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What are "the sounds of your people"?
Hey all,
I'm interested in knowing what music would you say is unmistakably yours, in the sense that when you hear it you remember nights with the family/friends, parties, or maybe they remind you of your grandparents' musky apartment, or nights at the beach, whatever.
For me there is a story behind almost every style of music I listen to, so my spotify lists are "nostalgia_parents", "nostalgia_grandpa", "nostalgia_home" etc. lol, and I think it's similar for everybody, so I was curious... what are your stories?
(mine in comments)
Father John Misty, The War on Drugs, Fleet Foxes, Cass McCombs, and Sufjan Stevens.
That whole spectrum of sound, is mine.
A friend of mine introduced me to Fleet Foxes when I first moved down to Asheville, NC. I first listened to Blue Ridge Mountains coming back from watching this sunset over the Blue Ridge Mountains. The rest I found not long after.
The whole period of my life where I lived down there—short as it was—was hands down the most impactful, important, and valued part of my life. By far.
My heart and soul live in those mountains.
It just so happens that I discovered these artists while I lived there; now they all of make me nostalgic for a time I didn't fully appreciate while I was still in it. It hurts me that the life-path I'm taking has pulled me away from there. Short of a lucky scratch ticket, or one of my stories blowing up Bestseller's lists, I probably won't be able to live there again until I am old.
As far a definitive sound for a part of my life, it's a weird blend of Jethro Tull's albums "Aqualung" and "Songs from the Wood," Soundgarden's "Badmotorfinger" and "Superunknown" , Social Distortions eponymous album, a Dublinners collection my dad had and Flogging Molly's first three. This is the music that was always in rotation in my dad's car, fairly consistently. I don't try to recapture this time by listening to the music, but some stuff Iisten to (Tull, Soundgarden) does still evoke these memories. I remember reading in the back of my dad's truck (he had a seat with seatbelts, and a bed cover, it is legal) on the long drives home for his weeks of custody, and swear sometimes I can smell the library books I was reading (lots of assorted Manga and Dragonlance series stuff I was into in middle school/early high school).
Music was a pretty big part of growing up for my family, from both my father (70's/80's progressive rock) and my mother (classical music, a pianist, made sure all four of her kids took lessons), so there's a lot of things that go through my head when I think of music. I love the way you phrased the question though, because there's one particular CD that stands out when I think of "my people".
I'm not sure exactly when my dad bought his CD of Alan Parson's The Instrumental Works, when he first played it for me, or how long after that it sat around in the stereo cabinet before we really started paying attention to it, but it's a particular favorite and is a pretty good representation of the variety and styles we often had playing.
"My people", to me, is my family, and I'm particularly close to my two younger brothers. I have a very strong memory of the three of us sitting on exercise balls scattered around our surprisingly sturdy Ikea coffee table, playing three-player rook, and bouncing our cards onto the table to the sound of Mammagamma.
The other stand out, being a religious family, was Michael Card's The Ancient Faith, which my father once based a bible study series around.
This is from an earlier Porter Robinson song, and it's probably my favourite quote ever.
My favourite album ever, and my response to this question, is Porter Robinson's Worlds. Worlds has an incredibly distinct feel, and I think that Porter perfectly captured the quote above absolutely perfectly. Whenever I feel down, this album is my go-to music.
To me, the album breaks down the walls between fiction and reality, and reminds us that everything we think of is real, it just depends on our view of reality. It reminds me that, even when times are tough, you're always in control, and to not worry. It brings the feeling that life is an adventure, and you're just waiting for your time to become a hero, without worry of failure. It reminds me of being a kid, with a limitless imagination, breaking down the boundaries of reality and being able to imagine fantastical worlds.
This album means so much to me, and to so many people. I think it's one of the best works of music ever created, focusing on the stories and emotions brought on by the music, instead of obsessing over what was trending at the time or production. This album was Porter's way of moving away from mainstream EDM and creating something truly meaningful.
This quote will stick with me forever, and maybe by sharing it, and the music, it'll help someone else out. That was a pretty long rant, so to summarize: listen to Worlds :)
The visuals during the live tour and music videos are also a big part of the album, so when you have the chance, watch the fantastic fan-made movie of Porter Robinson & Madeon's Shelter tour, which features many songs from Worlds, as well as songs from Madeon's Adventure (another incredible album, and probably my second favourite ever). The movie is entirely fan-made using various concert recordings, visual and audio recreations, and the songs themselves. I think it's an incredible amount of effort that's been put into preserving the experience forever.