What did you & your peers think about music when you were in high school?

[guitguy28]

I'm 35 now... I don't keep up on the latest trends in rock music. How could I, I guess?
They have big music festivals in our city every year. Indie rock bands, etc. and I can honestly say that I can't recognize a single band name in the lineup. If I were 20 years old, I totally would, though.
I almost feel like sitting down with a hip 20-year old music fan and catching up on what's hip, what the good bands are, etc.

But anyway it has me thinking about when I was in high school and I totally was up on every musical trend.
I went to high school from '90-'94.
For the first couple of years, if you were into rock music like I was, you were a headbanger. And hard rock and metal bands were either "glam" or "thrash". Being called "glam" was considered a huge insult, and Poison was at the top of this list.
Guns N'Roses and Metallica were huge.

Then Nirvana came out, and all the other "alternative rock" bands with them. It didn't kill "hair metal" right away ("hair metal" generally being bands with leather vests, big or pouffy hair, and Ibanez shred guitars)- it took about a year for the change-over.
I remember some good bands that people my age just stopped listening to: Skid Row especially, but other examples being bands like Queensryche or Saigon Kick.
By 1993, the terminology changed: bands were either "alternative" or "mainstream".
Metal wasn't a cool term to use for a few years, but the heaviest bands of that genre were still thriving: Pantera was massive, for instance.
And Guns N' Roses, which were huge in 1991 and 1992, kinda faded away.

So, I'm curious, what was it like for you in and just after high school?

[chucke99]

By the time I hit high school, I was firmly in the hard rock/heavy metal camp, but seeing as how it was 1973, that limited what was available. A few years later, I could tell you the name of every single player in not just my favorite bands, but for any band represented in my album collection. I remember back then thinking it was like kids who could name every player on their baseball team.

I was able to keep up with things, at least in the hard rock/metal genres, until about 1980, when I lost focus, mostly because my favorite bands had either disbanded or changed their musical styles. The glut of supposedly "metal" bands that came out in the Eighties were never my cup of tea, and after they morphed into the hair bands, I was completely disconnected. I still liked other bands (mostly underground stuff of the day, such as R.E.M.) but I never bothered to take the time to totally absorb them.

[CowTipton]

I'm only a few years older than you (guitguy28) so Van Halen was still huge, Scorpions, AC/DC, Judas Priest, etc.

Senior year I had a job doing telephone surveys and bought my first car. We used to stuff it full and even had people in the trunk so we could all go to the concerts. Lawn seats of course. Nobody had any money back then and I had the only car.

I quit my first band when they said they wanted to start playing "Unskinny Bop" and "Up All Night."

Good times, I had a lot of fun in H.S.

[Lance]

Class of '86, and I was so sick of mersh-y pop new wave stuff I had gone almost completely Sharpnel. I had all of those super guitar slinger cds, and was heavily into them, old Metallica, GNR was just hitting the scene. High school was pretty evenly divided between hair metal, new wave. Not even any punk rockers in my small town.
So, as far as what I used to say would be something like, "Death to Mersh. Metal rules!" I still cannot stand simple, pop chart topping music.

[lakehaus]

I graduated in '77. There was A LOT of great rock that was NOT being played on FM at the time. Wishbone Ash is still one of my modern favorites from the era. I was lucky enough to be living in the New Orleans area - so even the CYO dances had great bands (Zebra, Greg Wright, The Cold, etc). I also got into blues when radio play started sucking, and progressive rock & jazz.

What a great time to be a kid!

[A-Bone]

I graduated in '89. I was definitely in the indie/college rock/hardcore/punk/post punk/hip hop/alternative/ska/new wave camp, but I listened to stuff from across the board. As I think back over songs and acts that I like, I realize I have always had very catholic musical tastes.

Even then I loved R&B, soul, funk, 60s music, a good chunk of psychedelic rock, some metal, classic rock, reggae, etc.

I had friends more in the punk and post punk and hardcore path, and friends that leaned more in the new wave/college rock/indie/alternative direction --and some overlap. I also had friends that I turned on to a lot of great music, but interestingly hardly any that turned me on to stuff. I guess I was the hub of the music world in my circle of friends.

