Jon Anderle

Professor Kaye
Writing about Music
September 15, 2015
Musical Self-Reflection
After filling out the questionnaire and putting it aside for the day I was able to reflect on
my answers. I would still stand by my responses. My taste in music is most definitely personal,
as everyones musical preferences. I also believe that the individuals upbringing, the region they
live in and their cultural background absolutely shapes their tastes in music. For example, a
Hispanic person who grew up in an urban Hispanic neighborhood will have a greatly different
taste in music than, a White person who grew up in a rural small town. To go even broader, a
person from India listens to different music than a person from Germany because its also the
kind of music that your surrounded by, the music that your culture or your region listens to; ones
musical tastes relate to the music they are exposed to. You can learn a lot about a person based
on their taste in music.
My favorite musical tastes are varied, with more of a preference to rock and blues styles
of music. However, I am a fan of Classic 90s Rap, along with some more modern stylings of
today, and I also enjoy certain Electronic Artists. Other Rock-based genres I prefer are Classic
Rock, Alternative/Grunge, and music from the Post-Punk movement of the late 70s through the
1980s. I think my taste in music comes a lot from my Father. He enjoyed Classic Rock by The
Beatles, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Tom Petty, Black Sabbath; he also enjoyed more modern
artists such as Nirvana, Green Day, and Metallica When I was younger I have plenty of
memories of him putting in a cassette, and play the whos this band? game, where hed ask me

the question and Id attempt it, (often times I remember getting them wrong) hed tell me the
right artist but I would never remember, not until I was a little older where I started to build my
own tastes, just heavily influenced by my Dads taste in music. Branching off from his taste in
Classic Rock, I discovered bands like The Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Doors, and Cream.
Other bands I discovered through his more modern Alternative tastes were Joy Division, Black
Flag, Weezer, and Beck
Some of my favorite musicians are from some of my favorite bands, Jim Morrison, the
lead singer of The Doors is possibly my all-time favorite, for his naturally gifted singing voice
and his deep, philosophical lyircs and poems. John Bonham of Led Zeppelin, one of the greatest
rock drummers of all time, his hits are all over the time signature of Zeppelins songs, and yet he
is the driving rhythmic force of the band. Ginger Baker of Cream, which was basically his band (
people think that it was Eric Claptons but it was Baker who rounded the trio together), I really
like the fact that Ginger Baker used to hold Drum-offs and challenge the big Jazz drummers of
the day like Buddy Rich and Max Roach, something similar to Freestyle Rap Battles, but instead
its with drumlines. Tupac is not only a very prophetic artist who wrote beautiful poetry as well
as produced some of the greatest rap albums of all time, his flow is arguably unstoppable, and no
one will ever be as great as he was. He rapped about uniting people and peace and love, his
message wasnt filled with violence, sex, moneyand drugs that seems like all rappers talk about
today. Kurt Cobain of Nirvana was an amazing artist, as well as a musician and lyricist, he was
also a painter, and sculptor. He was a tortured soul that created truly deep, emotional, and
interpretative works through his art. Jimi Hendrix is another favorite of mine for not only his
God-like ability to play the guitar, but also his extremely poetic and beautiful lyrics. It seems I
have a penchant for artists who die young.

Unfortunately I dont listen to classical music enough, and Im unfamiliar with any
modern composer, but I always could appreciate the compositions of Beethoven and Verdi.
Beethovens Symphony No.5 and his No.9 are my favorites. As clichd as it sounds, one of my
favorite pieces by Verdi is Rigoletto La Dona e Mobile, the melody for that song is one of the
catchiest I have ever heard. Its so simple, yet so listenable and actually enjoyable. Classical
music is something I would like to get into at some point in my life, there are so many beautiful
pieces of music that have truly held up to the test of time, and are not only still popular, but also
studied today.
There isnt a genre of music out there that I truly hate, or even as you put it, cant
stand, I can appreciate all genres of music and can always find a favorite or enjoyable song in
any given genre. However, that being said, I am really not a fan of Country music. I cant really
relate to the general themes country artists often sing about and generally I really dont care for
the timbre of country music in general. Maybe it has something to do with the twangs country
singers have in their voices, or the way they play the guitars with glass slides that just get to me.
But theres really nothing I find pleasurable about country music.
My most memorable musical experience was definitely the time I played a trumpet solo
my sophomore year of high school in a winter concert for my high school symphonic band. I
remember the solid 6 weeks in preparation for that solo. I made sure I nailed every note, every
accent, every dynamic perfectly. Id play it almost every chance I got. Despite being the most
prepared for a performance that Ive ever gotten, when it came to the moments right before being
called up to front stage by the band conductor I remember being more nervous than I have ever
experienced; (since then I can honestly say I havent been that nervous since, often using this
example as encouragementif I got through that solo in high school, I can do this.) During the

performance I tried not to directly look out at any of the 300-something faces in the crowd and
just played. It was kind of one big blur, so much work and stress, and repetition all for a 2 minute
solo. A memory I wont ever forget.
If I were to program for an End of the World ceremony the song I would choose would
be Endless Namesless performed by Nirvana during a 1991 live radio show. Theres another
version to this song which was a bit shorter, this version appeared on Nevermind as a hidden
track that would only play 15 minutes after the last song on the album played. This radio version
is more raw and about three minutes longer than the version that appeared on the album, theres
more guitar feedback and bashing of the drums in the performed-for-radio version which would
better suit a soundtrack for the end of the World; especially since it ends with the blearing
screech of Cobains Stratocaster, similar to the sound of a flat line on a heartbeat monitor.
If conditions are right, and Im really feeling the song, of course Ill bust a move to some
funky beats. I think through dancing you can enjoy the music that much more, like you feel it on
the inside when the music hits you; dancing is a way to let the music externally affect you,
through movements through the beat. Its just a lot of fun, especially if youre with the right
group of people, and its a different form of expressing yourself and its good exercise!
There is no way I could come up with a single favorite song, theres way too many I hold
close to my heart. But if I had to give a Top Five List(in no particular order), I would go with: 5.
Do For Love By Tupac, 4. When the Levee Breaks by Led Zeppelin, 3. Riders on the Storm by
The Doors, 2. Spank Thru by Nirvana, and 1. Dance Yrself Clean by LCD Soundsystem. To even
narrow it down to just five was a hard enough challenge, than the near impossibility of
narrowing it down to just one song. I love too much music.