Did the music your parents listened to when you were growing up influence to what you listen to now?
Posted by ZeroSkill_Sorry@reddit | Xennials | View on Reddit | 96 comments
My family always listened to country (80s/early 90s) and oldies (50s-60s) whenever we were in the car, and every once in a while my dad would listen to the 70s rock station. We were heavily discouraged from listening to the local alternative rock or r&b radio stations, until we were teenagers. I can stand to listen to older country in short bursts, but new country murders me. I'm also now listening to a lot of 80s bands and groups that I want exposed to, Talking Heads, the Cure, Depeche Mode, the Smiths, the Pixies, or 70s bands like Queen, Led Zeppelin, ELO, and I'm kinda sad I missed out the first time through, but happy to have 'new' music to discover for myself. How about you?
Traditional-Leopard7@reddit
Freakin ABBA. Ok I still really love ABBA. But yeah they were totally into them. Even/Especially in New Zealand. Oh and Neil Diamond. Lots of him too.
AggravatedOtters@reddit
Absolutely! My parents were only 22 when they had me, so my dad was only in his 30's when I was in high school. He's the one that got me into NIN, Tool, Stabbing Westward, Alice in Chains, The Cure, Pearl Jam, Depeche Mode, etc. He'd always introduce new music to me and I still listen to all of it!
My mom listened to more Tom Petty, Soul Asylum, REM, CCR. I like listening for nostalgia, but it's not a daily listen.
Indubitalist@reddit
This is a hilarious perspective to me, that OP asked about “your parents’ music” and you share a bunch of bands that were from our formative years as a micro-generation. I get that it’s totally legitimate for you, it’s just so far off from what I think OP was expecting.
AggravatedOtters@reddit
I feel like the bands he started me with were coming out around the time I was a little bit too young to be finding my own musical tastes yet. My favorite NIN album is Pretty Hate Machine which came out in 1989. I was 7. This is also the time we were listening to Depeche Modes Violator and The Cure Disintegration. Pearl Jam Ten is still my favorite and I was 9. It definitely influenced me into the types of music I continued to listen to as a teen and into adulthood. These earlier albums by these artists are still my favorite.
BillTreeman@reddit
…my parents were 22 when they had me but it was Led Zeppelin, Jimi, Pink Floyd, etc.
How young can Xennials be??? I’m 42. Maybe I’m in the wrong place.
AggravatedOtters@reddit
I'm 42. My dad listened to current music.
BillTreeman@reddit
Ok that makes sense. My dad didn’t listen to anything new. I thought that’s what dads do!
SnooGoats7476@reddit
My dad got me into Beatles as a kid. I am still very much a Beatles fan today.
I also met a friend in kindergarten. Her dad also introduced her to the Beatles as a child. We would sing Hey Jude together on the blocks lol.
I was estranged from my father and he has since passed away. But I still have that friend I met when I was 5. We even went to see Paul McCartney perform live together as adults.
Indubitalist@reddit
I’m grateful for my dad introducing me to The Beatles, he played them a lot, along with Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, plenty of others. He also was big into early MTV, so we got introduced to a lot of ‘80s music that way. He really liked Tom Petty. I have really varied taste in music, and music does more to bring me joy than anything, so I’m so appreciative of that early influence. Ironically he never got into rap/hip-hop but I did as it was getting huge in our formative years, so that rounded me out pretty well. I honestly enjoy music from an every major genre.
brodievonorchard@reddit
My parents had a lot of vinyl and listened to a lot of Beatles. I had to go through a whole process of realizing what music they listened to wasn't The Beatles. I'd be listening to a song, thinking what a good Beatles song it was, only to realize it was Crosby, Stills, and Nash.
Later they got rid of their record player and their collection became my vinyl.
krissym99@reddit
I was always a Beatles fan too, and it was pretty exciting to be a Beatles fan in the 90s when Anthology came out!
RaphaelSolo@reddit
Sure, I still listen to it.
noonesaidityet@reddit
For sure. I grew up on Stax/Volt and Motown. I usually like my music heavier than heavy, but throw on the Four Tops, the Marvelettes, William Bell, Booker T & the MGs, or Junior Walker and I'm right at home.
