Bands that Change your Life

I would assume that most people make music a regular part of their day. It is almost unavoidable. If you plug into any major outlet of media you will hear some sort of tune whether you are looking for it or not. Music has an awesome power to affect our moods, inspire or depress our lives and bridge divisions among any divisive lines.

If you don’t know I have been known dabble in the art form and it has had a profound affect on my life. I will not present the artists, songs and albums that specifically shaped who I am.

Green Day – Dookie

Depending on your level of music snobbery I may have gone down a few pegs in your eyes. However, a little known fact about myself. I listened to nothing but rap music until I was 15. None of my friends listened to rock. In fact I was embarrassed when I told my friends that I enjoyed this music and I was soundly mocked. This album was the reason I started playing drums, this album was the reason I started playing music.

Smashing Pumpkins – Siamese Dream

This would qualify as the first defining album that changed the way I played instruments and the way I wrote songs. The first time I received this album I was getting in a car to start a road trip all the way to Northern California. It never left my cd player. I would assume that I listened to this album a minimum of 70 times that month. Seriously I did not listen to any other music during this time. I could play this album including solos flawlessly. Until I patched things up with my parents, Billy Corgan served as more of a father figure than the one responsible for my birth. I read everything listened to everything. I own every B-side every rare release. I saw their second to last show. I listened to any interview I could get my hand on. I made a video tape of myself playing a tennis racket and singing their songs which of course my parents found. My love for all things pumpkin has dramatically dropped off after I begin to see Billy in a more mature light rather than just bowing to a guitar god.

Placebo – Without you I’m nothing

In many ways Placebo picked up where the Pumpkins left off. This album in particular was in constant rotation both my senior year and again in my sophomore year of college. Sophmore year of college was the first and only time I met someone else who actually knew about Placebo and secondly actually liked this band. This is probably their best album followed closely by Meds. Whiny vocals, goth, punk, techno, pop its all here. If you listen to their songs and listen to my work you’ll see I’m nothing but riding their ideas. These guys have emerged as my new fave band.

Gary Numan – Cars (song)

This is my all time fave song. It was the first time I had heard synths used fully in a rock song. It continues to be the only song that I never get sick of hearing. This song turned me onto synth rock. I couldn’t really say more aside from gushing.

Honorable Mentions

Deftones – White Pony
Garbage – 2.0
Marilyn Manson – Omega and the Mechanical Animals
Weezer – Pinkerton
Bleach – Space
Alkaline Trio – From here to Infirmary

Leave me a comment and let me know some of your bands that changed your life.