(no subject)

[featherynscale]

You know you've moved into the realm of overgeek when you can't answer a simple question simply and accurately.

This morning, the nurse at the office says to me, "What kind of music do you like?". I'm completely without an answer. I flounder a bit, and settle on, "Anything with complex instrumentation, bonus points for the use of non-traditional instruments for the genre. Less vocals, more clever music." So I'm thinking, that covers almost everything, except for the thing about the Rickenbacker guitars, which you just can't explain to a sane person. Surely this would be easy to understand. I smile brightly.

She blinks a bit, and then says, "So, you like the oldies, then?".

No, not exactly. Oh well. Really thought I had it there, for a moment.

Comments

[beccak1961.livejournal.com]

It's not a simple question. I dislike things like "what's your favorite..." whatever. I guess I'm just not focused enough or something, because I usually have many favorites of things, and like wide varieties. Music- about anything but bluegrass and rap, and even then there are exceptions to both of those... reading, about anything but hard core sci fi- and again there are exceptions. It's really hard to answer something like that, so I just shrug and say "eclectic" (though I did once have a person respond with, "you mean like Thomas dolby?")

[featherynscale.livejournal.com]

Hee! But really, who doesn't like Thomas Dolby?

I do usually go the negative confessions route on this one (I don't like rap, I don't like country, I don't like insipid love songs, etc.) but it somehow seems like invariably, when I say this to someone, the first thing I name that I don't like will be their absolute favorite in the world, and then they sort of sag a bit. I don't want to go around idly putting people down; when I put people down I want it to be on purpose.

[beccak1961.livejournal.com]

You have a point. It's just easier to name the few things I don't like, than the laundry list of things I do.

[wildnsquirrelly.livejournal.com]

I usually rattle off three of the most obscure names I can think of at the time to steer them away from the subject. If they actually recognize whatever it is I name we might actually be able to discuss musical interests further.

[featherynscale.livejournal.com]

Sure. It's a worthy tactic, provided that your aim is not actually to convey information. I'm funny about that these days.

For the sake of gathering data, what are your three favorite musical artists at the moment?

[lilia-blackbear.livejournal.com]

I usually do that, name three or so artists previously unheard to the ears of the listener... or, sometimes, I explain that my cd collection has over 250 cds, that I couldn't possibly pick just one genre. If they ask what genre means, the conversation is over. If they inquire further of my musical tastes, I'll pick three artists that you wouldn't think gel well that are actually in my collection that the person has probably heard of regardless of how I feel about the music of the artists at the present moment... like Rob Zombie, Hootie and the Blowfish, and Queen.

Sadly enough...

[wildnsquirrelly.livejournal.com]

I just haven't left enough time for music appreciation lately. What time I do have is spent enjoying stuff I've been listening to for the last eight years (or longer). I've been subjected to a lot of Nickelback lately & I'm almost to the point of being anti-'back. Too bad, because I'm sure I'd enjoy it more if I listened to it in moderation.

Re: Sadly enough...

[featherynscale.livejournal.com]

I can't manage to keep listening to all the same stuff -- have you tried pandora? It hasn't exactly saved my life, but it doesn't suck, either.

The Unpaid Research Department says:

[niveus-tigris.livejournal.com]

Let's see...I'll flip open my CD case and read you the first three bands I come across. Ah, here we are in the L's section. Led Zeppelin, Linkin Park and Lacuna Coil (recently added with thanks to saffronhare.

Generically, I like rock. Specifically, I like music that is invigorating and upbeat which satisfies my preference for meaningful lyrics and musical complexity. Here are some of the albums I've been listening to as of late:

Cold - Year of the Spider
Default - The Fallout
Earshot - Two
Fuel - Something Like Human / Natural Selection
Nickelback - The State
Sevendust - Best of 1997 to 2004
Seether - Karma and Effect

And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming!
Oh, that would be soldering...sucktastic.

Re: The Unpaid Research Department says:

[featherynscale.livejournal.com]

Lacuna Coil... That reminds me. I wonder if I gave her copies of the Lacuna Coil albums I picked up the other week, or if I just thought about it real hard. Must remember to ask her when she gets back in town.

Thanks for sharing the playlist :)

[diermuid.livejournal.com]

I like anything with a wide range and a lot of 16th notes, bonus if it's a classical piece done on a wildly distorted electric guitar.

Granted, my nerves have been so frazzled that Clannad was too harsh for me on Monday.

[featherynscale.livejournal.com]

Honey, you need either a serious meditation practice or a new job.

[diermuid.livejournal.com]

New Job? Like that's the biggest stressor in my life or something? 8-)

I haven't been able to do much Yoga since the back injury, so much of it relies on stretching the core, and that's the one area I can't do anything with. ::sigh:: Someone was recently pointing to yoga practice that is specificly tailored for back injuries, so it's on my longer-term to-do list.