MyNameIsDaveToo@reddit
No. My parents listen to soft-ass shit. I don't listen to no soft-ass shit. Boy.
Iwouldntifiwereme@reddit
Absolutely. My parents had a wide range of musical tastes. I ended up the same, hopefully my kids will get to enjoy great variety also.
Traditional_Entry183@reddit
Yes absolutely. My parents were really into what's now called yacht rock, and that's what was often on in my house and cars as I grew up.
James Taylor, Carly Simon, Kenny Loggins, John Denver, etc. It's always remained a part of my music variety, and I've always trended towards lighter, non-angry stuff.
weeziefield1982@reddit
My parents love music so I grew up listening to everything except country. They are pretty open minded also so they would listen to what I did in my teenage years and never make fun of it.
cloudydays2021@reddit
Yes, but my parents had me when they were teens.
I grew up listening to The Clash, Queen, The Who, The Ramones, etc.
I became a music fiend because of it. I have all of their vinyl along with my own collection and I work in the music industry.
Thee-lorax-@reddit
My mom always had a Christian country music station playing in the car so I’m gonna say no.
Goblin_Eye_Poker@reddit
My dad was listening to Alan Parsons Project, Pink Floyd, Rush, and all kinds of other classic rock stuff. My mom was where I first heard stuff like Beastie Boys and Primus. She also listened to Depeche Mode, INSX, and Queensryche
Definitely influenced what I listen to now
TrashBoatTrashBoat@reddit
Your parents are awesome and pops def smoked his share of weed
ohmyzomfg@reddit
I listen to the radio station my parents listened to in the 90s and so does my sister.
Apart from that I like to listen to some bands/musicians my mom also likes like Nick Cave, Element of Crime and Einstürzende Neubauten
PsychologicalMix8499@reddit
Yes it influenced me to hate country music.
ReservedPickup12@reddit
Yes, definitely. I grew up with a lot of oldies and still love older music to this day—Doo Wop, surf music… The Beatles are my favorite band of all time. But we also lived with my grandparents for 8 years, so I also have a deep appreciation for music from the 30s and 40s—big band stuff, plus Dean Martin, Sinatra, Joni James… stuff like that. But I was also really into 70s and 80s pop music… I was the only kid in my grade who was obsessed with Billy Joel. I bought a lot of new music in the 90s, but it was usually newer music from artists who had been around for years… McCartney, Springsteen, Petty etc. I didn’t start to appreciate alternative and grunge till many years later.
Uzzaw21@reddit
My mother listened to Chicago and the Carpenter's. My father listened to Black Sabbath and the Rolling Stones. I ened up getting into alt rock i.e. New Wave, Grunge and EDM. My kids are totally into 80s alt rock.
SuspendedDisbelief_3@reddit
Yes, very much. My parents played Guns n Roses, Bad Company, George Strait, Patsy Cline, Aretha Franklin, Chicago, Yanni, Don McLean, Tupac, Crosby Stills & Nash, and well, pretty much everything. I have a pretty eclectic taste now. I don’t choose music by genre. If I like it, I listen to it.
GF_baker_2024@reddit
Oh, absolutely! My parents were teenagers and big music fans in 1960s Detroit, and mom was a hippie, so I grew up with tons of Motown, the Beatles, and folk-pop (Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, Linda Rondstadt, the Mamas and the Papas, Simon and Garfunkel, etc.). They didn't discourage me from listening to current popular music, though, unless it had a parental warning label. My mom liked hearing Guns N Roses on the radio because Axl Rose reminded her of Janis Joplin, but I wasn't allowed to own their albums. Madonna's "True Blue" album was fine, but "Like a Prayer" was not. Metallica's black album was fine. They patiently put up with my REM obsession in the early 90s. We all enjoyed Queen.
