I don't like the Beatles. I also don't like U2. I couldn't name a single album or song. Both suck. Admit it so we can move on now.
Growing up in the 80s, music rewired me. I still remember dragging my dad's massive stereo system into my room. Speakers that had no business being in a kid's bedroom. I'd pull records from his collection and let them rip. Beach Boys. Eagles. Phantom of the Opera, because apparently I contained multitudes. It was fun. But the music itself? A few songs hit. Most didn't. I was sifting through hundreds of records to find maybe three I actually cared about.
Then my mom handed me the keys.
MC Hammer. Madonna. Vanilla Ice. Michael Jackson. Don McLean, because again, multitudes. She bought me cassettes and I wore them out. Blasted them all day. Then I'd record my favorites onto blank tapes, building my own mixes like some kind of suburban DJ with zero budget and unlimited time, just a microphone aimed at the speaker. I'd take that mix outside, jump on the trampoline, ride my bike around the neighborhood, and just exist inside those songs.
Then Green Day showed up and broke something open.
I know they aren't rock. They aren't punk either. They're some alternative-punkish-thing that music purists love to argue about. I don't care. Before Dookie, I was still deep in "pop" and whatever we're calling that 80s funk era. I liked it fine. But when I heard Green Day, something clicked that I didn't know was missing. There was aggression in it. An edge. It matched how I actually felt in a way that pop never touched.
So I followed that thread. Started pulling at it.
Live. Metallica. Jars of Clay. Alanis Morissette. Pearl Jam.
I hovered in the alternative space but kept drifting toward whatever was heavier. Louder. More.
Then freshman year, the deftones broke everything wide open.
Actually, Justin Madden did. We had this class together with rotating stations meant to give you hands-on experience. Radio DJ. Mechanical engineering. Other stuff I don't remember. During my week at the radio station, Justin put on the deftones EP and played "Bored".
Headphones on. Volume up.
I was gone.
Every single note hit something I didn't know was exposed. I can't explain why. I can't tell you what specifically. But that song, then the next one, then the entire album when it dropped, it swallowed me whole. I had found my band. The music that knew me before I knew myself.
I've been a deftones fan ever since. That hasn't changed. Won't.
And when my mom bought my their Around the Fur album when it came out, I was floored. I added about 4 deftones posters to my wall and was complete. The world could end, I was good.
What do I listen to on Spotify everyday?
I prefer my flavor of metal, underground hiphop and rap.
Deftones
Lamb of God
2Pac
Notorious BIG
Vinnie Paz
Jedi Mind Tricks
Army of the Pharoahs
Depeche Mode
Nas
Gojira
Eminem
Obie Trice
Korn
Rage Against the Machine
Metallica
Chevelle
Nipsey Hussle
Want to throw me WuTang? Sure.
What about Les Miserables? Absolutely 100000% I'll never turn this off if its turned on