[cdntac]

In grade 9 (1983) I was introduced to Aerosmith and instantly I was hooked.

However, I seemed to be the only one who really liked them. I had a friend who went to another high school and he said there were only a few losers who were into Aerosmith at his school.

It stayed this way until fall 1987 when Permanent Vacation and a few songs off of it started to grab hold of people.

And of course I could say "See what I've been saying all these years!!!".

[guitguy28]

OP again... now that I'm thinking about it, I remember during the time I was in HS (90-94), that Jimi Hendrix and the Doors were very hip.

And if you were a musician, there was a lot of love for classic rock. People would ask, "hey, have you heard Frank Zappa?" or "have you heard 'The Wall'?"

in 1993, Zep became my favorite band... and to this day, they still set the standard for me in a lot of ways.

[DrSax]

music was important.

it was life changing.

no one would think it odd for you to feel that way, either.

I think things might be very different now, but I don't know.

(graduated in 88)

[cruisemates]

Graduated in 1972 and the only thing I wish is that I had been born about 10 years earlier. I think good rock music sort of peaked around 1970 in terms of inventiveness.

When I was 10 music was The Beatles, Monkees, Dave Clark 5 - still pop songs for the most part - then with '67, San Francisco, plus the Brit Blues movement, so many good players came out so fast it was unfathomable.

I mean Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Allman Bros, Leslie West, John McLaughlin and various others all appeared at almost the same time. My years 68 to 72, were when music became a "cause" - not just a business or form of entertainment.

But being 14 to 18 is not old enough to be in it. I wish I had been 18 in 1962 (like most of my Brit heros were) and been able to catch the wave instead of just watch it - although 68-72 (High Sch) were good years.

[shredtrash]

I was in HS from '85-'89 and music was everything to us. VH, Dokken, Ratt, Motley Crue, Poison, L.A. Guns, Scorpions, Def Leppard...good times and great music IMO!

[Funky Chicken]

I graduated in 1983.
By the summer of 1980 I was already playing bar gigs in a couple of different bands. The drinking age was 18 and nobody ever asked for ID if you were in the band.
The small town I grew up in (New York Suburbs, HS student body of under 700) was full of decent musicians and everyone played with everybody else. There were 3 basic factions-
The Springsteen/Stones guys
The Southern/Jamband guys
The Hard/Progressive guys (Zep, Rush, Yes)-
but everything kinda cross-pollinated. We would set up these friday night talent shows called "The Coffee House" in the cafeteria and they always turned into these really interesting open mic/jam nights with everything from drum circles and two guys playing Pure Prairie League songs on acoustics to 3 guys in Kimonos (I was one of them) attempting "Xanadu".
On a dare I got up and did a 5 song set of Rick Springfield tunes as the frontman. You never knew who would be doing what-it was literally all over the place. Want to play a bunch of Police songs? Okay. Let's get a Police band together. Jungleland? No problem. Whipping Post? Sure.
There are some old cassettes floating around of these nights and honestly it sounds much better than I would have expected.
By junior year one band I was in was playing Frat Gigs all over New England that were booked by the older brothers of a couple of friends. We were living like adults for the most part-our collective parents were very self involved and basically let us do our own thing (not sure if this was the best idea in retrospect but nobody got hurt and it was a ton of fun). We would party pretty hard with the divorced mom of one the guys I played with. My mom was gigging every weekend too, playing keys and singing in the house band at a local catering house. I sat in on a bunch of those gigs too-I had probably played 50 weddings by my 18th birthday.
I am still in touch with a great number of the guys from those high school band adventures and still gig with them from time to time. Most of them still play in some capacity, and we all feel really fortunate to have been there together even if the experience probably derailed our futures as civilians.
So, to answer your question-my High School experience was 110% music.

[Tmac1957]

Graduated HS in 1975. Music was great back then, somewhere along the line I decided that whatever age you are, the longest remebered music was from the high school days. In my case it was easy, early Pink Floyd, early Genesis, Queen, Skynyrd, Zappa...so much to choose from.

[tonejunky]

Red Hot Chili Peppers, Incubus, Phish, Foo Fighters, and Tool/A Perfect Circle were all well-revered.

