

7. Dwight's Classic Rock Forum .. I learned a lot from posters such as Spike, Troggy, Zombeels and others.

8. Litte Steven's Ungerground Garage .. Opened my eyes to different artists. Coolest songs in the world too.

9.. Mojo and Uncut Magazines .. We have a collect on their "free" CDs .. somewhere . some are great and introduced us to artists such as the Silver Jews .. others really suck.

10. YouTube ... Surfing YouTube, I've found many interesting videos including Hebrew and Israeli groups and tunes.

[Jimbo]

1. Dad, not a rock fan by any stretch but around 1958 59??? he brought home a portable record player and a record, an Elvis 45 with four cuts on it. One was a deep cut called Poor Boy and I stupidly can't remember the other three. I want to say Hound Dog and Love Me Tender but I'm not sure. What was sure was that all four cuts rocked and that little record got played over and over.
2. Again Dad who somehow knew this guy in the juke box biz and the guy presented Dad with some boxes of used 45s that had been replaced by newer 45s. Jackie Wilson, Jerry Lee Lewis, Phil Philips, Ricky Nelson and MORE!
3. My big sister who had the Oldies But Goodies series of LPs. And she played her music loud. Crashed In The Jungle was a favorite from back then.
4. WAB(eatle)C radio. Cousin Brucie and friends. Played on my Channel Master transistor.
5. Columbia Record Club offer. First batch of "free" records included Electric Flag and Gary Puckett and the Union Gap.
6. My band, The Freudian Slips and our original song, "Monkey On My Back (and I Wanna Get Him Off)".
7. Pot and LSD - huge influence.
8. 1979 WLOVE Miami radio station and they went all in for new wave and rekindled my love for music. Bought a portable cassette machine and recorded many many cassettes of Tom Petty, Elvis Costello, Graham Parker, Blondie, Gary Newman and the Tubeway Army (come on!)
9. Seattle used record shops particularly Cellophane Square.
10. UNCUT magazine introducing me to Americana.

[Deebank]

10. The NME. I'm sure it was an influence although I can't think of a single band it actually introduced me to.

I will have to disagree with myself here.
I reckon the NME was more important than I said above. There were quite a few bands I got into from cover-mounted records and their mail order tapes projects... Cocteau Twins loom extremely large (Ivo from Treasure was the first track of theirs I heard on an NME cover mount thing), plus all the good stuff on C86 and I also had a double tape thing that I think Copehead got me with lots of good music on.

I also remember good tracks by U2 (Wire dub mix, one of the few tracks of their I can tolerate), Steinski & the Mass Media, The Shop Assistants and of course Norway's own The Leather Nun (a great live track called Jesus Came Driving Along which led to me buying an album which was of course shit).

In later years - sometime in the 90s - they was a CD called Under The Influence that had a bunch of good tracks on too ( I liked the Beefheart, Scott Walker, Nick Drake and Zombies inclusions).

[Flower]

I forgot this one ...

11. The Fat Possum Record label .. Found lots of favorite artists from Fat Possum, including the Black Keys, King Ernest Baker, Charles Caldwell, Little Freddie Kings, The Heartless Bastards and others.