I didn't really listen to Depeche Mode or the Police (although I loved Sting's solo music), but those were my husband's favorites as a teenager. It's been fun being introduced to them as an adult. We've since introduced my mom to Depeche Mode, and she immediately added them to her Apple Music playlist.
shinysquirrel220701@reddit
Yes. My dad & I share a lot of the same taste in music. I have all of his old vinyl, so occasionally he comes by to “visit his old friends “
elevencharles@reddit
Tom Waits’ Raindogs was a staple in my dad’s car. Little me loved the deranged circus music, middle aged me still does.
imarebelpilot@reddit
Definitely grew up listening to the “oldies” station KRTH and I was a Beatles girlie in the 80s and early 90s. Listened to pretty much everything 50s-70s aside from disco growing up. Then I discovered grunge. I listen to pretty much everything now but my husband always teases me about being a 45 yr old 16 yr old.
RustbeltRoots@reddit
My parents bought a cd player in 1989. We had 2 cds: Little Feat’s Waiting for Columbus and Fleetwood Mac’s Rumors. It was a huge influence.
ChromeDestiny@reddit
It will always have a bit of a place for me cause it's the main way I bonded with my parents and I definitely caught the music collecting bug from my dad, He had every Jefferson Airplane album and nearly every Jefferson Starship/ Starship album. He also liked 70's and 80's Yes and that stuff really spoke to me too for whatever reason and we ended up going to a few of their shows together.
I basically took the music my parents were into I liked and then expanded backwards into the stuff that influenced that music and forwards into more current stuff.
InvestigatorDizzy330@reddit
Absolutely! And I am doing the same with my kids!
RVABarry@reddit
I got heavy doses of The Boss and Simon and Garfunkel from my folks. Those were the only tapes in our car for many years. I still love both and I think there is a through line to my tase in acts like the Avett Brothers, Nathaniel Ratliff, Brandi Carlisle, and others.
Key-Tell-4345@reddit
Yeah coming into my 40’s there’s a lot of stuff from there era in my main playlist
ElectricSnowBunny@reddit
yes and love my parents for this
I still have their record collection, it's 736 LPs and 271 45s.
we listened to EVERYTHING
General_Tangerine_69@reddit
My mom listened to classic rock from 60s/70s, my dad listened to Texas country and I mostly listened to underground/hardcore hip hop, so I would say say not so much.
RylosAU@reddit
Not really. My dad would only ever really listen to talk back radio, but he did like artists like Elvis, Chuck Berry, etc and my mum would generally listen to whatever was popular on the radio at the time. If anything, it kind of pushed me away from the kind of music because I hated it. More than anything, it was my brother's taste in music that had the biggest influence on my. I would listen to his Iron Maiden and AC/DC records all the time.
Then I hit high school and fell in with the metal crowd. A year later, I was listening to Morbid Angel, Deicide, Kreator, Sepultura, etc and the rest is history.
sed2017@reddit
Yup! Grew up on a steady diet of Classic Rock… it’s my go-to for comfort music.
Eep509@reddit
Totally, but I was never discouraged from listening to any type of music. But when I’m cleaning and miss my mom I will always through on some Neal Diamond essentials.
cornpudding@reddit
My dad for me into the Beatles, and I'm still a fan. More important to my musical development, though, was my older brother. He's 13 years older and used to make me mix tapes with The Doors, Zeppelin and then various metal bands when he was home from college. That influenced me way more than my mother, who to this day has an inexplicable passion for Sousa marches.
Transplanted_Cactus@reddit
My mom only listened to country, which I still listen to. My aunt introduced me to rock like AC/DC and Pearl Jam, and also pop like Roxette and Paula Abdul.
Then I discovered numetal and I've vastly preferred hard rock genres since I was in middle school.
ILikeToEatTheFood@reddit
I have core memories of album covers like John Cougar, The Eagles, Fleetwood, Stones, CCR, etc...and that's what I've continued to listen to. My own kids like all that too, but they're also into hair bands and grunge, so the cycle continues.
chargeorge@reddit
Yes. Though in the car we mostly listened to oldies which was all meh, then in highschool I found their trove of vinyl. Dylan, Hendrix, Joplin, Simon and Garfunkel lots of good stuff they had stopped listening to that i fell in love with
ModernDayMusetta@reddit
Yes and no.
My dad was a big classic rock guy. He had hundreds of vinyls and pretty much always had his music going in the house when he was home.
