Towards the end of grade school (circa 2004-2006) I discovered Limewire (RIP). Prior to that, my music tastes had been generally pop music, punk rock, and gangster rap. My CD collection (you do remember CD's right?) consisted of Get Rich or Die Trying by 50 Cent, Collision Course by Jay-z & Linkin Park, The Rising Tied by Fort Minor, Red Light District by Ludacris, Elephunk by the Black Eyed Peas, Tha Carter 2 by Lil Wayne (arguably the best Wayne album), Thug Motivation 101 by Young Jeezy, From Under The Cork Tree by Fall Out Boy, Sublime by Sublime, Greatest Hits by blink-182 & numerous NOW! CDs (live and learn).
Through high school I continued to dabble in rap & hip-hop and focused more on alternative rock, punk rock, and then called emo & hardcore. Band names like Taking Back Sunday, Mayday Parade, and All Time Low were the soundtrack of the bus ride to school. Slowly, I changed from pop-punk to more metal and hardcore oriented bands such as Atreyu, Avenged Sevenfold, and Velvet Revolver (Contraband is still one of my favorite albums of all time). Through this time I also started to develop my tastes in a wider variety of music. Deftones and Nine Inch Nails became a huge influence over my tastes do to their heavy distortions and effects, combined with synth effects. I also became a huge fan of Amy Winehouse (RIP) and explored similar bands to Sublime such as Goldfinger and No Doubt. This began a short lived and highly enjoyable Ska phase of my life.
Along the way I discovered little bits and pieces which formed by love for electronic music. 3OH!3's second studio album Want, Attack Attack!'s album Someday Came Suddenly, and smaller bits and pieces of bands such as Mindless Self Indulgence began to stir my interest in this new style of music that was emerging which consisted of electronic beats, synth loops, and the actual use of synthesizers and keyboards (Only later did I realize Linkin Park's incorporation of a DJ in the band would have a deep subconscious influence over my love of turntablism &controllerism). Then came a huge breakthrough. MGMT's Oracular Spectacular. If you've never heard Kids, Electric Feel, or Time To Pretend, you need to look it up ASAP.
MGMT - Time To Pretend
Call me a hipster, but I started searching for bands no one had heard of. I enjoyed discovering my own music and finding out what else was out there that fit my preferences. When friends gave me suggestions such as Russian Circles and Black Moth Super Rainbow, I was ecstatic. This began my love of discovery (fueled by the Legos that my parents bought me when I was a kid). BMSR turned into a personal favorite with the crazy synth-y auto-tuning and psychedelic melodies.
Black Moth Super Rainbow - Forever Heavy
Then in 2009 something amazing happened. (Hint: I've Got A Feeling he had something to do with Sexy Bitch ft. Akon).
As for free downloads, I will leave you with Fort Minor's Mixtape We Major produced by DJ Green Lantern. This mixtape includes many of the tracks Fort Minor is known for like Remember The Name and Petrefied as well as previously unreleased tracks and remixes.
DatPiff.com > Fort Minor "We Major"
No comments:
Post a Comment