Liking Jack Johnson and Ben Harper was hip and cool. (I still think that they're great musicians)

It could just be nostalgia talking (I'm realizing parallels to all the guys saying "there just hasn't been good rock or pop music since the 70s)... but I do feel like my last years in High School were very close to the last time that I consistently heard good rock on the radio.

Oh yeah, MTV was still cool too. Back then that stood for "Music Television".

Outkast was on fire.

Of course it was also the beginning of Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and Destiny's Child. At least two of them can sing well.

John Mayer was in his "Body is a Wonderland" phase...

Dave Matthews was extremely popular and putting out some great stuff.

I fondly remember seeing Bush, STP, and Incubus at a Festival. Oh yeah.. the Counting Crows, Kid Rock, and War were there too!
I hate that I actually missed seeing Rush, who was at that same festival... but all in all, it felt like a glorious time for Hard Rock.

:aok

[shane88]

i was pro hard rock and anti pop/disco

after i left high school i was pro pop/disco and anti hard rock

by the time you hit 30 you look ancient to people under 25 and trying to understand their music becomes futile as the music you grew up with will always be the best music - that's just the way it is - trying to relate to kids is futile - better to grow old gracefully

[tsar nicholas]

Music was pretty much everything for the kids I hung out with. Well, that and clothes.

I was a hardcore mod / goth in junior and senior year ('98), and the music was a steady diet of Massive Attack, Tricky, Bjork, DJ Shadow, Roni Size, Goldie, Photek, Dillinja, Squarepusher, Blur, Pulp, Verve, Stone Roses, Guitar Wolf, Style Council, Jam, Motown, P-Funk, James Brown, Los Lobos, White Zombie, Pizzicato Five, and Wu-Tang-oriented rap.

The excitement that built up around new record releases was incredible. I remember when the eponymous Blur LP came out, it was like the air was made out of electric Gatorade. Seeing some of these acts live in their prime was a life-defining experience.

I was into metal as a kid, but by the late 90s, it seemed like all the classic thrash acts were putting out garbage, and the "nu-metal" thing was obviously wack. Apart from White Zombie and Soulfly, very little mainstream metal was appealing. I got into doom and grindcore in college.

The late 90s were a pretty cool time to be a kid. There was so much ground being broken in pop.

[CharAznable]

I'm 34, so pretty much same generation as the OP.

My friends listened to hair metal.. in fifth grade.

In 91 the grunge thing happened and it was the right thing at the right time. I was in seventh grade and we all plunged in head first.

High school was pretty fertile. Everybody was into cool music. I could go to parties and listen to cool music and talk about cool music with people.Hung out a ton, drank, went to parties, played music, etc. You know, the high school experience. And it was good musical times: seemed like there was a cool new band every week, and the new genres coming out to replace grunge were interesting to me.. britpop, triphop, electronica, power pop.. know, all the stuff that happened in the mid 90's. Additionally, living in Latin America meant that the golden age of latin rock was in full swing.

We formed a cover band doing the stuff of the day, and then started doing originals. That went for like 7 years and we eventually got pretty good and started getting a bit of a following.

By 97 or so, I felt like music was dying except for Radiohead. I plunged deep into prog rock at this point and divorced myself from popular music.

I stayed that way until I started getting into some indie type of stuff at around 2001 or 2002, concurrent with my prog rock obsession.

Today, I still keep pretty current. I generally know what's going on, but not with the level of detail I did in like, 94.

I feel the 90's were a great decade to be a music fan.

[speakerjones]

I'm 35, so same era as the OP, right in the height of the grunge boom. I had started playing in bands by then (mostly metal). I was devouring music at the time. In addition to metal and grunge, I was checking out hip hop, hardcore, ska, punk, indie, jam bands, and rediscovering classic rock. I went to tons of shows. Touring right after high school, I was able to discover many amazing regional acts on the east coast and the south. I think having an open mind about music then has helped me to keep one now.

[Andrew Spindler]

I was in high school from 1978-1981. I was a metal fan until a friend of mine turned me on to the Sex Pistols album. That changed everything for me. Long hair gave way to a mohawk. I loved and still do everything about the DIY attitude. Now I'm 48 and don't have enough hair left for a mohawk even if I wanted one. Damn... at least I still have the punk band.

