Robert says, “Let me ask you something…..what are you white guys so angry about? Always screamin’……”
I admit, I was at somewhat of a loss to an answer. Here was a black man asking me why I listened to the blistering guitars of Metallica and Anthrax and asking ME personally what it was that I was so angry about. Sure, it’s not like I had the absolute best childhood or anything, but was I ever oppressed or discriminated against? Mmm. I think solidly no. I wouldn’t count that time that my hair was so long that someone thought I was a young girl.
My musical tastes didn’t start out that way. In the 70’s and 80’s I was never steered toward the fuzz-heavy guitar that dominated that time. Several friends had Kiss posters hung on their walls, but I wasn’t into that whole 70’s rock scene. Musically speaking, my mother plays piano and I’ve always had an ear for music. When I was six or seven, I was given the opportunity to sing the Muppet song “Rainbow Connection” in front of the entire Parker Choir. To this day, I can still recite the lyrics from memory. No idea why it was decided that was a good idea. I tripped over a timing/lyric that I had problems with as I expected – but like always I don’t remember actually practicing for it that much. Pretty much two run-throughs and I went ahead and did it. After that I play Coronet and French Horn in the elementary school band (briefly) until I had one of my patented short-temper-tantrum-freak-outs. Even then, once I got a little older, I was listening to the top hits of the day – which tended to be pretty mellow stuff. John Lennon, Air Supply, Kenny Rogers. Here’s how not cool I was – I saw a TV ad for AC/DC’s tour (Coming to the Summit!) and I was actually scared. Scared of a commercial about heavy metal music! Hanging around my mom definitely skewed my listening some extremely mild stuff.
My mother is a pretty reserved person. Her idea of great music tended to be “Kokomo” by the Beach Boys. Further back, my interest in music tended to aim toward soundtracks. You have no idea how embarrased I am to look back and see my younger self walk through the door of a record store and head straight for the Soundtrack section? Seriously?
Even after I discovered the guitar in New Zealand, I distinctly remember meeting my guitar teacher for the first time in the States.
Him: So, you want to learn to play guitar? What music do you like?
Me: Ummm….Huey Lewis and the News?
Him: Uh, there’s not a lot of guitar in that.
Coming back to the reality of a US based school (sophomore in High School) I got exposed to a lot more (heavier) guitar-based music – 1988 or so. I dove headfirst into metal – or at least some of the big names in metal anyway. Since then I’ve come to appreciate some of the best heavy guitar riffs in music.
However, I still can’t answer his question.
I had the same reaction to AC/DC. My first exposure to them was the album Dirty Deeds, Done Dirt Cheap. I found the cover, with all of the “normal” looking people with censor bars across their eyes, to be disturbing by itself, but the pictures of the band themselves, which were on the inner album sleeve, I thought were truly frightening. They were all shirtless, sweaty, hairy, maniacal looking, chugging bottles of Jack Daniels. They had censor bars over their eyes, too, which seemed appropriate. To a ten year old kid, they looked like they were almost animals, and there was no telling what they might be capable of.
It’s so weird that a band could cause the same reaction as as any decent horror movie of the day. In the late nineties my mother told me that she was afraid of rockabilly. Pretty crazy….