ladyislingering

Slowly, as I knew from the time I was just a little girl (maybe 3 or 4 years old) that I loved music, and it was the only thing that could calm, perplex, and inspire me.


My parents had somewhat conflicting musical tastes when I was growing up (for instance, my mom was a fan of Heart and Pat Benatar; my dad's taste varied from The Cars to Metallica) so some of my first albums were a little wacky/strange for an 11 year old girl.

A few things I remember being in the earliest incarnation of my music collection:

Aerosmith - Eat the Rich
Motley Crue - Dr. Feelgood
The Cars - Candy-O
Prince & the Revolution - Purple Rain
Pat Benatar - Crimes of Passion
Poison - Look What the Cat Dragged In

I never really seemed to have the affinity that other young people had for the current music. I listened to the radio a lot - there was a station that had 80s, 90s, 00s music but mostly focused on the 80s. There are a few songs that I can sort of recognize from the 00's but to this day I'm so out of the loop that I don't even care anymore.

I also grew up with a 60s and 70s station that ran for about 20 years. I cried for days when they were swallowed up by a modern country station.

I used to read vintage music books/magazines, really did all I could to get in touch with the decades I felt most comfortable curling up into. From those, I discovered Kraftwerk, and the Velvet Underground.

Which genres and bands were the turning points?

When I was 16, I finally bought my own record player. I inherited a bunch of records from both my parents and grandparents. My life changed almost instantly. I went from downloading tons of 60s and 70s music on Shareaza(? can't remember if that's the correct name but it was a cool thing) and burning mixed discs every week to listening to the multitude of 7" singles I had to play. It was then that I began to also appreciate the music of the 1950s (though I was already into Buddy Holly, from what I remember). I bought my first record that summer - Nancy Sinatra's "Boots". That's where my appreciation for 60s girl groups probably came into full swing.

At age 17, my love for the Carpenters, Bread, America, Strawberry Alarm Clock, and several others came into view.

At age 18, I discovered my favorite band of all time, Sparks.

At age 19 I was utterly obsessed with the Shangri-Las, Sigue Sigue Sputnik, Lesley Gore, and Squeeze.

At age 21 my obsession with T. Rex/Marc Bolan began.

When I moved to California at age 22 I discovered my love for a lot of groovy stuff I always knew was out there, but I'd never loved half as much as I did - Alan Parsons Project, Roxy Music/Bryan Ferry, and I was introduced to the wondrous heartache known as Elliott Smith.

There's a lot I'm leaving out for lack of memory but I feel my taste is still evolving at age 25. I'm still clawing further into the past, really cultivating a comfort zone, as well as learning new things (for instance, I LOVE Franz Ferdinand and Daft Punk's newest album was a staple for me for weeks).

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