My taste in music

Music genres I like:  Instrumental, electronic, rock, new age, world, indian, acoustic, pop, dance, edm, exploration, orchestral, cinematic, jazz, christian, carribean, country, classic, nature, piano, symphonic metal. It’s hard to pin me down to favorite genre [though I do like singing to classic rock a lot]. I appreciate all styles. Music is art. I enjoy songs that sound good to my ears. This usually means songs that have catchy melodies, stunning harmonies, variety of instruments, good use of dynamics, an overall good balanced mix, positive lyrics. Quality of mix is important to me. Singability and musical depth are also important. As for genres, if I was stuck on a desert island and could only pick one genre, I’d pick acoustic or electric guitar. [ This desert would invariably have a horse with no name, whom felt good to be out of the rain ]

Favorite Seattle Stations: They used to be the following, but my car radio gave out eons ago haha.  I listen to Spotify or an artist’s direct videos now a days.  They were:  Mountain 98.5 (previously on 103.7), Click 98.8, 100.7 Wolf, The End 107.7, Mix 96.1, Jet 95.7, Movin 95.5, Kafe 104.1, 94.1 KMPS, Spirit 105.3, 96.5 JackFM, KZOK 102.5, 101.1 Class Rock, Rock 96.7, , Eagle 106.7, XEXP, 106.1 Kiss FM, Classical King FM 98.1, other stations. I used to constantly channel surf.

Influences: Sting, Coldplay, Dave Matthews Band, Beatles, Maroon 5, One Republic, Train, Imagine Dragons, Bastille, James Taylor, Yanni, Andy Grammer, A.R. Rahman, Truzzi Federico, Classic Rock Hits [Boston, Journey, Survivor, Duran Duran, etc], Perl Jam, Marc Cohn, many more. Jeremy Soule, John Williams, Thomas Newman, Hans Zimmer, Denny Velt, Zircon, many more. Ryan Tedder, Marko G, Graham Cochrane, Joe Gilder, Lost Frequencies, many more. Sheena Melwani, Sarah Bareilles, Lindsey Stirling, Shilpa Narayan, Cheryl B Engelhardt, Pragnya Wakhlu, Eva Vergilova, many more. Also various bands and artists that I enjoy following on social media.  Here for more influences.

Music to me: Music is a large part of who I am.  I’ve been involved with it my whole life [growing up \w clarinet, band, choir]. A difficult experience at the time (losing my first love), led me to discover my passion for music later in life. Music has the ability to express all the emotions surrounding love – e.x. wonderful, painful, sad, strength, comforting, assertiveness, empowered, playful, cheerful etc. Songs and music tell a story in many ways. Music also impacts our daily outlook. For example, when driving, an enjoyable country, pop, or rock tune might start help me start the day singing. Light background streams, movie soundtracks can increase my productivity. Heavy guitar is great for working out. Jazz or relaxing nature ambience for winding down. Electronic for dance floor. Classic rock\country\piano\acoustic to boost mood! Some songs in this genre are just plain out fun to sing to 🙂 They make me feel good times, free, expressive, assertive.

Music is a universal language.  It allows us to make observations and\or codify those in song.  We don’t even need a Babel Fish to understand most songs. For the listener, it gives us a glimpse into anther’s feelings or world. In movies and games we not only get a glimpse, we get transported. We are placed into an epic fight e.x. (Lord of the Rings, Gladiator) watching the characters fight for someones life. Or to a mysterious place ( e.x.The Lost Room, Dark Knight), where suspense is high. Perhaps the music draws out the awe of an undiscovered world (e.x. The Last Samurai, Avatar,). Or perhaps it is sweeping (e.x. Jurrassic Park, King Kong).  Or leaping and bounding (How to Train your Dragon). Music doesn’t have to be have to be epic, just connecting. Take the pulsating momentum in The Social Network for example.  It connects with the film with moments of tension. Or in Starwars, note the subtle introduction of dark motifs.  You can almost here Anakin start to sway to the dark side.  A good score tells a story, it tells the character emotions, the mood, the scene, the direction, the rises, falls and climax.  Take Rango, which I saw and liked. Rango has an wild western feel and does a great job conveying the story. The best scores have memorable themes which forever bind the music with the film.

Scores can have the same effect for games.  I hear “Lets take the time to find out whats inside” and immediately think of the “7th Guest”. Some gypsy tambourines and ethnic flutes play and I start to picture crossing the desert sands in Diablo 2.  Maybe searching for the oasis in Kings Quest. An Eerie twisting morphing hive pulse can only mean I’m playing ‘Zerg’ in Starcraft 2. A sudden expansive lift in Guild Wars 2 means I’ve reached a Vista of new heights and scenic awe. I’m especially interested in game soundscapes and music because of the interactive component.  Music and themes can change dynamically:  based on the level, where you walk, what you discover, nearby enemies and objects, game state.  The music can evolve with the evolution of your characters choices.  Motifs can be introduced and taken away at will and associated with the characters and environments. Depth of emotion, story telling, and immersion possible in games is much greater.

In summary, weither it be in film, games, radio, or live: Music can convey a lot of pleasing sounds to us humans. Weither it be happy, sad, calming, driving, energetic, mysterious, fun, or 1000’s of other adjectives used to convey a particular feel or emotion: Music does it best, and what a wonderful thing 🙂

P.S.  Especially love the sound of a good soloing electric guitar 🙂