My mom was more a country person. So in the car with her or on the weeks my dad wasn't home, we'd listen to that.
I still adore most classic rock and 80s-90s country is my drinking music, but its not what I listen to regularly.
Somewhere along the way, I got into a lot of different genres. There's pretty even odds that if you get in my car or in my kitchen that you'll hear J-Rock, Punk, Big Band music, Jazz Manouche, 80s indie rock, or 90s Pop.
draculasbloodtype@reddit
My folks listened to a WIDE variety of music and my tastes were definitely influenced by them. My Mom liked pop, my Dad alternative. I can vividly remember him walking around the house singing Marian by The Sisters of Mercy as a kid. But they also listened to a lot of Rock and the Blues too. MTV was on 24/7/365 at my house. He was big into Techno/Trance when it came out, and stuff like Lords of Acid. His favorite bands right now at 73 are Spunkshine and Solar Fields. We also went to a LOT of concerts in my teen years. With my folks I saw Pink Floyd, AC/DC, The Rolling Stones, The Pretenders, Morphine, Spiritualized, Siouxsie & the Banshees, ZZ Top, Goldfrapp, Neil Diamond, Robert Cray, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Altan, Down from the Mountain ... God so many I am blanking right now, and just a wide variety of stuff. As an adult I've taken them to some concerts as well: The Cure, Depeche Mode, The Monkees. Not as many anymore as they are both older, but we had a lot of fun at music shows.
Dragonlibrarian7@reddit
Yes, my mom was a metalhead when I was a kid, I grew listening to Iron Maiden, Dio, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, etc. She pretty much stopped listening to it when she met my stepdad, but it's stayed my favorite genre. My step dad listened to classic country and a little classic rock, I didn't like most of it, but there's a few artists and bands I love that I discovered because of him.
bgva@reddit
Very much so. My mom listened to a lotta old school R&B in the car. She wouldn’t let me listen to the hip hop station around her, although I did anyway when around friends and as I got older. I still listen to 70s/80s R&B, along with stuff from the 90s.
She also listened to a lotta jazz and I think that influenced my love of the genre.
Dramatic-Dark-4046@reddit
Yes, of course. And I can’t thank them enough for my introduction to classical symphony and Elvis. Two very different people
Notthecreativewizard@reddit
Very much so! Mom played me Vivaldi, Bach while on her belly. My dad...Played me The Beatles! And it was the first time I kicked ( Obla-di obla-da was the culprit) and I still listen to all of it these days. Music and books, we're not an expense at home, they were an investment:)
crazycatlady331@reddit
Not at all.
My parents are not music people. My dad was always sports radio and my mom audiobooks or nothing. Rarely did my mom listen to music with lyrics. When I was younger, they would play nursery rhyme songs in the car (until I was in 5th grade).
When I moved to NJ, it was near where Bruce Springsteen (who happens to be born the same year as my parents) started his career. I asked them about him and their first response was 'who?".
As far as the music with lyrics thing. I listen specifically FOR the lyrics (which is why I've become a Swiftie lately as Taylor's a great lyricist). Instrumental music just goes in one ear and out the other.
degeneratesumbitch@reddit
I didn't know there were other stations besides the local oldies station when I was young. I still love oldies, but I had a musical transformation one xmas eve when I changed the radio to the local rock station, and the first song I heard was Nirvana- Rape Me. Now my music is pretty eclectic. I can go from Aretha Franklin to Bone Thugs to Slipknot and most everything in between.
WheelLeast1873@reddit
Nope, hated their shit.
GreenKiss73@reddit
Yes. Motown and oldies.
Tiny-Reading5982@reddit
My dad got me into new wave and my mom got me in 60s/70s like the grass roots. I came home from school and would listen to her records.
cmgww@reddit
Definitely, they were in their 20s when I was little. Lots of Prince, REO, Bob Seger, ELO, Grand Funk Railroad, even the goofy stuff they loved as kids/teens like Jan & Dean and The Beach Boys.
illini02@reddit
Absoluetly.
