My musical tastes run all over the map. They have since I was young. Part of that, I believe, is due to my parents. My mother was an exceptionally good pianist and mostly loved classical music and Broadway show tunes. My dad was (and to be fair, still is) a proficient violinist. He, likewise, had an extensive appreciation of classical music, but he also enjoyed rock music from the 50s and 60s, as well as a variety of what could best be called “folk music“.

While my mom tends to be a bit “opinionated” about music, my dad was/is a lot more open minded. He taught me at a young age that any musician willing to get up and play, to write music of their own, and put it out there for other people to listen to, was always worthy of respect. He didn’t have to necessarily like the music that was being played, but he always admired anyone willing to step up and step out to do it.

Because of that, I likewise listen to a tremendously broad list of musical genres. Yes I enjoy rock music, in pretty much all of its varieties. I love classical music. I love ancient and medieval music. I love country and bluegrass. As a kid, I was absolutely unrepentant in my love of disco. I got made fun of for it, but I didn’t care. I love to dance, both then and now. I love rhythm and blues. I love world music. I love folk music from just about every country that I have heard it. I love Middle Eastern music. I love J-pop. I love K-pop. I love M-pop. I also still love modern dance music, too.

I appreciate a lot of the history of hip-hop, and considered myself a solid fan of the hip-hop produced in the 80s and 90s but I must confess I haven’t listened to much of it in perhaps a decade. On the heavy-metal front, I dig most of it but I never really got into the Cookie Monster vocals. I don’t mind it as an enhancement to a song. I personally love the way that Amaranthe incorporates a variety of vocals to construct their songs. An entire album of guttural scream/screech is not high on my listening pleasure list. Absolutely nothing against people who dig that. I just don’t.

Basically, if somebody has put time and attention and craft into creating their music, it’s a pretty good bet that I will find something to love in it.