Sturgeon's Law

"What kind of music do you like?" is one of those ultimate bits of awkward small talk, after all.

1. My two favorite bands are Tool and System of a Down. Frankly, those are probably the only two bands left I'd bother to buy a CD from. I like music that's visceral and that I can run to.

2. There are almost no musical genres I reject wholesale (I even have a few emo songs). My favorite country artists are Johnny Cash, Steve Earle, and Dwight Yoakam. My favorite rap artists are Public Enemy, Eminem, Dr. Dre, and Busta Rhymes.

3. I thought recently about writing a "13 Songs I Hate" list. If I do, you can rest assured that "Never Again" by Nickelback and "She Hates Me" by the horrendously named Puddle of Mudd will appear on the list.

4. Just as in poetry, I wish more artists/bands would intelligently engage with social and political issues, and I tend to adore the ones that are: System, Public Enemy, Bad Religion, Rage Against the Machine, etc.

5. When I was 9 years old, my favorite song was "The Final Countdown" by Europe. The first tape I bought (or remember buying) was Poison's Look What the Cat Dragged In. The lesson: don't be embarrassed by the dumb crap you liked when you were 9.

6. I also like orchestral music. My favorite composer is Antonin Dvorak, and my favorite piece is Symphony from the New World. Overall I like the Russian/Slavic composers most.

7. The first concert I ever went to was Queensryche, when I was 14. The funniest thing I can remember from a concert is the Nine Inch Nails concert where Trent Reznor thanked us for being "a polite audience" because it was in Memorial Gym and university authorities had bolted the benches down so no one could mosh.

8. Off the top of my head, an assortment of notable musicians I've just never really gotten into (regrettably or not): David Bowie, The Velvet Underground, The Minutemen, Tori Amos, and (contemporary division) The Arcade Fire. Many many more, I'm sure.

9. The best musical thing that I got from my freshman-year roommate in college before he dropped out at semester break to transfer to Notre Dame was his love of Neil Young's Decade. The worst was his insistence on using "So What'cha Want" by the Beastie Boys for our answering machine message. I don't hate the song, but imagine hearing this all the time (in whiny Beastie voice): "So what'cha, what'cha, what'cha want, what'cha want? (repeat a couple times) BEEP."

10. Best musicians I've been turned onto almost entirely by one source: Hawksley Workman (thanks, James), Ted Leo & the Pharmacists (thanks, Aaron), and House of Freaks (thanks, Kristin).

11. I'm noticing women tend toward very under-represented on this list, so here are a few favorites: Poe, PJ Harvey, Liz Phair, Emmylou Harris, and Garbage. Women are probably under-represented in my overall song collection, though.

12. Favorite mix CD I ever made: slightly different versions of the same CD I made for James and my brother (in my brother's case, I called it "Driving Music") that consisted of the swearingest songs I could find. If anyone's interested, I can post as much of the track listing as I can remember in the comments.

13. Band I think you should learn about: Philosophy (my brother's band).

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Edited to add: it has been brought to my attention that, for #10, Hawksley may have originally been brought to my attention by Kristin also. This may be true, I'm afraid. However, I do tend to get most of my Hawksley news from James now. O Canada!