My mom was all motown, and to this day I love that era of music. Stevie Wonder is one of my all time favorite artists, and my mom definitely listened to a lot of Prince, who I still love. I probably shouldn't have been listening to some of his songs that I did lol
aardw0lf11@reddit
Yep. Still listen to Bob Segar.
rinky79@reddit
I still love a lot of my dad's music. Moody Blues, Dire Straights, Queen, Elton John, Roy Orbison, U2, REM, Eagles, Billy Joel, Rolling Stones, Phil Collins, Tom Petty, Beach Boys, Eurythmics, Fleetwood Mac, Journey, ELO, James Taylor, Men Without Hats, Midnight Oil, Beatles...
kashy87@reddit
My parents were teenaged parents of the 80s. I grew up on stadium and hair rock. Dad played keyboard and guitar and I also grew up listening to him play Van Halen on them both.
Now I listen to hard rock. Hair bands to hard rock feels like a logical progression.
Busy_Daikon_6942@reddit
100%
My parents listened to The Eagles, Bob Seger, Fleetwood Mac, Supertramp, Styx, Doobie Brothers, etc.
I also had lots of influence from my older siblings (there are \~8-9 years older than I am). They were teenagers in the 80s. So, they listened to lots of Whitesnake, Def Leppard, Journey, INXS, Police, REO Speedwagon, etc.
I love all that music.
I listened to all the stuff of my generation, too (Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, Nirvana, etc)...but I remember being teased at school by some kids because I was listening to Sting. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
ChokeOnDeezNutz69@reddit
I still listen to what my parents listened to.
hardcorebillybobjoe@reddit
Absolutely. My dad introduced me to Tom Waits, the Talking Heads, John Prine, the Kinks, and Johnny Cash. He, unwittingly, was my gateway to punk rock lol
ZeroSkill_Sorry@reddit (OP)
My grandpa was a huge fan of Johnny Cash, and my dad didn't care too much for him because it was his dad's music. So, I didn't listen to him a lot growing up. Now, he's on heavy rotation. His latest album ' Songwriter' is so freaking fabulous, it's a no-skip play front to back album for me.
ResurgentClusterfuck@reddit
Mom listened to a bit of everything- the Bee Gees, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Aerosmith, The Eagles, Aretha Franklin...
The radio was free and so the house was always alive with music
Her favorite artist was Celine Dion. Mine is Disturbed, so there is definitely a difference lol
bobbysrascal@reddit
Absolutely
ODB247@reddit
Kind of. I don’t listen to classical at all because that’s all that my mother would listen to. I know some of it but have no patience for it.
Lostarchitorture@reddit
My father was a DJ at a now defunct radio station in the 80s. So much of what he played on the radio when I listened to him as a kid still are in my playlists today.
Alatariel99@reddit
More so as time goes on! As a young adult I got into classic rock via other influences. But now I find myself enjoying older/different stuff too--music that my parents like, such as doo-wop, 50s rock, Motown, and beach music.
A local radio station was playing primarily older tunes for several years, and I realized that most of my Dad's favorite catchphrases come from the golden oldies!
pterodactylize@reddit
My dad absolutely did. I was a little kid playing his Black Sabbath and Deep Purple albums and got hooked.
More importantly though I adopted a healthier attitude toward music from him. He may not be into extreme metal or hip hop, but he never put it or me down, and he always tried to "get it".
TalesByScreenLight@reddit
I was raised on country. I've never liked country. I didn't even know genres like rap or metal existed until grade 8 because the only music came from the radio or dad watching Country Music Television. The hardest music I'd heard before was the Might Morphin Power Rangers theme.
Basterd13@reddit
My mom likes Amy Grant, my dad likes oldies and Christian talk radio. I listen to doom metal...so no.
vistas308@reddit
Not so much my parents but certainly my older sister. However, when I was in 20s my mom got an iPod and asked me to help her manage her music collection. To my surprise we shared considerable overlap and we still share music with each other to this day. She's 80 and has great taste in music.
blood_bones_hearts@reddit
Yes and no? More the music my parents listened to growing up...we had all of their old records in our basement play area and listened to them all the time. Santana, Neil Diamond, Simon and Garfunkel, The Beatles, and even the Hair musical which was SO NOT APPROPRIATE FOR CHILDREN!!! 😂
By that time they were more into country music though and my dad called anything else "hippie shit" so we listened to a lot of Dolly and Kenny and Alabama and Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and whatever else was popular then. My dad would always get those cassettes you could pick up at a gas station when you spend x $$$ on gas so we had some of them that were oldies and I loved them. I also listened to the oldies station constantly on my little clock radio.
