One step back, two steps forward

It seems logical to me that before I start tracking the perilous and lucid roads of new-born music, I should delve into the dark recesses of time to try and establish where my musical influences (if any) came from. What was it that happened to me that gave me a love for a certain band? Keeping with the age old tradition of being chronological, let's go back to the short-trousered, football-obsessed days of childhood.

If I'm honest, my taste of music when I first got interested was a load of balls. Ignoring the hysteria over Spice Girls and the like that was swarming the nation, the large part of music-listening I did was in my parent's cars. The first single I remember independently buying, at the age of around 10, was 'Hey Ya' by Outkast. Now it's a good song, with a real feel-good factor, but it certainly wasn't epic. I'm more interested however, in the kind of music I would hear my parents play (not that I ever took any interest at the time).

When you're young, car journeys seem to last for days at a time, even if its just a matter of hours. I was one of those impatient children, but I still felt more comfortable when music was playing than when silence prevailed. The albums that were on constant playback were exclusively chosen by my parents - I don't remember the names of the albums, but I remember three of the bands: Genesis, Manic Street Preachers and Supertramp ('Dreamer' was probably the first song I knew all the words to). This peculiar blend of music has seemed to instill a fetish-like affection for similar music to this day, just recently I spent some time revelling in Stereophonics music that reminded me of something, not that I could put a finger on it.

Once I got a bit older, and discovered the interesting appeal of females, combined with an increased awareness of what was going on around me, I remember finding lyrics, and not just music, drawing me in. "I don't believe that anybody, feels the way I do, about you now," instantly struck a chord with me. It's difficult to remember exactly what I loved and hated, but I knew I liked this gem of Oasis'. On top of that, my Dad kindly introduced to me some of the older stuff he used to like in his teens - bands like Yes, The Who, The Rolling Stones, all bands who surprisingly I'd heard very little of.

Then I found Led Zeppelin.

The combination of eerie vocals rising up to a crescendo of riffs sounded simply amazing to me. With the contrast between classics like 'Stairway to Heaven' and the pounding physicality of 'Kashmir', I simply wanted more and more of them. So I guess that was pretty defining in terms of musical taste. Yet I didn't become a one-band obsessive - I never claimed to think that Led Zeppelin were the best band ever, I don't think they are, but they just seemed to pop up at just the right time for me.

With a new-found kindling towards brasher guitars, but still with a fondness of soul-stretching vocals, I really got into new, current music. I've now cylcled through the years faster than Lance Armstrong on speed, up to only a couple of years ago, when I got really excited about music. First off was Green Day and 'American Idiot' - I loved the energy of it, that was how simple it was. Then came JET and 'Get Born', The Darkness' 'One Way Ticket...' and Franz Ferdinand's self-titled debut. Yet all this mild rock music was supplemented by a keen, if slightly embarrassed, interest in other music - KT Tunstall's solo act with all the technical expertise she exhibited appealed to me, if not out of admiration for her talent than appreciation of the music itself.

Fast-forwarding to the present day, the albums of the last couple of years that have most appealed to me have been those of The Killers, The Arctic Monkeys, Bloc Party and Maroon 5. Yet about a year ago, perhaps with the musical revolution happening over at Myspace, I found a craving for more and more new music - whether new or old, all that I minded was that it was new to me. This created two poles, two ends of the spectrum that covered the music I was listening to. On one side, the hot-off-the press stuff, I found a little-known Bournemouth band called Air Traffic in late 2006, and decided that I'd go and watch them live in Oxford (my first gig), little did I know that within a year they would be selling out the Shepherd's Bush Empire. At the other end of the spectrum, however, was some of what you might call the 'old-school' stuff: Guns and Roses, Oasis, even Iron Maiden creeping in there. I loved both sides, and it really was a great place to be. Of course... the music and lyrics that I grew to love did not seem to always correlate with how I felt, I certainly couldn't explain why I became obsessive about some songs (Orson's 'No Tomorrow' an example) yet disregarded numerous others that were along the same lines.

Now, I trawl Myspace for new music, ask around to see what friends are listening to, and look for hints of talent in magazines like NME. I've found bands like Tellison, Paperadio and Pull Tiger Tail that are just begging to be famous... but then maybe the music wouldn't be quite so special, would it?

Out on a limb

I'm new to this game.

To me, music is far more than sounds - it's evocative, emotional, enthusing. Music makes me feel, (excusing the cliché) music lets me think straight, and it reminds me of times past. It's a mystery of human biology how some music can have such a profound effect. But I know I'm not the only one - I know there are huge numbers of people who treat music as more than just a backing track.

This is where I am going to track my discoveries, feelings, the things that make me stop and think. I don't know for sure myself what direction it might take, but I'm quietly excited. Oh there is one other thing.. I'm obsessed with new music.

So here goes.