h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Good evening, Mr Roadkill.

What kind of music do you like?

It has just occured to me that I could have picked a better title for this conversation.

Never mind.

Hi

I always love talking about music.

I have a pretty diverse taste. I like the old, early metal -- Zeppelin, that sort of thing. I won't be having with Slipknott, they're atrocious. I like some jazz, but I've not had much exposure to it. Some stuff really, really attracts me about jazz, mostly where they've got a bass, a drum kit, a guitar, a sax or two and they just play it. One of my favourite jazz-rock crossovers is 'The Gumbo Variations', a 17-minute studio jam with Frank Zappa. It is crazy.

As for rock, I like prog, notably Can, but also the person who taught me drums was in Porcupine Tree, a prog band that I like . I like ACDC, and think that Back in Black is one of the best rock songs ever written. I also like Jimi Hendrix and Captain Beefheart. I like reggae (RIP Bob), I like blues, I like all sorts of stuff.

It's probably quicker to say what I'm not impressed by: trance, dance, house, generally stuff that they play in clubs. Ska, I have never got into, but I love its relation, reggae. Nu metal, indie, pop, and most r'n'b and hiphop I don't like either. I'm mostly OK with Kraftwerk though, oddly .

So tell me about your music taste?

Thanks for replying

Heh, it seems you like all the stuff I never got into! How useless. Or, if I look at it from a more positive perspective, very useful, as perhaps I can use you as a means of broadening my tastes...

I've never heard of Can or Porcupine Tree or Captain Beefheart. That might have something to do with the fact that I've always blindly classed classic rock/early metal/prog rock under the "music I don't like" category. Recently though, I've noticed that Led Zep and Rush are actually pretty awesome... I am listening to Rush right now.

Of course, I love reggae! Reggae is awesome, but most of the time I prefer more upbeat stuff - that's where ska comes in for me. I love the older stuff, it really makes me giggle.

Oh I freakin' love Sublime! Sometimes I think of them as the epitome of what I like, musically - they mix together all the genres I like: ska, reggae, punk, blues, and early hip hop (like NWA).

I am quite open-minded about music really; I don't think my music collection excludes any genre - I mean the more general umbrella genres, of course. I really like simple music, which is why I prefer acoustic guitar to electric.

Gosh. That was really hard. I didn't realise how difficult a question that was.

Pleasure to, Pleasure to indeed!

Of course, the answer has to be hard -- if you have diverse tastes it always is! I am fairly open-minded when it comes to music as well. I do in fact own Eminem's first two albums and The Chronic, but nothing just by NWA. If you are into late metal at all though, you should check out Rage Against the Machine's cover of their most famous song... you know the one I mean .

Speaking of Rage Against the Machine, some have called them Zeppelin's heirs. And it is true -- you can hear the Zeppelin in Rage, but I think Rage are not the second Zeppelin. They are (were) something much more important that: the first them! I love Rage Against the Machine, by the way, but I'm not too impressed with Audioslave.

Captain Beefheart was one of those guys that never really got the fame he deserved. He has a four and a half octave vocal range. That's more than a guitar. He sounds a bit like Bon Scott, but better. He and Frank Zappa collaborated on a song called "Willie the Pimp" which is one of my all-time favourite songs.

I do sympathise with you about not getting into classic rock though. The problem is, the albums aren't so great, it's the live stuff that is, and a lot of the time you have to already be in to the music in order to appreciate it. If you like blues you should have a slightly easier time appreciating classic rock though, as they flow into each other. Zeppelin are killer live, by the way.

Punk, ah punk! I like punk too. I'd like to be a punk drummer, it'd be great fun I reckon. Beefheart's fingerprints are all over punk. It has such a lot of energy, but I tend to prefer the older stuff over the modern stuff. Sum 41 simply are not punk. Nor is Avril Lavigne. Sex Pistols, Ramones... whole different kettle of fish.

I don't really know enough about ska to be able to say I don't massively dig it. Who are Sublime? All that I know is that I got a Reel Big Fish album and wasn't so impressed.

Do you play guitar?

Phew. That was a bit marathon?

P.S. Your Personal Space Rocks.

Rage Against The Machine! How could I not like them? They're awesome. I haven't heard much - I only have the self-titled album and few other tracks from here and there - but that's enough to show me how brilliant they are! I shall download that song later; I'm supposed to be in the town center in one minute's time

You see, I'm going busking today (for the first time ever... fingers crossed that it won't be hugely lame) with a friend who can't stand more than one RATM song at a time. I really don't understand him on that one. Otherwise, he is one of the most musically diverse people I know. Strange.

Four and a half octaves! I will definitely be finding myself some of that!

Punk! Of course I don't mean Sum 41 and Avril Lavigne; in fact I've never listened to a song by the former all the way through, and the latter, from what I've heard, is just like all the other popular female solo artists except she thinks she's superior because she's "alternative". When it comes to punk, I like the Pistols, The Clash, Minor Threat, NOFX, Pennywise... I do like the more modern punk, but not that "punk-lite" rubbish. Punk is not supposed to be "lite".

If you've only heard Reel Big Fish, you certainly haven't heard ska! Traditional ska is pretty much fast reggae with horns; 2-tone ska includes Madness and the Specials; it's only the more recent 3rd wave that includes RBF, Less Than Jake, and other bands who mixed ska with punk and rock. As usual, the older stuff is far better. Have you heard "Ghost Town" by the Specials? That's what I'm talking about! :D

Sublime are not what I'd really refer to as a ska band because they encorporate music from so many different genres. They were a band from the LBC (Long Beach, CA ) in the early/mid 90s, and, as isn't all that uncommon in the music world, their main man, Bradley Nowell, died before they got famous. If I recall correctly, it was only a few days after he got married - that'll teach you to try out new kinds of heroin

Must dash - I'm now 15 minutes late and I still haven't had my coffee! Whoops!

Forgot to say:

If playing guitar were a language, then I would say I know enough to get around, but am not able have an exceptionally deep conversation. I know lotsa chords and how to strum, but I'm no musician.

Goodness, now I'm an hour late!!

Good luck busking! I have some tips, let me get them:

"Yeah, discovering what they seem to like & giving t to them is the secret,
although it can get pretty boring playing the same thing over & over!

Did you get yourselves a good spot? Some tips:

Get your mate to go & listen, in both directions to see how far away you can be
heard, plus to check visually you can be seen clearly a way off, they need to
be aware so they can get their money ready!

Try & find a place they will already have their wallets out & be given change,
which they can then chuck at you!

Eye contact & even to the most unlikely looking victims!

Always say even if it's only pennies!

If the "boys in blue" want to move you on,be polite & agree to go immediately.
But it's worth asking if there is a place they would NOT object to; this works
here & in Greece, in fact the tourist Police ended up giving us on the island!

& remember: Rod Stewart & quite a few others started off like this!"

*Should be "always say "

Thanks

We made a whole £3, mostly from people we already knew, and some little kids who didn't want their Euros. It might have been a bit more than that, but we spent it on - Teehee

We were actually rather awful, but at least we didn't get thrown out of the town!

You did better than me. I made a whole £2.40. The annoying thing is, when my friend does it on his own, he makes a killing!

Anyway, yes. You were saying about the early ska that makes you giggle? I believe I found something like it! It was on the Young, Gifted and Black (1) compilation, it's called Al Capone and it's sort of half way between reggae and ska, sounds very good:

Don' call me Scarface. My name is Al Capone. C-A-P-O-N-E. Capone! etc. by Prince Buster& The All Stars. That compilation is really worth getting, by the way.