By the time I got out of Early Elementary school, I was beginning to find my own voice in my music selections. Which means, above everything, that my musical tastes became ecclectic.
Country
I had a strong affinity for country music in elementary school. I had heard a lot of it as a child, but certain artists began to grow on me. I remember asking for the Kenny Rogers greatest hits cassette, and getting it from my maternal grandmother. I also was a big fan of the album "Urban Chipmunk" from the Chipmunks. I remember my dad having a Hank Williams Jr. album in the house. I have always loved Bocephus.
Weird Al
I think every 5 to 10 years Wierd Al Yankovich makes a comeback because there is a whole group of elementary school boys discovers how fun and delicious parody is. I grew up at the height of Weird Al popularity. In 1984 "Eat It" came out on the album "Weird Al Yankovich in 3-D". It was his highest charting song until "White And Nerdy" charted higher a few years ago. I played that cassette for years until it fell apart, and loved every minute of it.
Heavy Metal and Hard Rock
In 6th grade I discovered groups such as Quiet Riot, Twisted Sister, Ratt, Billy Idol, and the like. I remember sitting in the house in the dark with the curtains drawn just listening to the guitars and testosterone filled lyrics. I loved this music. I also felt like it had the potential to bring out the darkest moods in me. Nevertheless I listened and enjoyed. At least, until mom got home from work.
In addition to having this ecclectic collection of music that I enjoyed listening to, our culture also had one central event that drove my music taste:
MTV
I remember being in elementary school one summer, staying at home with my sister while my mom was working, and watching two things on cable that whole summer. One was the Los Angeles Summer Olympics. The other was this new thing called MTV. At that point they actually played music videos full-time, they had real VJs , and interviewed artists. It was extremely low budget, with a public access picture of a man landing on the moon as their introduction. It was great.
Country
I had a strong affinity for country music in elementary school. I had heard a lot of it as a child, but certain artists began to grow on me. I remember asking for the Kenny Rogers greatest hits cassette, and getting it from my maternal grandmother. I also was a big fan of the album "Urban Chipmunk" from the Chipmunks. I remember my dad having a Hank Williams Jr. album in the house. I have always loved Bocephus.
Weird Al
I think every 5 to 10 years Wierd Al Yankovich makes a comeback because there is a whole group of elementary school boys discovers how fun and delicious parody is. I grew up at the height of Weird Al popularity. In 1984 "Eat It" came out on the album "Weird Al Yankovich in 3-D". It was his highest charting song until "White And Nerdy" charted higher a few years ago. I played that cassette for years until it fell apart, and loved every minute of it.
Heavy Metal and Hard Rock
In 6th grade I discovered groups such as Quiet Riot, Twisted Sister, Ratt, Billy Idol, and the like. I remember sitting in the house in the dark with the curtains drawn just listening to the guitars and testosterone filled lyrics. I loved this music. I also felt like it had the potential to bring out the darkest moods in me. Nevertheless I listened and enjoyed. At least, until mom got home from work.
In addition to having this ecclectic collection of music that I enjoyed listening to, our culture also had one central event that drove my music taste:
MTV
I remember being in elementary school one summer, staying at home with my sister while my mom was working, and watching two things on cable that whole summer. One was the Los Angeles Summer Olympics. The other was this new thing called MTV. At that point they actually played music videos full-time, they had real VJs , and interviewed artists. It was extremely low budget, with a public access picture of a man landing on the moon as their introduction. It was great.
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