An introduction to (my) Music

[Tim-Æ]

This is the forum for Music. Before I start listing musical recommendations, I should first explain what kind of music I tend to lean towards, so I'll break it down and show you the musical progression of Tim Sentz.


Early childhood - I didn't know any music at all except for what my family owned. My mom was a soundtrack buff, so the first atually CD I ever heard was the soundtrack to "Top Gun" followed by Tim Burnton's "Batman" which was done entirely by Prince (go ahead...make a gay joke). Also, my mom had this little Christian fit, so we had loads of christian pop going on in the house like Michael W. Smith, DC Talk, and Steven Curtis Chapman. I also recall getting a cassette from Pizza Hut one year that had the Ninja Turtles singing songs about the sewer. As with most children, your musical taste is dicated mainly by your parents. Its something you learn to appreciate as time goes on.

Middle School - This was the stage that I started listening to rap. and by Rap I mean.....PUFF DADDY. Yeah, that's right. Tim listened to PUFF DADDY. I wish I could forget this stage of my life, but I listened to the Notoriouis B.I.G. (the best of the bunch), as well as Puffy, Ma$e, and even ventured west coast wise to that douche Master P, with his cohorts Silk the Shocker, and any other bling bling rappers that MTV was manufacturing in their "cool" factory. I left this stage quickly when I got tired of hearing random expletives and racial slurs used so casually. Plus, there was a fear of getting my ass handed to me for being a white suburban kid listening to rap music.

High School Part 1 - About freshman year I didn't have any musical taste whatsoever. But then I slowly started to tilt towards alternative rock. The first CD I bought with my own money was Everclear's "So Much for the Afterglow" a nice pop-rock/emo record that made me feel like I had problems, since the lead singer obviously did. After that, I bought The Wallflowers "Bringing down the Horse" (which I still have today). I also managed to pick up some Green Day ("Dookie") as well a little bit more rap like Eminem. At the start of my sophomore year, my friend Duncan (the former Trevor Karm of the TFWF) introduced me to Korn's fourth album "Issues" which I started listening to a lot, and from there it developed into more hard rock/metal bands - Limp Bizkit, Kid Rock, Slipknot, Sevendust, and the immortal Rage Against the Machine (the only band of this era I still listen to)

High School Part 2 - This era saw me travel to Ecuador with my musical tastes in tow. Closer towards the end of my junior year there (I was there for an entire year) I discovered three bands. The first one was this quirky band from Britain called "Radiohead" and my parents bought me the album "OK Computer" (which today, imo, stands as the greatest record ever). The other band lead me to another band. A friend of mine let me listen to a band called A Perfect Circle, namely the song "Judith" which was just angry enough for me to get hooked. After I bought the CD "Mer de Noms" and heard the song "3 Libras" I realized that music could be excellent when its aggressive and loud, and when its soft and sincere. After that, the next choice was obvious. Tool (for those that don't know, the lead singers for both APC and Tool are one in the same) instantly hooked me, namely the albums "Lateralus" (my number 2 record of all time) and "Aenima" (my number 7 album). My life was changed!

High School Part 3 - Upon my return, I stopped listening to Rap almost instantly. I bought 3 CDs when I got back to the states - "Lateralus," "Amnesiac" by Radiohead, and a little band I had heard about but never listened to call the Deftones, their album "White Pony" (my number 8 album). My tastes started to thin out. Bizkit, Kid Rock, and the like were all gone (save for RATM).

College - I started really expanding here. Instead of writing out in description, I'll just list some of the stuff out of this time period that stands out to me. Of course there was Tool, APC, RATM, Radiohead, Deftones, and of course Eminem still. But I was introduced to punk music more or at least punk influenced emotional music (emo). Here I spent a few months listening to shit like the All-American Rejects, but also finding decent tunes in Taking Back Sunday, Thrice, and Finch (still one of my favorites). Thrice I was impressed with in their early stages, lately I haven't been too fond of them, but their musical abilities are still unparalleled imo. I also got into Ben Folds a lot, and some other piano fused rock outfits like Something Corporate. I also delved into more nu-metalish territories like Chevelle, Breaking Benjamin, Three Days Grace, Karnivool, and The Butterfly Effect. All of which I still listen to on occasion. I also got into Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd about this time.

Post-College to present - After college, I really started downloading music. I started taking recommendations from just about everyone. Roommates, strangers, people on the TFWF website (Rhys Moore has tossed a few my way that I enjoyed, as well as Sambo). Today, I'd say roughly once a week I sit down and go through websites like Metacritic and Pitchfork and I look at the highest rated CDs. And then I wiki the band, and visit their myspace page and even youtube a few of their songs to find out if I like them or not. Some people find it tedious but through this process I find more bands than I ever thought i would, just through links and such. Today I have so many musical tastes that it's just insane. I'll be posting frequently what music I'm listening to, trying to devote threads to bigger bands that I strongly recommend.


Through this forum, I won't be recommending much in the country area, or electronica, dance, rap, or soft pop areas, that stuff doesn't interest me. I'm more interested in the musical styles of artists that care about the product they are putting out, and those who don't look at it as a product and just as art. I invite you all to contribute to this forum. This is your music too.

Lists:

Just so that you can gauge what Tim's credentials, here are a few lists.

Tim's Top Ten Greatest Albums ever

1. OK Computer by Radiohead
2. Lateralus by Tool
3. Mer de Noms by A Perfect Circle
4. Summer in Abbadon by Pinback
5. Nirvana Unplugged
6. The White Album by the Beatles
7. Aenima by Tool
8. White Pony by Deftones
9. The Bends by Radiohead
10. Pinkerton by Weezer

What Tim has seen live (I'm including opening acts):

Tool (x5), Radiohead, Deftones (x2), Chevelle (x2), Stone Temple Pilots, Thrice, Cross Canadian Ragweed, Saliva, Ashes Divide, Hoobastank, Korn, Incubus, Disturbed, Taproot, Ill Nino, Isis (x2), LIars, Story of the Year, Tomahawk, Kinsy, Atreyu, Andy McKee, the Wallflowers, and Cake. there are more, but I can't think of them because I forget their names.

Tim's favorite bands list:

1. Tool
2. Radiohead
3. Pinback
4. The Beatles
5. The White Stripes
6. Weezer
7. Led Zeppelin
8. Deftones
9. STP
10. Oceansize


Here's what you can expect from me in this forum....


Recommendations/Suggestions - I listen to new music everyday. I'm not exaggerating. I download a lot, and I stock up. I guarantee I have something on my hard drive that I haven't listened to yet. It varies from day to day. Some days I want a little hard rock that doesn't take much thought, so I'll put on some STP or a nu-metal band. If I want chill music that's fun, I'll spin the Beatles or the Apples in Stereo or some Pinback just to set the mood. if I wanna write, I'll put on Radioehad, APC, or Tool. It changes daily. So if I'm feeling something I'll put it up here for you. Please do the same. I will check out every recommendation put on here.

Reviews: Whole album reviews. If I download a CD and I love it, you better believe I'm gonna tell you about it. And I encourage everyone to do the same. Your music credentials don't have to be anything humongous, but if you like a CD tell us about it. Currently on the ED Forums is my most recent review of the brand new Weezer album "The Red Album."

Venting about Shitty Bands: I hate a lot of music out there. So expect a thread or two about obnoxious bands or genres.

What I'm Listening To threads/Games: Feel free to contribute to/start a game of what I'm listening to, or musical assocations.



Main thing though....HAVE FUN.


- Tim
Music Guru