I recently discovered that when my husband is absent, I listen to entirely different music than when he's here. Although we share certain musical tastes, we diverge just as often.He's more likely to play Philip Glass, Puccini or Bach and I'm more likely to play Emmy Lou Harris, the Wainwrights, Shelby Lynne or Lucinda Williams.
Or, even more pointedly, I often listen to NPR whereas he's more likely to put on Chris Matthews. I like my news muted; he likes a more bombastic approach.
What do you listen to when there's nobody there to object? Or does your housemate share your preferences completely?
31 comments:
Emmylou is the greatest.
Well the volume sure goes up when I'm alone in the house ;)
Believe it or not, I don't listen to anything when I'm home alone. My house is generally so bustling and noisy that I crave total quiet.
I remember those days, Barrie. Nice.
And the volume goes down when I'm alone. Unless I decide to dance.
I like easy listening jazz playing when I'm reading. Other times, depending on my mood, I'm likely to be listening to blues or metal(loud metal).
For me, my alone time is mainly in my car during my commute. Thus, I can blast my two favorite passions: Chicago and Bruce Springsteen, both of which are far from my wife's favorites. During the quiet times, I break out the Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and other jazz greats. My wife does not like jazz and loathes electric jazz (Miles Davis, 1968-1975), arguably my favorite era of Davis's career.
My husband didn't like jazz until recently. Now we both like Brubeck, Henderson, Monk, soft jazz with a tune. So keep working on her.
My husband and son both love Neil Young, that's one I can't quite get.
If I'm especially down, I listen to Motown or the Beatles. They always cheer me up. Other times, Blues, Dylan---all periods, John Lennon's first solo album or I dive into my collection of garage rock singles. Yea, I still have an old-fashioned record player.
My tastes and your are very close. My wife have overlapping tastes but we both have favorites that the other does not like so I tend to listen to those only when I'm alone. Kasey Chamber comes to mind.
Funny you mentioned Neil Young. One of my wife's favorites. Brubeck and Monk are good ones to help non-jazz lovers learn what jazz can do. I've recently been getting into Charles Mingus. Little more difficult, tho. On the modern side, have you heard of Chris Botti? Although he started in the smooth jazz realm, he moved to acoustic jazz and lush, romantic stuff. He's quite good in a Miles Davis, subtle sort of way.
My husband plays gypsy music every morning, so when I'm alone, I listen to Marvin Gaye, Amy Winehouse, Bonny Raitt, Tito Nieves, Rod Stewart, Aretha Franklin and Santana.
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I listen to Gram Parsons with EmmyLou singing harmony. Also late at night to classic doowop and my Seeburg jukebox loaded with oldies. These days I play Nancy LaMott more than anyone as I'm into cabaret singers. But Sinatra's Only The Lonely will always be my favourite album to listen to when I'm alone. Just read a review about the film "Tis Autumn: The Search For Jackie Paris." Apparently some of his albums are collector's items so I'm off to my basement to search my collection as I'm positive I have one.
Great suggestions, Kent. I love Sinatra, but another one my husband doesn't get. He evokes a time more than any other singer.
When I'm at home alone I become a teenager again and play my music and full volume. Usually something rock orientated or blues and quite often, when being reflective, some jazz. Oh and never a day goes past without at least a little Beatles.
RE R2 - JOhn Lennon's first solo album - if you mean the plastic ono band/primal scream album then well done. YOu have superb musical taste.
Coltrane and Brubeck are perfect for the drive to work and home. Which are the only times of day when I am alone.
We all need mellow music more lately. I never remember playing so many soft-voiced women and jazz groups with a soft sound. And of course, I play Minomena for my grandson about fifty times a week.
Our musical tastes are very very similar, but when he's not around I listen to more electronica (downbeat is great for getting work done; it's music you don't have to pay attention to).
We struggle with music right now because our boys protest. Loudly. We have no idea why. :( And they are so hit or miss! They love some Tom Waits but not all... some days Puck is OK with jazz but other days not... argh!
Well, Christa, even the Marsalis kids didn't appreciate jazz all that much as kids. Or so they report. If yours can handle your electronica, maybe some acid jazz or trip hop will help build a bridge.
One of the least unpleasant aspects of a gig at a Tower Records one summer a while ago was being asked by a customer for two albums that would give him a sense of jazz, and I was able to put in his hands the Brubeck Quartet's TIME FURTHER OUT: MIRO REFLECTIONS and MINGUS MINGUS MINGUS MINGUS MINGUS by some guy's group. "Blue Shadows in the Street" and "Hora Decubitus" don't exactly encompass the range of jazz, but they both seem to work pretty well for newbies. And for me.