A big part of my large to-do list I've been working on is hashing out a backlog of things that need to be done so that my life is more organized and I can relax. I also need to find a consistant restful spot in my life, a 'sanctuary' of sorts where I can recharge. Or even a set time to recharge. Right now my vacation time is all spent being just as productive, if not more productive, than I have to be at work. Granted, being a parent is temporary, and I only have to work real hard at it for another 7-11 years before they are autonomous. I work harder now though, so that they ARE autonomous in 7-11 years, and not a lifetime of baggage.

A lot of my goals in life have been set by talking with elders and figuring out what really matters. That has made me far happier (and more productive) than any short-term indulgence. 8-)

[featherynscale.livejournal.com]

New Job? Like that's the biggest stressor in my life or something? 8-)

It's the one you bitch most about, I think. Not that you don't have good reason.

[diermuid.livejournal.com]

I think it's the thing that sets itself back the most in the name of progress, which frustrates me. On the otherhand, it gives me a lot of insight into why other services end up so f-cked up.

It's also one of the things I can complain about safely.

[mesniu.livejournal.com]

My stock answer is "just about anything but modern popular music and country. I likeeclectic and eccentric."

When I was at JCCC and was president of student senate, I always had the radio in our office tuned to KKFI in the mornings, back when the morning line-up consisted of "Democracy Now!" followed by three hours of world music. I was a good ten years older than most of the other students, and when one of the little preppy-jock boys had had enough of the world music, he demanded to know why I insisted on listening to the station. My reply was that "by listening to this, I can guarantee myself that I will hear something I've NEVER heard before." He could at least appreciate that, though he couldn't stand it.

Wimp.

And as a guitarist, I can totally appreciate the Rickenbacker thing.

[featherynscale.livejournal.com]

You're hitting on another facet of the thing I didn't even think of -- with the exception of when I'm in my car and listening to the radio to keep awake while driving, I'd almost always rather hear something I haven't heard before than something I have. When I was in college, I had a neighbor in the dorms who apparently only owned one album and felt compelled to play it all day long -- this ranks as one of the top ten most irritating things ever to happen to me.

I still scan the headlines...

[wildnsquirrelly.livejournal.com]

to see if said ex-roommate has found herself on top of a water tower yet.

Re: I still scan the headlines...

[featherynscale.livejournal.com]

You know, she never struck me as the water tower type. I think of her more as a quietly-locked-away, following a retreat further into herself kind of crazy :)

She was great fun, though.

Re: I still scan the headlines...

[wildnsquirrelly.livejournal.com]

Me too, but eventually they come out of it & depending on the cause it can be a Happy-Joyous occasion, or a real Head-For-The-Hills encounter.

Really, I'd rather be pleasantly surprised by finding out that she's found somewhere sound & stable that gives her a sense of belonging. Possibly involving Lithium.

[jrc4558.livejournal.com]

Its interesting to think of things like this once in a while though. Some 10 years ago the answer to this question was simple.

[featherynscale.livejournal.com]

So what are you listening to these days? (And how much of it includes a theramin?)

[jrc4558.livejournal.com]

Yesterday was dedicated to Jean Luc Ponty.
Today I am indulging in Utopia. Possible Rammstein in the later hour.
What about you? Any specific bands with non-traditional instruments you would like to confess?

[featherynscale.livejournal.com]

Oh, anything with cellos, bagpipes, or excessive brass, I think. Apocalyptica, Rasputina, Seven Nations, Nortec Collective, and of late Boud Deun. Also, anything with a sort of cabaret feel, like Nick Cave. Lastly, found object music, on the order of Einsturzende Neubauten. (Even after years of living with language and computer geeks, I still don't know how to make anything with an umlaut, so you'll have to imagine in appropriate accent marks...)

I don't know Utopia -- what are they like?

[jrc4558.livejournal.com]

Utopia is cool. They use traditional instruments and lotsa moog, Zappa-like at times. But much heavier and guitar oriented (I happen to play in a prog-rock band, so I value guitar)

You want "unusual instruments"? Try Acid Mother Temple

Seems to me...

[wildnsquirrelly.livejournal.com]

as though you're leading up to a poll with this. ;)

Re: Seems to me...

[featherynscale.livejournal.com]

I could do, I suppose. You know, to keep up the high standards of relevance in this journal.

Re: Seems to me...

[wildnsquirrelly.livejournal.com]

Snicker.

Some days...

[triadruid.livejournal.com]

monkeys!

Re: Some days...

[featherynscale.livejournal.com]

Many days monkeys, comrade.

[matchgirl42.livejournal.com]

Most times, my answer to this question is, "whatever strikes a chord with me."

Yeah. I'll wait for the groaning to stop. ;)

Seriously. Mine's pretty eclectic, and all over the chart. In the same genre, there are songs/artists that I love love love, and songs/artists that have the same effect on me as nails on a chalkboard.