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Post by JohanneSoulless on Jan 8, 2023 7:33:35 GMT
Warning: though short, it may take a bit of your time. My advice (the one I never follow myself and always regret it later) would be that you first read it to estimate how long it might take you
1) When and how you became interested in music? (The styles you started with, not exactly the ones you prefer these days.) -
2) How has your music taste evolved over the years? (From the start to the present.) -
3) Some bands or music projects you keep going back to throughout your life (up to ten; you can tell something about a few of them if you like). Can be not a band, but a single important album as well. -
4) What elements of music are the most important for you? (the ones you pay most attention to; if you like them, you're probably going to like or get used to any other features of a band's music; things like vocals, melodies, lyrics, atmosphere, sound of certain instruments, etc.) -
5) Describe some of your usual sensations/feelings when you listen to familiar music (like, one can spontaneously see colors and shapes in their mind or feel as if they were immersed in warm water, etc.). -
6) Do you try to explore consciously other styles and genres (if yes, share your plans, please) or prefer to go with your inner flow (discovering new bands by chance or following some of your inexplicable desires to listen to something heavier/lighter/more lyrical, etc. than the music you already know)? -
7) A fun one to relax: if you could play in a band, what style would it be, what would you do (which instrument or what singing style?), what image would you choose for your shows or photo sessions? If you preferred to have a one-person music project, describe it all the same. -
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Post by JohanneSoulless on Jan 8, 2023 7:36:39 GMT
1) When and how you became interested in music? (The styles you started with, not exactly the ones you prefer these days.) - It happened late enough, I think I was getting close to nine (it was probably late 1997 or early 1998). I started to live in a place where a TV was constantly broadcasting music if no one was watching a movie (naturally, I couldn't decide what was to be on). I don't know what the channel was: there were not just music videos, but also visual remarks popping up with some info about the musicians. I still remember some of those comments. Of course, I could read fluently by the time, and that styling of music videos was probably the best for me (I was exposed to lots of music on tape and music videos on TV before, but neither of those worked). I started paying attention to the videos and music itself, I started fantasizing about it all, and that meant something had rooted in me. The band that won my childish heart then was Spice Girls, notably their video for "Viva Forever" (and I still love it, I mean the song), but a few others too. I just loved the girls, they all seemed very beautiful and special to me (my fave was Melanie C because of her different voice timbre and appearance); I think I can say they were my first music idols. Then I ended up (by sheer coincidence) in a company of other children who loved the band but was surprised to learn that Geri Halliwell was a common favorite. I remember staring at a set of postcards with their photos in a newspaper stall and dreaming (I think I couldn't afford buying that). Then there was a troubled period in my life when I couldn't afford thinking about music as well, but I didn't forget about it. Britney Spears was becoming popular in my country at the time, and I immediately payed attention to her too (seems there's a music channel available even during the hardest periods of life ). I have to say at once that I've never been her fan, but she still represented beauty and music to me (I'd already realized that music was like female beauty ), so I remember that (but I dreamed about a few other artists too). But I didn't make any real effort to explore music until I was about twelve, and that, again, happened with the help of certain visual/textual means. Well, I played video games and liked listening to music in them (it was easily available in most games, you just looked for a music option and listened as long as you wanted without playing), but it wasn't actually connected to "real" music, in my view. Notice, though, its visual source (and I still love many game scores too). Then there was such a thing in my school as copy-books with lyrics: some girls wrote out lyrics of the songs they liked and decorated remaining free space with pretty patterns or stickers; they also borrowed the copy-books from each other to copy the lyrics they liked too, but didn't managed to take it down themselves. I liked it all immensely, but didn't know any songs the lyrics of which I wanted to write out, or to borrow or lend a copy-book for that purpose. But I wanted to be involved in that cool activity, and a reason appeared soon enough Once, I played a videogame with its sound muted (don't remember why I did that) while our music center in the same room was playing some songs by a Russian bard, and I started liking the melodies and lyrics and all. I can't recall exactly what happened later and how I instantly switched from bard music to pop music (but I think my first cassete album was a compilation by Mylene Farmer whose songs I knew from early childhood - my