Progression or deterioration?

So as I type I am sat at my desk with my speakers plugged into my laptop. I had iTunes on shuffle, now I just have Skindred's latest album on; Union Black. Singing along like a trooper and thinking about the two nights of Skindred I have to look forward to in April when I see them two nights in a row on the Jagermiester tour. And it's made me think just how much my musical preferences have changed over the past two years.

Growing up I was I would say mostly influenced by my eldest brother's tastes in music. But I didn't actively start listening to the genre's he introduced me to until I was in around 11. Before this I mainly listened to what I had the opportunity to listen to; that being what was on the radio or cassette tapes and CDs bought for me. Unsurprisingly my favourite band in the early 90's was much like with every other young girl, the Spice Girls. There's no denying my music tastes up until I was in secondary school focused on mainstream, pop and chart music. Which could not be further from my tastes now at the age of 23.

My biggest influences music wise were my eldest brother, whose music tastes I share the most, who introduced me to rock, metal, punk, alternative music on a whole. Then my second eldest brother who introduced me to the 90's chemical generation of music; trance, house, dance, hardcore. When I first started to actively find music for myself, it was when I was in year 8 at school. I got into bands such as Blink 182, HIM, and more so into a band which my eldest brother brought me up on, Iron Maiden. And from there I have continued to explore, find and fall in love with more and more bands.

Yet my favourite genre of music has always been the opposite of metal. Trance. I find it the most relaxing kind of music, it chills me out and also reminds me of some amazing times, even if these times were fuelled by drugs. And there was the majority of times I would go out, a definite trend in the music being played. I didn't typically go to alternative nights, instead going to clubs which played house and hosted nights at the hands of some incredibly mind blowing DJs. And it made me realise my musical tastes are completely split in two. It's only been the past two years since I started going to festivals that my music taste has veered back over to metal and pretty much stuck there.

There are of course some genres of music I cannot stand. I cannot stand RnB, Hip Hop, mainstream pop music, Rap. I also do not like screamo as I feel that if I cannot understand what you are singing (and this also goes for Rammstein, as I cannot understand German) then I am not really going to be interested in your music, am I? I can't relate to these genres of music, whereas I can to metal, rock, punk, ska, etc. There is only one song in the entire of the past year which has been in the charts that I have managed to relate to and that was Adele - Someone Like You. I don't know anyone who hasn't been able to relate to that particular song.

I would pay to go see a band live, and by band I mean metal, rock, punk, ska, etc. But I would not pay to go see a mainstream artist live. I don't see the appeal. Despite being a lover of live music, festivals and loving the atmosphere at gigs as well as the adrenaline that comes along throughout and lasting a while after. But everyone has their different tastes and preferences. I've just learnt where mine are most loyal.