O tempora, Patti--the notion of the once "difficult" Monk as perhaps "soft jazz with a tune." Of course, even the free-est of 1950s free jazz can seem tuneful now, just perhaps too many tunes at once (but that was a return, in that way, to New Orleans improvisation, which Gerry Mulligan was also fond of exploring a decade before)(for that matter, anyone who can't handle free playing can't handle Dave Brubeck at times, such as in the WE'RE ALL TOGETHER AGAIN FOR THE FIRST TIME concert recording of "Truth," wherein DB takes a queue from his students Cecil Taylor and Anthony Braxton, albeit briefly). Fletcher Henderson?
And how about jazz vocalists? Lifelong Lambert, Hendricks & Ross fan, here. And I like Harris, Lynne, and Williams, too...ever hear the all-women blugrass bands such as Blue Rose or Uncle Earl?
Kids are funny. Kevin already likes hip hop because of the persuasive beat and he yells out, "Drum," when he hears it. My kids discovered The Beatles in elementary school and we played them all the time for a year or two before they moved on. heavenly.
Todd-as usual you are so far beyond me, I can't see your dust. Jazz vocalists. I love them all Shirley Horn, Jo Stafford, early Doris Day, all of them.
Kids are funny. Kevin already likes hip hop because of the persuasive beat and he yells out, "Drum," when he hears it. My kids discovered The Beatles in elementary school and we played them all the time for a year or two before they moved on. heavenly.
Todd-as usual you are so far beyond me, I can't see your dust. Jazz vocalists. I love them all Shirley Horn, Jo Stafford, early Doris Day, all of them.
I don't think I'm old enough to play on this thread. ;-)
We have similar tastes around my place-- Nirvana, Garbage, Bush, Fiona Apple, Staind, Cake and the like. I usually pick the music because I like to have it on. Hubby doesn't care.
Oh, thanks for reminding me about Fiona Apple. I have her CDS but forgot about them. See, it's good to have a young'un to remind me.
Well, if you all like those other women, Patti, have you tried Sam Phillips? (Or for that matter did you ever listen to Chumbawamba, during their brief period of pop stardom. or before or after?)
--Alas, no longer young enough to point out that you don't have to be a relic to be aware recordings made before one was born. "Why, I remember Bach's own harpsichord recitals...CPE's I mean, of course, I'm not THAT old."
Chumbawamba,now there's a google opportunity.
Clair Dickson - I think that 'Bleed Like Me' was Garbage's best album and I'm older than you.
That CD is played more when the wife isn't around.
We both have a massive 60s collection - well, it's our era - though, when it comes to instrumentals she prefers the Shadows while I'm a die hard Duane Eddy fan.
EmmyLou and Trisha Yearwood are favourites of ours as well.
My personal pile of CDs range from Django Reinhardt through to Vanessa Mae and on to scores by Ennio Morricone and Elmer Bernstein. When I want to kick up a storm then it's the turn of Iron Maiden, Motorhead, Doro Pesch - real metalmania.
Duane Eddie, now that's a name I haven't heard in a while. Reinhardt is wonderful. Like all of these choices.
I listen to music nowadays almost only when I'm writing. I have headphones, since my wife - who sits behind me, writing - doesn't want to listen to anything when she's working. On jazz: I've been listening to a Pharoah Sanders collection recently, alongside with the young jazz punksters Youngblood Brass Band. Also some oldies garage and acid punk, with odd stuff like Blurt, Pere Ubu and the Finnish Paavoharju. Kraftwerk's first, too.
Sometimes I like to listen to music when I'm doing the dishes. Then it's mostly old school hip hop, like Eric B. & Rakim, Tone Loc or Def Jef. Recently I found some old C cassettes with weird compilations: Sam Cooke's gospels, The Leaves and total nobodies from the sixties or seventies on a same cassette, or some post-punk and mellow disco ballads on a same compilation.
Juri-These are almost all new names to me. I prefer silence when I;m writing but my husband likes music. We work across the hall from each other. I only insist that there be no lyrics or that the lyrics be in another language.
Can't write without music - helps to create an atmosphere. A female character that I was having trouble with came alive while I was listening to Doro Pesch's 'Black Rose'.
Patti, you might like Pharoah Sanders. It's free jazz, but really mellow and not very hard to get into, some tunes being almost popish.
My taste in music has been in constant change for ten years now. Used to be into rhythm'n'blues, Ã la Duke Robillard or Omar and the Howlers, but now I can't stand that kind of stuff. More psychedelica or electronica to me!
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