parents had some albums). But listening to music has become my well-realized interest, hobby, and part of life ever since (I wouldn't say it's "a need", because I totally forget about it when I'm busy). And I wonder where my copy-books with lyrics went... (I guess I gave them to my classmate or something ) By the way, after some time my need for a visual bait to get interested in music completely evaporated… no, I guess it turned itself inside out. Now I don’t get interested in a musician’s looks or lyrics until I love the music (or a separate song, in regards to lyrics) 2) How has your music taste evolved over the years? (From the start to the present.) - My initial music background included mostly new age and psychedelic sorts of music (not psychedelic rock, but music that was good for psychological exercises; my parents worked in that field), a few gloomy rock bands, there was very little pop music - I can only remember a couple of singers. But music channels on TV were on quite often, and sometimes I got infatuated with this or that performer, but only because I thought them to be attractive. As for the accompanying music, I just accepted it along with the performer's image. I don't think rock performers interested me at the time; I only remember I was a bit scared by Rammstein's "Engel" video. When I became older, I still meticulously ignored rock genre and preferred videogames OSTs and radio-friendly pop (would sit for hours near the radio and record on tape the songs I liked when they were being aired). Then a known song by a pop rock band The Rasmus made a huge hit, but I remained indifferent (or so I thought) until I stepped into a sudden visual trap. My parents and I went to a market where all kinds of goods were sold including pirate posters of popular bands (I guess the pics were copied from the Internet and more or less decently printed out). I wasn't interested in that stuff and just walked around staring maybe at books and jigsaw puzzles, and at some point I turned and looked straight into the face of the singer of The Rasmus soaring high in the air (in a poster). I knew him and the band from before, but it was different that time (the reason might be that I saw him unexpectedly, because what else ). I felt somehow confused and bewildered, and I can't recall if I ran to buy the album the next day or a couple of days later; anyway, I know that I got to like everything about the band incredibly soon. Then there was Evanescence, and I started to explore alternative metal without ever getting into pop rock, even though the music by The Rasmus belonged to the style (checked out another band or two like them, but it just didn't work). Then (after a few years) learned to appreciate Rammstein as well (but I still don't like the song "Engel"), who play industrial metal or something (some popular music terms are often argued about, but I personally don't care much about their correctness). But the "alternative stage" didn't last for long. I started reading more serious music magazines where many interesting bands were mentioned, and I started making friends with people who were more experienced listeners than I was. I constantly checked out respected bands that played in various metal styles, but the one I liked most was so-called gothic metal (another hated term, probably because it’s kind of mixed style; my fave is its symphonic version). True, there was a certain trend for "dark things" in my country at the time, but it only helped me to find what I wanted; and I've liked some of the elements "dark music" is full of since my early childhood, long before I learned to use the word "dark" to talk about interests And I keep exploring that style (although I'm not sure how people prefer to call and categorize it these days). I didn't really like extreme styles of metal apart from doom metal, but, even though I always listened to some doom band, I was getting into it as slowly as the music sounds itself I started to list it among my favorites only a few years ago, but I explore it rather lazily, mainly funeral doom (the slowest style). I got much quicker into electronic/acoustic styles like ethereal wave, dark wave, neoclassical, ambient, neofolk, and other "waves", maybe with a touch of industrial, mixed with each other in every imaginable way. Still explore these too. And my interest for videogame scores (and scores in general) was revived at some point as well. Overall, I think my music taste seems to have finished evolving when I was in my early twenties (before I turned 25, in any case). There have been occasional new things or shifts in my preferences, but nothing essentially new since then. 3) Some bands or music projects you keep going back to throughout your life (up to ten; you can tell something about a few of them if you like). Can be not a band, but a single important album as well. In chronological order: 1.Evanescence - the second rock band I heard (with an interested ear) and liked. Couldn't get into their albums after Fallen for many years, but love them all now 2.Rammstein - they finally conquered me not long after I became a rock fan. Didn't listen to them for years on end, but when tried to do that again, understood that they were still unsurpassed by anything I'd heard 3.Nightwish - the second band I was a die-hard fan of. Got acquainted with a few cool people, because they were fans too; we're out of touch now, but they influenced my life at