I pride myself on having a pretty broad
musical acceptance. That doesn’t mean I like everything, but accept the
fact that just because a piece or style of music doesn’t provoke an
emotional reaction in me, it isn’t bad.
Music is a very personal thing. Not
every piece of music is written with the tears of a tormented
troubadour. Not every tune is a reflection of the composers need to
share with the world an emotional journey. Music is in the ear of the
beholder.
I first became aware of music in the late
1960’s. My mother would always have the radio playing in the house. It
was there in the background of my life as I grew from innocent toddler
to angst ridden teenager. By the time I hit 14 or 15 I had developed my
own taste in music, and as was the norm in those days it was not the
music I had grown up with, the taste of my parents. In fact it took
another 15-20 years before I could truly appreciate the music I had
grown up with, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Doris Day and even Val
Doonican.
Looking back I can actually remember the first song that capture my imagination, Excerpt from “A Teenage Opera”
(also known as “Grocer Jack”) is a 1967 single by Keith West. I would
walk around singing this song a the top of my voice. I loved it, even
though at 8 years old I had no idea what it was about.
But that song didn’t shape my musical landscape, far from it. ‘In The Year 2525’ by Zager and Evans,
is the next mile stone in my musical history. 1969 and I was 10, still
had no idea what the song was about, I just knew I liked it.
The same year and another song that I still sing along to whenever I heard: Rolf Harris ‘Two Little Boys’.
I knew every word. It was song about me and my younger brother in my
mind (although in fact it was written by American composer Theodore
Morse and lyricist Edward Madden, in 1902 and became a popular music
hall song of the time. It describes the story of two boys who grow up to
fight in the American Civil War.) I didn’t know that, neither would I
have cared. I was my song.
In 1970 I started to attend ‘The Big
School’ and soon discovered peer pressure. Friendships were formed
around common interests, be they football teams, hobbies or music. Mine
were formed around music. My new found friends would spend the next five
years growing into our music as well as growing into our sexuality. Our
standing in society was formed because of those we associated ourselves
with, and how they were perceived by those outside our group.
Those five years were the most important
time of my life as they formed the basis of who I am today. My little
group of friends were pretty liberal with our acceptance of other
peoples opinions/tastes. We liked what we liked and knew not everybody
would have the same views. We were pretty much placed on the rockier
side of the music street. Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Wishbone Ash and a
whole host bands influenced not only what we listened to, but how we
dressed, where we would socialise and what our outlook on life was. (We
all wanted to be the next Richie Blackmore by the way)
On leaving the comparative closeted life
of school and making our way into the big bad world, some of us got
jobs, some went to college and some went travelling. We all suddenly
found ourselves forming new friendships outside of our well established
group. With these new friendship came new influences. Granted we did all
tend to find new friends who fitted the mould we had created at school,
but these new friend also brought in new ideals, new music.
Brian, a very good friend who is sadly no
longer with us, one day arrived at my home after work clutching a large
brown paper bag obviously containing an album. I wasn’t aware of
anything new that needed to be added to our collective collection. What
had he discovered? Was this the missing link in the history of rock
music? Imagine my surprise when he proudly announced he had discovered
Bob Marley!!!
Growing up in Manchester, meant I had
from an early age be exposed to many different cultures, mostly it must
be said from the outside looking in. I had never had any problem
accepting racial, religious or cultural diversities from my own. People
were people, some were good, some weren’t, you walk your path as you saw
fit.
But Bob Marley! I wouldn’t even let Brian
place the newly bought platter on my turn table. I still to this day
have no idea why I was so against this album. Maybe it was because it
had been brought into our little group by outside influences, maybe I
simply didn’t understand that Brian was growing and expanding his
musical landscape faster than I was. I took nearly 3 months before I
listened to the album. Brian took so much flak from “the guys” for his
new found musical subversion.
He had led the way, he had opened up our
minds that we could listen and enjoy other types of music. We discovered
punk through a new found friend to our group who shared our common
interests in motor bikes. I personally discovered dance music through a
girl who I fancied (and never got anywhere with despite learn all of
Earth Wind And Fire’s songs)
At one time I was DJing in a “disco” on a
Friday night and a rock club on the Saturday, before working at one of
Manchester’s punks night playing reggae in-between the band’s sets. I
had a vinyl collection to die for!
Because of that time I now have a pretty
eclectic, some would say almost confused, taste in music. All I know is
music is a personal thing and to judge somebody’s taste in music by
comparing it to your own is nothing short of being a music Nazi.
Music is everywhere today, the social
divide between the different genres of music are, in some instances,
narrowing. The sub sects of styles are dividing almost on a daily basis.
There is nothing wrong with liking more than one style of music. But
yet I see it on a daily basis where one person will totally dismiss
another as having no musical taste for liking a genre unliked by
themselves.
Music is a personal thing. Share what you
like but don’t judge others by your own shortfalls. Listen with an open
mind. Except people are different, and they can find enjoyment in
something you find tuneless. Even Simon Cowell’s production line music
for the throw away generation has it’s place, somewhere, in
the tolerance of a true music lover.
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