My music taste is a little bit like my way of life.
It is a never ending journey of creating and finding myself, almost the same way a pubescent teenager experiments with clothes, make-up and the emo fringe everyone inevitably regrets when looking at old Facebook pictures a couple of years later. When I was younger, music was not only an anti-depressant after going through dark posts on Tumblr or getting hit by FOMO, but also a tool for self-expression, with a genre of music consequently becoming a big part of one's identity. Especially when you're in your teens aka the worst years of your life filled with self-doubt, bad haircuts, low self-esteem and a desperate need for validation, we often use music as a language to explain who we are, or at least pretend to be. I can't have been the only one, who added artists to her playlist only to show people who I wanted them to see. Do you remember those particular bands or songs you always skipped, because after all they were only there for representation? Yeah, I was "a big fan of Black Veil Brides, too". My God, it's ridiculous how desperately I wanted to impress metal heads as if that would make me more hardcore at a time where girls were still perceived as fragile and weak, and even worse, bossy, just because you took initiative in order not to fail every group project at school.
Music has probably been one of the greatest influences on my identity and personal style, and definitely the best ice breaker whenever I've been at a party that hasn't been going on for long enough for people to enter their deep and philosophical stage of drunk yet. Music has shaped who I am today and helped me realise how stupid it is to pretend to be someone else just to prove you're cool and worthy of other people's affection, when it's so much more enjoyable to be yourself. If you think about it, when you've got the privilege to express yourself and you're lucky enough to not have been born in North Korea, it only makes sense to do what you're best at: You do you. Of course, most of us go through different music phases through our lives which is perfectly normal and necessary for you to find out who you really are. My Katy Perry and Ke$ha phase, however, I plan to keep buried away in my grave of artists I listened to when I didn't even understand English yet, let alone music. We've all gone through hard times, I guess.
No matter what disastrous music phases I've been through, jumping from classical to punk mixed up with the occasional Coldplay song here and there, there's been a couple of artists and bands over the past few years that I always find myself coming back to. It's like those people you've been friends with for so long, it doesn't matter how long you've been apart or how inconsistent you've been with keeping your Snapchat streak, you know you can always start talking to them again as if nothing has changed. Although I'm always mixing it up a little, discovering songs from as many genres as possible, there are a couple of bands, especially within the genres of rock and indie, that I'll always have a strong bond with. The following are my top 5 of old friends that'll always make it back into my monthly playlist, no matter what phase I'm going through:
1. Kings of Leon
My love for Kings of Leon started when my best friend Lisa showed me 'Milk' from their second album 'Aha Shake Heartbreak', right after saying something along the lines of "Alright this song is super weird but please keep an open mind and listen 'till the end". Keep in mind that this was when we had just started to gain an interest for boys (without admitting it of course) and we sang along to "I Kissed a Girl" and "HotnCold" by Katy Perry without actually knowing what it all meant. I was still inexperienced and hadn't developed a music taste yet, so Kings of Leon's fourth album 'Only by the Night' and the fifth called 'Come Around Sundown' easily made it on my personal list of most influencial and favourite albums of all times. I still remember how excited we were when we waited for 'Mechanical Bull' to come out in 2013, when the band turned further away from country and slowly emerged into the world of rock. I became some kind of a missionary for their retro looking music video 'Supersoaker', which I binge-watched over and over again for at least two months. No shame involved, no shame involved at all.
Some favourites: Supersoaker (Mechanical Bull, 2013), Closer + Manhattan (Only by the Night, 2008), Milk + Soft (Aha Shake Heartbreak, 2004), Radioactive + Pyro + The Immortals (Come Around Sundown, 2010)
2. The Black Keys
With all time classics like 'Gotta Get Away' (Turn Blue, 2014), 'Lonely Boy' (El Camino, 2011) and 'Howlin For You' (Brothers, 2010), how coud this iconic blues-rock duo not make it on the list? I think it was The Black Keys that made me realise that my favourite genre would forever be rock, in addition to being the band that created my all time favourite song from 'Brothers'. It's the strong bass and unique vocals from Daniel Quine that made me fall in love with this band, and 'Brothers' is probably my most discussed album so far. "Although 'Rubber Factory' and 'Thickfreakness' are obviously some great albums, I feel like they were still holding on to a rigid form and structure of producing rock music. It's like it all sounded the same until they came up with 'Brothers', which was when they found their true identity. What reinforces my opinion about that is the fact that this album was followed by yet another favourite of mine: El Camino with unforgettable classics such as 'Lonely Boy' and 'Gold on the Ceiling'." And believe me when I tell you that I'm still not tired of saying those exact same words over and over again.
