Music is my greatest pleasure. It's how I
communicate with God, celebrate life, pull myself out of depression, and
keep my focus. I grew up listening
to my older brother's record collection, which gave me a fondness for all
things related to Beatles, Monkees, Simon & Garfunkel, etc. I also listened
to my mother's collection and grew up loving the sounds of Glenn Miller,
Harry Belafonte, the Kingston Trio, Pete Seeger, and the Weavers. Her
Peter, Paul and Mary album "Ten Years Together" had a scratch in the middle
of "I Dig Rock and Roll Music", and I listened to it so much that 40 years
later I still hear that skip in my mind on the rare occasion that a radio
station bothers playing it any more. Not that I'm bitter.
Mostly, I love vocal music. Melody and lyrics make a bigger impression on
me than elaborate instrumentation, cutting-edge styles that break new ground,
etc. I have been singing in barbershop quartets and choruses since I was a
teenager; I'll sing anything from 1860 to 1970 (after that, emphasis on vocals
dropped and there's not much I enjoy about newer music).
You want details? OK, specifically in addition to the groups named above
I love Buddy Holly, the Coasters, the Platters, the Dell-Vikings, Al Jolson,
Bing Crosby, the Andrews Sisters... going back a bit further, your early
recording stars like Billy Murray, Ada Jones, Eddie Cantor, and of course
the inimitable Helen Kane. If you really pressed me to name someone less
than 50 years out of date it would be Huey Lewis and Billy Joel, both of
whom know what classic rock'n'roll should sound like.
I do like some instrumental styles - 1930s and 1940s swing and jazz when
there's a melody to follow, Irish and German folk music, the old-school
salsa you hear on half the radio stations these days, and bluegrass (especially
when it includes that close harmony duet).
And hymns... I love the old hymns. A solid melody you can sing along with
and make up harmony parts to go with it and lyrics you can sink your teeth
into. I'm not saying I have a theological problem with the newer "choruses"
that are so popular, but they just don't grab me musically. I can't learn
the melody - it often goes all over the place in clever and unpredictable
ways - and you can absolutely forget about putting any kind of harmony so
you're stuck all singing in unison. You can keep your Christian rap and
death metal, too... ugh.