Mostly jazz - smooth, up-tempo, mellow.....I'm easy. And blues, ska, two-tone.....and of course, reggae. Early classic Jamaican stuff, dub.....even lover's rock!
When I was at college in the late 70s/early 80s, down in Ipswich doing an art foundation course, I was staying at the local YMCA hostel; good cheap accommodation in those days. The guy in the room across the corridor from me, Colin, was a white guy that was really into the Rastafarian 'culture'. Dreads, the colored woolly hats they all wore in those days, salt fish, meditation, weed (naturally!), AND the music of course.....the works. He invited me up to a Rasta 'house party' being thrown by some of the local Rasta community, in a big old Victorian house on the Whitehouse housing estate to the north of the town.
These guys built their own sound systems. I don't know where they sourced their gear from, but that must have been the first time I ever saw 18" woofers.....and even bigger 24" subs. These things were positively industrial in appearance AND heavy-duty construction. They had two ceiling-height stacks, one at either end of this huge room, and all sat around in a big circle passing the spliffs back-and-forth.
I'll say this much; two things were top of their list of priorities. Bass.....and mucho volume. You didn't so much hear the music as feel it thumping into your ribcage & rattling your fillings....
It was pretty much stadium equipment in a domestic setting. Damn, but those cones shifted some air..!!
Been hooked on it ever since.
This was typical of the era, and is one of my personal favourites:-
Pluto Shervington - "Dat"
"Lover's rock" faves include June Lodge - "Someone loves you honey" :-
June was a student history teacher in Kingston during the very early 80s. She 'jammed' with a few local musicians after hours, and during one of these sessions was picked up by a talent 'spotter' for Island Records. She just went from there...
Sophia George's "Girlie Girlie" :-
....and Tippa Irie's "Hello Darlin'" is just infectious!
Tippa was one of the initial 'finds' by the iconic Saxon Sound System in London in the early to mid-80s, and really helped to cement the Jamaican 'beat' into the Brit consciousness. He was damn good at it, too!
And I cannae quit till I give a shout out to Madness:-
"Our House" was an early intro of Madness's nutty style to the British public.....along with that of lead singer Suggs. Great reminder of my youth!
I don't care if people think I like 'soppy' music. So long as it's got a good, catchy beat to it, I'm easy.
Mike.
When I was at college in the late 70s/early 80s, down in Ipswich doing an art foundation course, I was staying at the local YMCA hostel; good cheap accommodation in those days. The guy in the room across the corridor from me, Colin, was a white guy that was really into the Rastafarian 'culture'. Dreads, the colored woolly hats they all wore in those days, salt fish, meditation, weed (naturally!), AND the music of course.....the works. He invited me up to a Rasta 'house party' being thrown by some of the local Rasta community, in a big old Victorian house on the Whitehouse housing estate to the north of the town.
These guys built their own sound systems. I don't know where they sourced their gear from, but that must have been the first time I ever saw 18" woofers.....and even bigger 24" subs. These things were positively industrial in appearance AND heavy-duty construction. They had two ceiling-height stacks, one at either end of this huge room, and all sat around in a big circle passing the spliffs back-and-forth.
I'll say this much; two things were top of their list of priorities. Bass.....and mucho volume. You didn't so much hear the music as feel it thumping into your ribcage & rattling your fillings....
It was pretty much stadium equipment in a domestic setting. Damn, but those cones shifted some air..!!
Been hooked on it ever since.
This was typical of the era, and is one of my personal favourites:-
Pluto Shervington - "Dat"
"Lover's rock" faves include June Lodge - "Someone loves you honey" :-
June was a student history teacher in Kingston during the very early 80s. She 'jammed' with a few local musicians after hours, and during one of these sessions was picked up by a talent 'spotter' for Island Records. She just went from there...
Sophia George's "Girlie Girlie" :-
....and Tippa Irie's "Hello Darlin'" is just infectious!
Tippa was one of the initial 'finds' by the iconic Saxon Sound System in London in the early to mid-80s, and really helped to cement the Jamaican 'beat' into the Brit consciousness. He was damn good at it, too!
And I cannae quit till I give a shout out to Madness:-
"Our House" was an early intro of Madness's nutty style to the British public.....along with that of lead singer Suggs. Great reminder of my youth!
I don't care if people think I like 'soppy' music. So long as it's got a good, catchy beat to it, I'm easy.
Mike.
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At the moment it's Joe Satriani's four albums. I didn't know that this kind of rock(ish) music can still be so exciting. I was a massive rock fan in the past, but I got kind of bored of it (nothing sounded fresh anymore and it felt like I knew it already, even in case of songs I had never heard before). Satriani is a genius. Both as a guitarist and as a musician (composer, arranger etc.). I think his the only guitar virtuoso who deserves to be called that. There is so much feeling and understanding of music in his playing. You can't find this on Vai's or Malmsteem's albums. Even Eddie Van Halen's playing's dated badly (it feels like it's all about novelty). If you know any other guitarist that can combine bluesy/emotional playing with a fantastic technique like Satriani does, please let me know. 
I listened to some old and new jazz (but I can't say I'm a big fan), classical (I only enjoyed baroque and early XX century) and klezmer music (the best etno music ever). I don't think I will be going back to jazz or classical anytime soon (or ever), but I keep coming back to klezmer music
Rap is generally not for me. The only albums I like are "The Score" by Fugees and the debut albums by Snoop Dog, Biggie and Lauryn Hill.
Mainstream pop is 90% garbage, 10% listenable and 1% good, IMO.
I listened to some old and new jazz (but I can't say I'm a big fan), classical (I only enjoyed baroque and early XX century) and klezmer music (the best etno music ever). I don't think I will be going back to jazz or classical anytime soon (or ever), but I keep coming back to klezmer music
Rap is generally not for me. The only albums I like are "The Score" by Fugees and the debut albums by Snoop Dog, Biggie and Lauryn Hill.
Mainstream pop is 90% garbage, 10% listenable and 1% good, IMO.
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