Some favourites: Everlasting Light + Howlin' for you + Black Mud + Sinister Kid + Ten Cent Pistol (Brothers, 2010), Run Right Back + Gold On The Ceiling (El Camino, 2011), Have Love Will Travel + Hard Row (Thickfreakness, 2003)
3. The Beatles
This one's such a cliché, but remember that it is one for a reason. The Beatles were one of the rock bands that had a huge influence not only on the music scene and pop culture in the 1950s and 60s with songs like 'Come Together' and 'Hey Jude' that'll probably stay immortal for at least as long as humanity exists, but also on my personal view on different variations of the rock genre. 'Ticket To Ride' from their album 'Help!' has taken a place in my monthly playlist as I'm writing this and will sure as hell be listened and danced to for a couple of more weeks to come. Of course, we can't forget about 'Abbey Road' from 1969 with songs like 'Oh! Darling', 'I Want You (She's So Heavy)' and 'Here Comes the Sun', and what about 'Dear Prudence' and 'Blackbird'? The list goes on and on and I'm sorry to say that one paragraph won't ever be able to do it justice. I think The Beatles had such a wide variety of albums, some in which they dared to experiment with new elements regardless of what was the norm, and some that rather focused on the lyrical side of their music and the political or social agenda behind it. One of my favourite examples can be found on 'Srgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band', clearly being able to hear that they must've been on some kind of psychedelic drugs, whereas on the other hand you've got the political side of the rock band with songs like 'Get Back', 'Come Together' and 'Piggies', just to name a few. The Beatles weren't just a band, they were as powerful as a movement, a cult, almost a religion, and limiting oneself to only mentioning a couple of favourites, would be nothing but blasphemy.
Some favourites: IMPOSSIBLE to choose. I encourage you to listen through all of their albums, you will not regret it.
4. The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones: A band consisting of long hair, a rebellious attitude and numerous albums that changed the sixties and upcoming decades. Whereas most people associate the 60s and 70s with the peace movement and, of course, the Beatles, The Rolling Stones created a strong contrast in this era and were often compared to the aforementioned band. They viewed this period of time as rather chaotic than revolutionary, violent instead of transforming, which they reflected in their wilder style of rock music with songs like 'I Can't Get No Satisfaction' in 1965 and 'Sympathy for the Devil' in 1968. I never understood why the wild and rebellious Rolling Stones were compared to the almost innocent looking (although we all know that isn't true, am I right Lucy?), suit wearing Beatles so much at that time, when they were so different from each other. In many ways they were a band that fueled the countercultural ideas of a youth that was devided between the hopeful (team Beatles) and the critical (team Rolling Stone). Today, The Rolling Stones satisfies the part of me that imaginatively wants to trash hotel rooms and rivel against politics and the media.
Some favourites: As with the Beatles, it's so hard to only choose a few songs, but I'd definitely have to include classics like 'I Can't Get No Satisfaction' (Out of Our Heads, 1965), 'Beast of Burden' (Some Girls, 1978), 'Jumpin Jack Flash' (Live'r Than You'll Ever Be, 1969) and 'Brown Sugar' + 'Wild Horses' (Sticky Fingers, 1971). Actually, anything from Sticky Fingers and Out of Our Heads. Or simply anything by the Rolling Stones. Can you feel me struggling?
5. The White Stripes
Now that we're already talking about classic, iconic rock bands and rock music duos, I felt it was save to end this list with the band that created one of the most famous bass solos of all times through 'Seven Nation Army' no earlier than 2003. I believe The White Stripes, formed in 1997 by Jack White and Meg White, are perfect proof that amazing rock bands were still formed after the 60s and 70s. They were never as rebellious as The Rolling Stones or dreamy and hopeful as The Beatles, but produced a more minimalistic sound with a dash of punk-rock. I feel like especially their third album 'White Blood Cells' with the amazing classic 'Fell In Love With A Girl' showed that garage rock and rock'n'roll wasn't dead yet. Whenever I have some heated discussions about how 'real' rock music is apparently dead, this band always becomes part of the conversation. Rock is not dead, you're just not paying attention, Dad.
Some favourites: 'De Stijl' from 2000 (just go listen through the whole album, you're welcome), 'Fell In Love With A Girl' + 'I Think I Smell A Rat' (White Blood Cells, 2001), 'Seven Nation Army' + 'Black Math' + 'The Hardest Button To Button' (Elephant, 2003), 'Blue Orchid' + 'My Doorbell' (Get Behind Me Satan, 2005), 'Icky Thump' (Icky Thump, 2007)
As you've probably noticed, I have a much stronger and more emotional connection to Kings of Leon, since I was actually alive and conscious to witness the releases of three new albums, so I'm sorry to all those hardcore Kings of Leon fans who'll be furious for not even mentioning their debut album 'Youth And Young Manhood' in 2003. When it comes to the others, there's an additional fascination with music history involved, as well as an interest in seeing how it changed cultural and social expecations at that time. I believe there's always going to be classics that, no matter what music taste, you just can't deny their significance. It's like with other influencial and groundbreaking artists such as Queen, David Bowie and Jimi Hendrix: they simply need to be mentioned when talking about music history.
However, since this is an already way too long blog post, I'll have to leave it here and leave you waiting for an additional set of five classics that I couldn't fit in here. The next post will definitely include more indie music and primarily new artists that are ideal to use in any debate with, let's say, people of the older generations believing that good music is dead. Hopefully, the next musical blog post will prove them wrong.