the time anyway. Spent quiet a while getting used to newer albums (although I'm not "tarjafag" at all), but it turned out to be successful in the end. The music is very strong and memorable (try listening to instrumental versions if you don't believe me ), and I don't think I can ever stop loving it (saying this after 17 years of listening to NW more often than to most other bands) ❤ 4.Within Temptation - even though I heard them after Nightwish and even though they never became my top fave, I never thought they were inferior to NW. They just play their own version of that kind of music, and a lot of their songs still sound as good as ever to me. I have to say I don't like their latest releases all that much, but that's obviously not their fault Maybe that will change in the future (I mean I can suddenly start liking those releases)… 5.The 3rd And The Mortal - I think I checked out the band after one guy from Nightwish mentioned them as an influence. The band appeared to be my thing (otherwise I'd have labeled them as something unlistenable). I knew nothing about doom, experimental, and trip hop styles, and their music broadened my listening horizons a little too wide for the short while, but I’m very interested in those styles now. So that sudden “initiation” wasn’t in vain 6.Sopor Aeternus & The Ensemble of Shadows - I can’t really say what I like about it, but it’s certainly become part of me. It’s probably with the help of this project that I’ve become aware of the existence of transgender people at all (I knew about gay people before, but no more than that). There were also lots of things in the music itself that I wasn’t used to at the time, but they entered my mind as easily as if they were always there The vocalist’s voice sounds like an old friend’s voice to me (something I’ve never heard, to be honest ) Sometimes I listen to the music every week, sometimes I forgot about it for months, but years go by and it’s still with me. 7.Lacrimosa - the third band I was a die-hard fan of… now I’d rather say I’m an infinitely loyal fan Been considering them to be my fave band of all time for more than 16 years. One of the few bands I really can’t do without for more than a couple of months on end. Enough said? 8.Ataraxia - most of what I told about Lacrimosa can be applied to Ataraxia too. If I hadn’t heard LM first, then I might have thought Ataraxia to be my fave. Or maybe not… but this music does resonate with me nearly with the same intensity as LM’s (or with just the same, but I feel it differently). 9.Survive The Cold Eternity album by Lillith (a side project of a German musician Yendri; there's only one album, from what I know) - I think I heard it about 2006-2007, but it still sounds very nice and has also acquired a pleasant taste of familiarity The opening of “The Emptiness Behind” instantly lifts me up, just like it did years ago❤ 10.London After Midnight - well, I dragged this music along with me for years and sometimes got interested, then became disinterested again. Now it’s having its second and evidently winning comeback into my world. So, the fourth band I’ve been a die-hard fan of! But I wish it had happened earlier just because it could have positively influenced me earlier, and I might have been in a better place than I am now. But such is life
And I could go on about the bands a little longer, but I'd better stick to my own rule 4) What elements of music are the most important for you? (the ones you pay most attention to; if you like them, you're probably going to like or get used to any other features of a band's music; things like vocals, melodies, lyrics, atmosphere, sound of certain instruments, etc.) - I think I may call it an emotional atmosphere or, to be more exact, an individual manner of dealing with emotions and expressing them. It often depends on the sort of person a musician is. Well, if I like someone, it doesn’t mean I’m certain to admire their music, but if I dislike someone, there’s little chance for me to like their music. Also, when I strongly dislike someone’s music, I'm probably not going to like them as a person. Sounds like I’m extremely partial, well, in a way, but I prefer to think it just has something to do with our mutual emotional incompatibility that I perceive in their music. It’s just like aversion at first sight. I do think it has its reasons, but not exactly because of the other person having bad disposition or something (might be, but not always). It’s just that my senses tell me the person, for a number of reasons I can’t really know, isn’t someone I can be on good terms with. Back to music: ok, there are a few cases when I dislike a musician and like some of their songs, but they can never become my favorites (not because I think I shouldn’t allow it, but because it actually doesn’t happen). And those whose music is my long-time favorite (and didn’t lose the status over time) are all very agreeable people in most respects, to my mind As a rule, I discover it later, after having fallen in love with their music. But I can’t describe what I love with anything more concrete than an immediate feel “it’s my thing!”