[York]

I was in high school 1969-1971. Played in a rock band the whole time. Those days were a great time for music and just good good times.

[guitguy28]

OP here again... I just wanted to say that, despite Nirvana's popularity, I didn't really see local bands trying to be like them.

I'd say, if you were a garden variety rock band at that time (early 90s), one of your biggest influences would be the Chili Peppers. I saw lots of funk-rock stuff and Strats.

And when the whole "alternative" thing took over, there were a lot of kids wanting to play bass. Flea and Les Claypool were the bass gods of the day.

The Les Paul was the guitar to have, but there was no shortage of Strats and Teles around.

[Fred McMurray]

Interesting post. I was in HS in northern NJ from 82-86, and already playing lead guitar in bands. It wasn't just about the metal, but metal was huge...and the cutting edge/underground stuff was all the rage: Iron Maiden really broke out during Number of the Beast, but we were on board when Dianno was still singing. Judas Priest and AC/DC were big, proggers Rush (circa Moving Pictures) and Yes were still huge, Scorps and Schenker (MSG), Metallica's Kill Em All was the 'new thing' (as was Anthrax and then eventually Slayer), we were checking out all the NWOBHM bands - Def Leppard circa High'n'Dry, Tygers of Pan Tang etc. Oh yeah and Ozzy and VH were a given at that point. Grateful Dead didn't make much sense except for the party scene...but everybody dug stuff like Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young - we all acknowledged our 'hippie tunes'. The guitar players were all into Pat Metheny and Holdsworth, the bass guys idolized Jaco and Jeff Berlin. We all dug NWOBHM bands, but nobody in those bands could really play like Neal Schon, hehehehe. Ugh. And all the chix dug clowns with Duran Duran haircuts, until GnR came along a few years later. But it was all for the better. Then, late 80s college was this whole indie scene led by R.E.M. , so many of the college kids pitted indie vs. metal of any stripe, the indie stuff was really good and fortunately Janes came along, and then Soundgarden...everyone just needed to open their minds a bit and chill out. There were such hardass dividing lines; the 80s were a time of cultural warfare in a big way, and attitudes within the hipoisie culture reflected internal battle lines that weren't always logical if you were in it primarily for the music.

[iamdavea]

Graduated in 1979. Music was everything, and it was everywhere. We worshiped it, and we weren't snobs. You'd confess to a friend that you thought "Lady" by The Little River Band was the best song on the radio, and he'd agree with you. Then you'd get in his Camaro and put on some Mahogany Rush. It was all good.

[Flinx]

i was pro hard rock and anti pop/disco

after i left high school i was pro pop/disco and anti hard rock

by the time you hit 30 you look ancient to people under 25 and trying to understand their music becomes futile as the music you grew up with will always be the best music - that's just the way it is - trying to relate to kids is futile - better to grow old gracefully

I don't know if i agree...i think about this all the time...i graduated HS in '83...i like music from the 1950's all they way to around about 1997...maybe that's when i got really old ;) There is still some new stuff i like that came out in 2000 and beyond..but very little...too much autotune and corporate radio...i am aware of some really talented young groups out there...they are just not given much of a chance....may not be your kind of music..but listen to these young folks.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HxNtWEIKhQ

[gmann]

We thought music could change the world, and the chicks were cool!

[ScottB]

In high school, we thought: "Disco Sucks!"

In retrospect, I think I missed some good stuff, as I really didn't differentiate between funk and disco.

We were in to; Zeppelin, Aerosmith, KISS, Yes, Skynyrd, Bad Co, etc...

[TobyManhattan]

I graduated in the early 2000's, there was tons of great music but I didn't know about any of it. I was listening to Iron Maiden and David Bowie because I thought all that existed was Puddle of Mud and System of a Down and other bands similar to them that I just couldn't and still can't get into.
Then a couple years later I found The Strokes who led me to bands like Television, The Velvet Underground, The Arctic Monkeys etc x 10000.

So ya, my music experience in high school was just ok. Afterwards is when I started getting really interested.

