If I could write you a blog to make you fall in love....

So, as you are reading this, you are probably thinking to yourself, why should I read a random individual's views on music, well in that vein let me tell you a few things about myself, to let you all in on why I believe I am an ultimate music enthusiast.

I am the youngest of four children, and when I say youngest I mean that the sibling who is closest in age to me is separated by 12 years.That meant, generationally, my music preferences began in the 90's however, my siblings (who were born in the 70's) influenced me with music from the 70's and 80's. My mother used to be the head of the elementary school choir, and played the piano and the accordion. My father was in small bands through college, and eventually become somewhat of a classical pianist. They both tried to instill in us a love for music, especially classical (my dad's favorite) by forcing all of us to take piano lessons. Now I don't know if you have ever been forced to do something you're not really interested in, but I went through 3 piano teachers, and didn't find a love or desire to do it at all. To this day only one of my siblings plays the piano and reads sheet music. I may have been more inclined to take lessons or to be interested in classical music at all as a child, if my dad had actually been around, instead of the barely there father that he was. But in typical acts of youth rebellion, I had no desire to even listen to classical music, just because my dad liked it so much. My mom used to only play the oldies station when we were in the car, calling 90's (and 80's) music "crap" so all throughout my childhood I listened to CBS fm. At first I was able to hear songs from the 40's, 50's and 60's. Now- a-days they play hits of the 60's 70's and 80's.  The oldies station gave me a lot of great musical influences. Specifically, Elton John, Billy Joel, The Temptations, The Rolling Stones, and most importantly, the Beatles, just to name a few.

It wasn't until the 6th grade that I started listening to mainstream radio (z100 was the only channel i really listened to back then since it was the cool thing to do in my middle school), and that summer I also started watching MTV religiously. MTV was still mostly music television back then, with only the Real World and Road Rules as their reality programming. I used to run home from school every day to watch TRL, and pop up video, say what, and just any music video that came on the air. My eyes were glued to the screen absorbing every single thing about the videos, even the artists I didn't appreciate at the time (Korn, Marilyn Manson or most hard rock).

In High school I used to play a game with my friends; After shelling out countless dollars on cds (since there was no itunes back then for me to sample/choose which songs I liked) I would base my choice on a single that I  liked, and then listen to the whole cd, and guess which song would be the next single. 9 times out of 10 I was right. My sister, who worked for showtime at the time, used to come to me and ask me for music for her television promotions. I used to gladly oblige, knowing that the songs could not be mainstream yet, and really needed to be on the cusp of their potential popularity. I would pour over songs, and cds, thinking about which song would fit perfectly to the promotion she had described to me, and to this day, I still help her with her ventures. I was one of those people who constantly made new mixes (still do) and brought along 300 cds with me on every vacation, because I couldn't decide which songs I would want to listen to.

While I was in high school I listened to some rap, r&b, hip hop, some rock, but mostly listened to pop and punk.Once I got to college, my music tastes completely changed, I started diversifying my repertoire, listening to British radio through itunes, and getting as many music recommendations from friends as possible. I started listening to much more indie bands, some pop and very little punk, and more rock and classic rock. My freshman year roommate and I made a play-list of songs called "songs most often heard in 734" (our dorm room number) and the list grew as the year went on.

There were many times that I used music as a safety net. A safe place I could go when I needed time to think, or to relax. Many times I would fall asleep just listening to music. Freshman year was also the year I decided to not go on the Veterinarian path I had set out for myself, and pursue a career in the music industry instead.

My sophomore year of college I started taking music classes. In order to be a music major, one has to play an instrument, and of course as you read earlier, I could not. So  I mostly took these classes because they were fun, and my teacher that year was particularly kooky. It was my first classical music class, and as I was in college, I could finally move past the stigma of my dad's love for the classical arts, and enjoy what I was listening to. We unfortunately didn't get to the romantic classical period in that semester, but I was fortunate to take that class another year, since romantics are my favorite classical artists.

The summer after sophomore year, throughout the rest of my college experiences I had internships in the music industry, from a digital music company, to MTV networks, to a record label, I really felt like I had found my niche. Being at a record label, I was able to listen to new and upcoming music in a way I hadn't been able to before.

So whether its the fact that I cried the first time I heard Tupac's changes, and Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini (variation 18). Or the fact that I pumped my fists in the air any time a snow patrol song (not chasing cars) was used in a television series. Or the fact that I can name which artist is playing at almost any given time (including less than 30 seconds worth a clip). Or the fact that I cringe when shows have outdated music playing (not like classic rock, but something that was so last year). For these reasons and more I consider myself a music enthusiast.

If you are wondering what to expect from my blog, I plan on reviewing some new albums, posting some new artist information, posting discussions about videos and songs that are out and all an all just a big page devoted to my love for music.