. It works seamlessly, though. I can listen one by one to several bands playing in almost identical style, and decide at once which of them is “nothing special”, “just awful” or “incredible”. From a technical point of view, I thought recently there has to be a certain balance of dynamic and slower parts. I enjoy any sort and amount of slow music, I enjoy sudden dynamic bursts in the middle of it or whole energetic songs. But I can listen to an incessant flow of dynamic music only for a limited time (like no more than 50 minutes? maybe). When there are enough slowing down or softer elements like gentle singing or keyboards in the quick and aggressive parts, I kind of have some rest during them and can keep with further energetic passages. But when there’s little or no slowing, I tend to get tired pretty soon. And I always pay attention to rhythm and drums (even though I don’t think it’s my favorite element of music). I’m not really picky about vocals or lyrics and can even get used to the ones I don’t immediately like if the “emotional atmosphere” suits me. 5) Describe some of your usual sensations/feelings when you listen to familiar music (like, one can spontaneously see colors and shapes in their mind or feel as if they were immersed in warm water, etc.). - Oh yes, colors and shapes is how I see music (the term for it is synesthesia I think) when hearing it One of my acquaintances called it “indescribable geometric forms” - not a bad description too. When I listen to something new and the colors start building a steady image/pattern, I know I’m getting into the music and may hope for developing a connection with it. Most of the music I know retains approximately the same set of color/shapes I “heard” in it once (although I can interpret the music itself differently in different periods). That’s just a visual outcome, of course. Generally, I try to turn every song into a sort of window to another world, the atmosphere and landscape of which are suggested by the song itself (sometimes it’s directly connected to its contents, but sometimes it’s not). I like “looking at it” again and again just like I look at the same lake in the park or at the same birds outside the window, but watching them still brings me joy. There can be bodily sensations as well, but they may be absent altogether or their intensity varies a lot depending on my state on a certain day. I like them but don’t think they’re anything special. My main way of interaction with music takes place in my mind, and the strongest feeling of all is an ardent desire for the music to go on and my being able to merge mentally with it. 6) Do you try to explore consciously other styles and genres (if yes, share your plans, please) or prefer to go with your inner flow (discovering new bands by chance or following some of your inexplicable desires to listen to something heavier/lighter/more lyrical, etc. than the music you already know)? - It’s probably the mix of both. I’ve always liked to find out what this or that style sounds like, I learned what bands playing in a style were said to be the most prominent and listened to them. But I’m much less diligent about this now than I was in my teenage years. There are plenty of great bands I planned to check out long ago, but I only do it when I want. My attempts at listening to classical music weren't really successful thus far, but I still haven't quit the idea. I think I should start with some custom playlist consisting of the most popular and easy pieces… or should I better start exploring a couple of classical composers I sort of like? I hope I'll have time to get to it some day I'm also interested a little in smooth jazz, but didn't even check anything out earnestly, only heard and liked a few female singers who sang some jazzy songs. Another style I'd love to give a go is witch house (those strange bands who put triangles, circles, and other figures into their names) - some fragments of songs I heard sounded mesmerizing. But it's been a while since… I think I'd gladly check some other styles, but I don't know when I can do it. In recent years, I've only checked out old and new bands playing the music I'm already interested in, or just new albums by my faves. And I'm not always in the mood even for that 7) A fun one to relax: if you could play in a band, what style would it be, what would you do (which instrument or what singing style?), what image would you choose for your shows or photo sessions? If you preferred to have a one-person music project, describe it all the same. - I'd say it's a tough one, because I've always been absolutely sure that my only possible relation to music is being able to enjoy listening to it (without any notable abilities to analyze and systemize what I hear). Sometimes I do imagine various strange people (or not even people) singing songs I like, but I never imagine myself doing that. The only more or less reasonable thing about me getting involved in creating music would be composing ambient soundtracks for my novels using a simple music software (no vocals and photo sessions, of course). I believe I really entertained such a thought for a while; even found some online music software and wanted to try playing with it but turned out to be unable to bring myself to all that. Well, I've always thought some other people did an incredible job of composing the above mentioned soundtracks without even being aware of my novels. So why bother
And just for fun, here's a playlist of the songs that have impressed me greatly, and I consider them to be something out of the ordinary. Not all of them are my favorites, but every one still overwhelm me with its strong emotional atmosphere and all else❤❤
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