[monwobobbo]

79 grad. it depended on which friends i had some that were really into music and some that listened but weren't really that into it. me i was and still am a die hard music fan. we had a great station (WSAY) that played many things that weren't known or played elsewhere. got a ton of exposure to truly great music through them. if they played better known artists they would play stuff other than the hits. who knew that say Thin Lizzy had more tunes that were even better than The Boys Are Back In Town :huh. i tended to be the go to guy to find out about new bands or what was "cool" to listen to outside of the FM staple bands.

[arthur rotfeld]

This one little random thought I had in '84 just popped into my head:

"If we learn a bunch of tunes off this new Scorpions album (Love at First Sting) we'll get a bunch of gigs."

[kevinhifi]

My high school years were during a bit of a dark period for the pop music scene (87-91) as far as rock goes. The Seattle thing didn't catch on in Ohio until the summer right after I graduated. There were a few diamonds in the rough that were able to pop up into the pop scene, which was nice.

Guns'N'Roses
R.E.M. to an extent although they lost me in 1992ish
Jane's Addiction

Other than that, my friends and I pretty much stuck to 60s/70s classic rock.

[kevin hart]

I was in high school from '70-'73 and played in bands from 10th grade on.

My friends and I exposed ourselves to as much music as we possibly could back then and I don't think we had any idea how good we had it to grow up with the great music that was being produced in that time period.

[russiancrowe]

I've been completely absorbed in music since jr. high. I started playing guitar when I was 9 or 10, around 1974, and have been a music fanatic ever since. When I was in jr. high "The Wall" was the biggest album out. I don't think I knew anyone who didn't buy it, except me. I was a HUGE Aerosmith fan and remember being crushed when I heard that Joe Perry had quit. I figured that was the end of my favorite band. Then my cousin and I went to see The Stones in 1978. What an experience that was. I was in high school from '80 to '83 and I remember not liking a lot of the music that was coming out at the time because it was too poppy. That's when I started really digging into the influences of my influences and got deep into blues music. Most of my friends didn't share my love of the blues and thought I was nuts. I played in bands all through jr. high and high school that played at parties and battle of the bands at schools. I also played in the school's jazz band in jr. high, that was a really good learning experience. I was lucky that I never had a curfew because my parents trusted that I wouldn't do anything really stupid. I don't think they realized that my bands were playing in bars on the weekends when I was still in high school. We had 2 high schools in town and there were 3 or 4 bands from each school that played shows together all the time, we played almost every weekend. My non musician friends were jealous becuase I always had spending money from playing on the weekends. It really was a fun time.

[shando98]

I graduated in 2000. At the battle of the bands my Junior year we played Led Zeppelin, Bush, Jimi Hendrix, and 2 originals. At the battle of the bands my Senior year we played Weezer, Green Day, Silverchair, Pearl Jam and an original.

We liked Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Bush, Offspring, Blink-182, Silverchair and Green Day quite a bit, but also listened to a great deal of SRV, Jimi, the Who, Zeppelin, Bob Dylan, the Beatles, etc.

Oh, and lots and lots of Rap music.

In my Central Texas Highschool the best shows to drive an hour to go see were the Toadies!!!

[Stratoben127]

I'm actually in 9th grade and writing this from my math class. I'm the class of '15 and my music is mostly Hendrix, Allman Bros, Skynyrd, Cream, Neil Young and other psychedelic and early blues stuff. My friends HATE it. I always get made fun of (they also make fun of me for being on TGP :p) but I just feel bad that my generation will never know what really good music made by PEOPLE and not malfunctioning computers sounds like.:facepalm:facepalm

[Jarrett]

1985-1989 for me.

I always laugh because we thought Racer's X was better than The Black Crowes and Lenny Kravitz. Of course flash forward to today, there is quite a bit of Black Crowes and Lenny Kravitz on my iPhone but zero Racer's X, hehe :)

We dug Led Zeppelin and Metallica. Red Hot Chili Peppers as well. Guns N' Roses hit for us in 88 or 89 and that was big. Ozzy came out with Zakk Wylde and that was a big deal. Then Living Colour and Faith No More. King's X and Pantera were floating around in there, but they were more local guys for us. Looking back at that, I now completely understand why my original band sounded like it did :)

[russiancrowe]

I'm actually in 9th grade and writing this from my math class. I'm the class of '15 and my music is mostly Hendrix, Allman Bros, Skynyrd, Cream, Neil Young and other psychedelic and early blues stuff. My friends HATE it. I always get made fun of (they also make fun of me for being on TGP :p) but I just feel bad that my generation will never know what really good music made by PEOPLE and not malfunctioning computers sounds like.:facepalm:facepalm

The musician in me thinks it's hilareous that you are posting this from math class because I would've done the same thing at that age if the technology had existed. The parent in me says "PAY ATTENTION IN SCHOOL" Damn I'm getting old. My high school note books were full of doodles of guitars and band names.

