Thursday, May 05, 2011

Music - Part 1: The Journey

My journey with music started out early, around the age of 7. I started out with English pop music, more specifically bands of five. Backstreet Boys, Aqua, Five, and Spice Girls are all the big names that quickly come to mind. So many good memories. However, around the age of 13 I was introduced to rap, with Eminem's album Marshal Mathers LP. It was the very first time I listened to something that changed my mind and convinced me to modify my taste in music. My journey with rap was relatively short, after around one year, I was introduced to alternative rock. However, my taste did not change dramatically. I listened to both rap and alternative rock for around two years, and my taste in music changed slowly, until I was about 16 when I started listening exclusively to rock, and my taste in rock started expanding beyond alternative rock, to include many of the other styles in the rock and metal category.

I have to say, rock is great, it stuck with me for a very long time... I still listen to rock/metal although not as exclusively as I used to.

After I entered university, my taste started expanding once more. I started experimenting with non-vocal songs, classical music was my first experiment, and I loved it. I Listened mostly to Beethoven, and a little bit to other classical artists. Later on, I started experimenting with instrumental music. Guitar, Oud, and Piano were my earliest choices... I loved them too. I experimented with all of those types of music, but rock/metal remained my number one choice. And I also started listening to a handpicked selection of Arabic music. Fairouz was pretty much my number one choice. I also liked: Lena Chamamyan, Dina Hayek, and Ziad Rahbani. And to a lesser extent: Ruby (esp. Enta Aref Laih), Haifa Wehbi, and Nancy Ajram.

Until one day it happened. Around the age of 20, I listened to psychedelic trance, and fell in love instantly. There is simply nothing like it, nothing as good, nothing as beautiful. That was my second dramatic change in taste of music. I started listening to psychedelic trance exclusively, but this did not stay for long. Psychedelic trance opened my mind to a whole new world of music. Psychedelic trance, simply put, changed my idea of what music is, the most dramatic shift in taste that I ever experienced. For this reason, I had to check out other genres given my radically changed understanding of music. Uplifting trance (the most common form of trance) hit a major chord. Jazz was also lovely. After I started listening to Jazz, I started re-experimenting with instrumental music, but this time my choices were Saxophone and Violin. I also love downtempo genres such as Chill-out, Ambient, and Lounge.

On this day, psychedelic trance remains my number one choice, with a more generalized taste for instrumental and electronic music. And I still love to listen to rock/metal because I love their lyrics and energy.

In this series:
Music - Part 1: The Journey
Music - Part 2: Psychedelic Trance Favorites
Music - Part 3: Downtempo Favorites
Next: Music - Part 4: Favorites From All The Spectrum

9 comments:

Haitham Seelawi said...

Then you should go live in The Netherlands or France :)

Almost the same beginnings, but Classical music was my favorite ever since I learned about the existence of musical instruments.

Not a big fan of oriental music, except for folkloric genres. I occasionally listen to aboriginal and folklore music from overseas like the Australian aboriginals, Inca and African music; they can be quite cool and trance like sometimes. Celtic, Gothic, Japanese folklore music and symphonies are cool.

For what seems like a long history with Blizzard video games, I like female chants with the proper music in the background.

Industrial and industrial rock are favorites of mine (NIN in specific), because I like electronic musical instruments in general.

Devil's Mind said...

In reference to Blizzard, I assume you are talking about the New Age/Celtic/Gothic variations (Engima, Enya, Nightwish, Evanessence). I consider those to be part of my rock/metal experience, especially when I expanded on my taste in those genres.

Haitham Seelawi said...

I like that kind of rock (I don't like Evanescence though) but I am talking about a different thing. The music in their trailers or intros and ending movies. They use what seems like a mixture of Oriental Greek Christian chants and Gothic music. Something like the lady chanting in this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_fh-kdPNgo&feature=related or as in what you can hear in this other one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZYcApRm318

Devil's Mind said...

Would you consider this to be an example of what you are talking about? It is from a manga called "Elfen Lied", you reminded me of it when you linked to death note soundtrack.

Haitham Seelawi said...

Yes. I just love Elfen Lied. Now I might be giving you the impression that I am an anime or gaming freak but am not ;)

Devil's Mind said...

http://www.box.net/shared/uuck5d1tka

That's the link, dunno why it didn't show above.

;) Yeah, me neither a manga freak. I think it's just those two that I watched. Maybe one more that I forgot about, but that's it.

Rain said...

Almost same sequence in discovering music
But I can never imagine listening "exclusively" to one kind of music..

hay ehda2 minny elak
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lPaNdGlG7Q

looool gosh does this bring out memories!

Nice post

Devil's Mind said...

OMG, I love this song. Talk about depressing lyrics ;) When you start your life listening to that, of course you're gonna be messed up!

I also remember Get Down, we used to go crazy for it.

Rain said...

LOL jd no wonder enna tle3na jeel mfsoom
wain aiamek ya 7ajjeh Britney!