Nuggets of Info - Music

Music is an ever-changing subject for me; when I was younger, I didn't have too much of an interest in it. My time with music was restricted solely to religious music and musical theatre - one musical, Joseph and the Amazing Technicoloured Dreamcoat, in which I was Benjamin. On Sundays and on drives, my dad would play music I liked the sound of but didn't know the artists. Turns out it was Neil Young.

When I got to secondary school, it wasn't until I was in third year that I developed any real interest in any band. In saying that, I only really developed an interest in Green Day. I had most of their albums, an American Idiot notebook, and a stereo in my room that let me play them every day. I may have overplayed them, sometimes. It wasn't until later that my brother introduced me to Smashing Pumpkins, when I began to branch out my musical tastes.

Then came fourth year, and Roddy Doyle's The Commitments. This marked a new stage in my musical interests: I began to listen to Soul. It started with the film's soundtrack, then the likes of Aretha Frankin, Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett and Bill Withers began to fill my room. I got a Blues Brother's soundtrack and a Marvin Gaye album for my birthday from a good friend of mine, and suddenly I was gathering more Soul than before.

During this time, Muse and OneRepublic found their way into my life. I loved the new sounds; I played their stuff constantly. I was doing key board lessons, and what I most wanted to play were some of Muse's songs. To this day I still can't do it. A severe lack of playing the instrument would do that to a guy.

As I began to pick up new bands, including Nightwish and Hollywood Undead, I joined a choir. My friend was running it. Suddenly religious music was back, but combined with some pop songs I hadn't listened to before.

As time went on, I came across the likes of the DFTBA musicians, The Mountain Goats and the show-choir cover-artists that embodied the television show Glee. Towards Summer 2010, I picked up The Doors, and in the months following Oasis, Creedance Clearwater Revival, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Elbow and Electric Light Orchestra, all courtesy of a friend in college. Lately Cee Lo Green found his way onto the shelves - basically thanks to Gwyneth Paltrow's cover of Forget You on Glee.

About a year ago, I picked up the ukulele. I still don't make myself play it enough to learn how to actually play a song. So, with over 2,000 songs on my laptop, I remain a Shower Singer, with a taste for music in as many genres as I can think of. The list above isn't exhaustive, it's just all I could think of as being the truly significant ones. And I still bother my friend for new music.