[ScottB]

I'm actually in 9th grade and writing this from my math class. I'm the class of '15 and my music is mostly Hendrix, Allman Bros, Skynyrd, Cream, Neil Young and other psychedelic and early blues stuff. My friends HATE it. I always get made fun of (they also make fun of me for being on TGP :p) but I just feel bad that my generation will never know what really good music made by PEOPLE and not malfunctioning computers sounds like.:facepalm:facepalm

That's encouraging, keep it up Ben!

Just remember that high school is not real life.

But, uh, pay attention, you might need some of that math later.

[Neer]

I was into mostly mainstream music (Rock, Soul, Country Rock, some Pop), but in my second year of high school (circa 1978) I met a friend who turned me on to some more obscure artists, like UFO, AC/DC, Scorpions (Tokyo Tapes), Bebop Deluxe, and that was it. Senior year I got into Al Di Meola, Holdsworth and then Jazz.

Very important to always keep an open mind. I've always been open to new directions and challenges. If I still listened to the same music as I did in high school, I would say "shame on me."

[Stratoben127]

Oh yeah, I am also in the jazz band now and was in middle school. I actually love jazz.

[Kooshball]

i was in high school from 98-02 in small town south carolina.

seems like a terrible time for music to my ears.
my friends were obsessed with korn/limp bizkit/slip not and any other form of nu-metal.
mtv was playing nsync, britney spears, ricky martin.

meanwhile I was getting big into metallica and learning to play guitar. Once i found tabs online I was obsessed! then found thin lizzy...ufo..skynyrd, zeppelin , etc.
the big one was the beatles.. towards the end of high school. that's my rant!

[clintb]

Graduated 1987.

Our 1986 school year book had a poll of the student's favorite bands and they were:
Boston, Bon Jovi, Journey, Rush, The Cure.

I'm not surprised by Boston and Bon Jovi, since they had popular albums out at the time that were played on the radio. Journey is a perennial favorite. But I was surprised by the popularity of Rush and especially The Cure.

The "burnouts" (the students that didn't care about school and hung out between classes at the smoking corner) were into stuff like Judas Priest, Metallica, Iron Maiden, Motley Crue, Ratt, Dokken, AC/DC.

The goth girls were into The Cure.

My close friends and I had a basement band and we were mainly into Led Zeppelin and Rush, Rush, and more Rush.

[Gigbag]

I graduated HS in 1980. During HS my friends and I were mostly into:


Aerosmith
Queen
Van Halen
Judas Priest
Scorpions
Pink Floyd
Boston
Journey
Ted Nugent
Montrose
REO Speedwagon
Nazareth
Lynard Skynard
Cheap Trick
Black Sabbath
AC/DC
Rush
Led Zeppelin
Hendrix
Pretty mainstream, as you could hear most or all of it on the radio (at least the hits of each band). I was also into a wider range of pop, classical, and insturmental artists. We listened to radio, bought LPs (and 8 track tapes) at music stores after hangin out there listening to what was new, listened to LPs at each others homes, and eventually on 8 track in cars. Spent a lot of time looking at LP artwork and reading lyrics (when included). Didn't see much about the artists beyond what was included with the albums. So, there was a bit more mystique to band (unlike instant tweets and internet coverage of every action of artists).

[guitaristanyc]

So, I'm curious, what was it like for you in and just after high school?

Pretty much the same as yours, OP, but adjusted back 5 years (I'm 40 now).

[CowTipton]

1985-1989 for me.

