musical gateway drugs
Friends, I call on you for help... Christmas present help.
I have two cousins who live in San Jose... both male, one 13 and 16. Their main hobby is skateboarding, one plays guitar, the other drums. I will see them next week when I go home for the holidays.
Their favorite band... some group named Avenged Sevenfold. After giving it a listen, it's some of the worst music I've ever heard... but I can see the appeal, it's fast, loud, and angry.
How do I know this? They both added me on MySpace which is quite odd since the MySpace world they inhabit is so different from my own (subject for another post perhaps).
Anyway, knowing a fair amount about their community, parents, interests, etc... I fear that their exposure to different kinds of music is very limited. At their age, I was friends with the middle school drug dealers, Asian kids, and kids with older siblings who all had better taste than the average kids around them. (update: iamdonte just reminded me... 120 Minutes on MTV was also a huge part of this).
Bands like Depeche Mode, U2, New Order, Smiths, NIN, etc all entered my world through these channels and opened me up to so many other kinds of art and ways of thinking.
With my Christmas gift, I would like to interject some of that into their lives, but am aware of the obstacles I face... one of which is their established notions of what is cool. For example, the 16 y/o in his MySpace profile states under music:
"mostly everything except rap, country, and those lame songs that moms listen to."
I know, how very punk rock right? But "rap"??? C'mon I gotta intervene here, it's my duty.
SO DEAR READERS...
Knowing now what you know about these two characters... what albums would you suggest as gateway drugs that could possibly open their musical horizons?
My goal isn't to get them listening to exactly what I listen to... but at least break the dam open that will hopefully get them exploring on their own outside of the mainstream.
My initial idea was to burn them a dvd of mp3s, but a good friend pointed out that at that age, it's important to have the actual physical object... with wrapping and all to make the object feel like it's really theirs. My budget constraint is $100 total, so I'm guessing that's about 6 cds.
Another option is getting them a few cds and a choice DVD or two... like Scratch which I think may help them understand hip-hop culture beyond the concept of "rap sucks." Another DVD that comes to mind is Spike Jonze's "Yeah Right" skateboarding movie since it involves one of their main interests and the soundtrack is awesome.
Here's my first swag at a gateway album list...
I'm heading to EasyStreet records after work today, so get those recommendations in...
update: The Stranger's Lineout blog has more recommendations here.
I have two cousins who live in San Jose... both male, one 13 and 16. Their main hobby is skateboarding, one plays guitar, the other drums. I will see them next week when I go home for the holidays.
Their favorite band... some group named Avenged Sevenfold. After giving it a listen, it's some of the worst music I've ever heard... but I can see the appeal, it's fast, loud, and angry.
How do I know this? They both added me on MySpace which is quite odd since the MySpace world they inhabit is so different from my own (subject for another post perhaps).
Anyway, knowing a fair amount about their community, parents, interests, etc... I fear that their exposure to different kinds of music is very limited. At their age, I was friends with the middle school drug dealers, Asian kids, and kids with older siblings who all had better taste than the average kids around them. (update: iamdonte just reminded me... 120 Minutes on MTV was also a huge part of this).
Bands like Depeche Mode, U2, New Order, Smiths, NIN, etc all entered my world through these channels and opened me up to so many other kinds of art and ways of thinking.
With my Christmas gift, I would like to interject some of that into their lives, but am aware of the obstacles I face... one of which is their established notions of what is cool. For example, the 16 y/o in his MySpace profile states under music:
"mostly everything except rap, country, and those lame songs that moms listen to."
I know, how very punk rock right? But "rap"??? C'mon I gotta intervene here, it's my duty.
SO DEAR READERS...
Knowing now what you know about these two characters... what albums would you suggest as gateway drugs that could possibly open their musical horizons?
My goal isn't to get them listening to exactly what I listen to... but at least break the dam open that will hopefully get them exploring on their own outside of the mainstream.
My initial idea was to burn them a dvd of mp3s, but a good friend pointed out that at that age, it's important to have the actual physical object... with wrapping and all to make the object feel like it's really theirs. My budget constraint is $100 total, so I'm guessing that's about 6 cds.
Another option is getting them a few cds and a choice DVD or two... like Scratch which I think may help them understand hip-hop culture beyond the concept of "rap sucks." Another DVD that comes to mind is Spike Jonze's "Yeah Right" skateboarding movie since it involves one of their main interests and the soundtrack is awesome.
Here's my first swag at a gateway album list...
- Helmet - Unsung: The Best of Helmet 1991-1997
- Radiohead - OK Computer
- Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights
- Ministry - Psalm 69
- Pink Floyd - Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd
- Boards of Canada - Music Has the Right to Children
- Nine Inch Nails - Downward Spiral
- DJ Krush - Stepping Stones: The Self-Remixed Best
- Aphex Twin - Richard D. James album
- Pixies - Doolittle
- Underworld - Second Toughest in Infants
- Tool - 10,000 Days (not Aenima... too many overt drug references, their parents would kill me)
I'm heading to EasyStreet records after work today, so get those recommendations in...
update: The Stranger's Lineout blog has more recommendations here.