If it weren't for my first loves in music that weren't at all influenced by my parents' listening habits - Jewel, Savage Garden, and Blues Traveler - I really don't know where I'd be today. I went through phases of awful music, but these were the bands I most loved when all of my other peers were mad for Hanson, Backstreet Boys, and all of that.
Jewel has definitely evolved my taste into a lot of the more acoustic singer-songwriter-y stuff I like now, a la The Mountain Goats, Elliott Smith, Bright Eyes, Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, and things of that nature.
Savage Garden led me to artists like Radiohead, which has in turn led me to be turned onto a lot of indie and alternative stuff.
And Blues Traveler really helped me gradually get into improvisational music and superb instrumentation; if I'd never loved Blues Traveler as a kid, I can almost guarantee I'd not be into bands like Phish...
And without Jewel AND Blues Traveler, I doubt I would have really gotten into The Grateful Dead.
So really, I can trace most of the music (if not all) that I listen to today back to those three acts. Without them, God knows what I'd be listening to.
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It's a hand-me-down, the thoughts are broken
Perhaps they're better left unsung
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