I always laugh because we thought Racer's X was better than The Black Crowes and Lenny Kravitz. Of course flash forward to today, there is quite a bit of Black Crowes and Lenny Kravitz on my iPhone but zero Racer's X, hehe :)

We dug Led Zeppelin and Metallica. Red Hot Chili Peppers as well. Guns N' Roses hit for us in 88 or 89 and that was big. Ozzy came out with Zakk Wylde and that was a big deal. Then Living Colour and Faith No More. King's X and Pantera were floating around in there, but they were more local guys for us. Looking back at that, I now completely understand why my original band sounded like it did :)


I still love RacerX.
Just listened to the live Extreme Volume II this morning.

[bkd_guitarist]

Van Halen, Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, et al were super cool. Guns N Roses were nasty and ugly and scary at first...until all of a sudden they became cooler than anyone.

U2 and anything lighter sounding was dismissed by me and my friends as sissy music. You know, 'cause Leppard and Bon Jovi were so MANLY. :huh

[tapeworm]

My class/peers thought rap music was the end all be all and the coolest thing ever and never listened to anything else. Then most of us grew up, became adults, got jobs and moved on from that genre. FYI, I still listen to SOME rap, none of the new stuff, mostly late 80's to mid 90's, before the defenders of the rap music faith get all upset. I just notice that of the many people I hung out with then and still keep in touch with now, we seem to have all grown out of the rap phase.

[DreamPop]

Class of 07.

In my high school, people either listened to rap/hip hop, rock, or country. Mostly chicks listened to country. My friends and I were all about classic rock. The Stones, Led Zep, Van Halen, Skynyrd, Pink Floyd, GnR, Metallica, and Nirvana -- it was all good. Looking back, it is pretty funny how narrow our tastes were, but those bands got us into playing guitar. It was always fun to meet up on the weekends and jam or show off the latest riffs we had learned. By senior year, we got pretty into metalcore. Trivium's first two albums stood as the hallmark of modern guitar playing. We would go to shows in these shit-hole clubs (which wasn't always bad -- I did get to see the Human Abstract, Emmure, and Shadows Fall before they got big).

In college, I got really heavily into jazz (especially bop and anything by Miles Davis). My musical knowledge exploded and my tastes got much more eclectic.

[lhallam]

When I was 10 music was The Beatles, Monkees, Dave Clark 5 - still pop songs for the most part - then with '67, San Francisco, plus the Brit Blues movement, so many good players came out so fast it was unfathomable.

I mean Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Allman Bros, Leslie West, John McLaughlin and various others all appeared at almost the same time. My years 68 to 72, were when music became a "cause" - not just a business or form of entertainment.

But being 14 to 18 is not old enough to be in it. I wish I had been 18 in 1962 (like most of my Brit heros were) and been able to catch the wave instead of just watch it - although 68-72 (High Sch) were good years.

Class of '73 - Cruisemate pretty much nails it.

Music was my life, I was in a rock band at the time playing Tull, ABB, Yes, etc. My peers and I were totally into it. Good times. I knew exactly what I wanted to major in at college and the trend continued into Weather Report, Billy Cobham, Miles Davis as well as the classics (Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Ravel, Stravinsky)

[rob2001]

I graduated HS in 1980. During HS my friends and I were mostly into:


Aerosmith
Queen
Van Halen
Judas Priest
Scorpions
Pink Floyd
Boston
Journey
Ted Nugent
Montrose
REO Speedwagon
Nazareth
Lynard Skynard
Cheap Trick
Black Sabbath
AC/DC
Rush
Led Zeppelin
Hendrix

Pretty mainstream, as you could hear most or all of it on the radio (at least the hits of each band). I was also into a wider range of pop, classical, and insturmental artists. We listened to radio, bought LPs (and 8 track tapes) at music stores after hangin out there listening to what was new, listened to LPs at each others homes, and eventually on 8 track in cars. Spent a lot of time looking at LP artwork and reading lyrics (when included). Didn't see much about the artists beyond what was included with the albums. So, there was a bit more mystique to band (unlike instant tweets and internet coverage of every action of artists).

Class of 82 here and that's about where we were too. Add in Frank Marino and Mahogany Rush, Triumph, April Wine, Billy Idol etc... We were up on the dance music of the day too....Morris Day, Prince, Madonna, etc... just because we'd hang at dance clubs for chicks!


As far as what we talked about, I'd say we spent all of our time talking about music we loved, not what we didn't like.