Hello, it’s me again!
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how my taste in music has changed over the years and even over this year or month.
Don’t know about you, but I grew up on rock and roll and country music. My dad used to always have his Journey’s “Greatest Hits” CD on loop in the car. That album quickly became the soundtrack of my childhood.
Question: What kinds of music did you listen to as a kid? Did you go with what your parent’s liked and then drifted away as you aged like I did? I’d be interested to know.
Music shifts can happen over several years like it did with me from childhood into my teen and young adult years. However, one song or album can snap the direction of your view of a particular artist or genre in an instant as well.
Here are a couple albums that changed my mind:
Paramore “After Laughter”
Lots of people are familiar with this band. Some of their most known and popular songs include, “Ain’t It Fun,” “Still Into You,” and “Ignorance.” Any of them ring a bell?
Well, I was never a fan of Paramore until their newest album, “After Laughter” came out and I got the opportunity to attend one of their concerts.
The title of the album refers to the feeling you get once you’ve finished laughing; the happy distraction disappears and the sad reality returns.
The lyrics on this album often spoke about hardships in an upbeat and positive manner, which I can appreciate and admire. Tracks on the album themselves are also pretty catchy and fun to listen to.
Kacey Musgraves “Golden Hour”
As I grew into my teen years, I seemed to drift away from my country-loving childhood.
Kacey Musgraves opened for my favorite artist at a concert and I was a little hesitant to be listening to country again. However, Kacey surprised me with her unique take on the genre.
Her sound (at least on this album) tends to have an old country feel mixed with disco which is a beautiful pair. I can always appreciate when artists dabble in a few different genres.
She is also a really lovely and accepting person as documented in her song, “Follow Your Arrow.” Because of Kacey, I learned to stop lumping country music (or any genre) together because it’s not all the same.
The Verdict:
My motto is truly: see things for yourself before you assume.
I encourage my readers to think about music that you have looked away from because of preconceptions about a genre or mainstream hype an artist has gotten in the past.
Until next time,
VIC WILBUR