In high school I started listening more to rock and grunge and alternative and never looked back. Now I listen to a random mix of mostly indie and alt stuff and spotify has a really confusing round up every year for me. 😂 I don't mind the odd old country classic but popular country makes me want to cry. My mom once said "why don't you like country? It's what you were raised on." And no it's really not.
Ejigantor@reddit
My mom pretty exclusively listens to classical, and for a while when I was growing up she wouldn't allow other types of music to be played, so I reflexively developed a distaste for it.
My dad mostly listened to the oldies station when we were in the car together, and there's a bunch of 50s and 60s music I'd recognize to hear it but wouldn't be able to name. He also spent some time on the country station, but less so as we got later into the 90s and the pop infusion ramped up; to put it succinctly he preferred George Straight to Garth Brooks.
He also loved Queen. His all-time favorite.
I still don't listen to much classical, though I no longer recoil from it the way I did in my rebellious youth.
Don't really listen to oldies, or country.
Do still listen to Queen. I have their discography on my phone
And that's how I listen to music these days. I don't do Spotify or anything like that, there are just a half dozen or so bands / artists I like, and I have their discographies on my phone (also ~~a couple of~~ three soundtracks), and I'll listen to a particular album, or select an artist and shuffle their catalog, or shuffle the whole library.
I do listen to the radio still sometimes, mostly the local rock station or it's classic rock partner station, and it's not like I hate new music or anything, some of it is even pretty good; I just seldom run across something that I'd choose to listen to again. That said, a lot of newer stuff just doesn't sound very good to me (and there are so many commercials!) so I end up listening to the stuff on my phone again.
staystrongreadmore@reddit
“Crusin Classics”. It was series of cassette tapes sold by Mobil gas stations in the late 80s. Vol 1 was all 50s early 60s. Blueberry Hill, Rock a round the clock etc. Then vol 2 was more mid 60s early hippie, folk. Vol 3 was full on boomer classic rock. (No beatles because of copyright). Vol 4 got more 70s prog rock. I remember begging for the “blue cassette” because it had “run around Sue” and then asking for the Black cassette because it had The Beach Boys “wishing you were here” collaboration with Chicago. I got to high school with a pretty eclectic background. Spend most of the late 90s and early 00 disowning this. But hit a rough patch in my late 30s and started revisiting for comfort. Now my cruisin classics are my go-to on Spotify. It’s like watching an old episode of Cheers and going to bed with a warm cup of tea. Fuck getting old, but I still love this shit.
uncle_monty@reddit
I used to hate it when I was a kid, but have learned to appreciate it. Mum never really listened to much music, but dad had a fairly eclectic taste. Mostly classical, but also stuff like Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday, The Beach Boys, The Shadows and other 50s/60s rock and roll, and even stuff like The Flying Pickets and Showaddywaddy. Certainly not stuff a teenager in the '90s would appreciate. I've especially learned to love classical music, but I'll happily listen to most stuff my dad used to listen to. Some because it's genuinely good, some because it's hardcore nostalgia. I'll stick Showaddywaddy on every now and then because it reminds me of my dad.
gertrudeblythe@reddit
My mom and dad were super into late 60s and 70s British music, and when I was a teenager in the 90s I was fully into Britpop. The best day of my life apart from my kids being born was seeing Blur at Wembley with my dear Dad. We flew from the US to London (him from NM where they retired!), and it was seriously the greatest trip ever. We even went to Abbey Road Studios for my mom who was home watching my kids and took lots of pics for her.
Equal_Emphasis_6911@reddit
My parents always listen to country music when I was growing up in the 70s and 80s. I do enjoy listening to the older country singers. I love George Jones and Johnny Cash that kind of thing. But then growing up in the 80s I also got into pop music and more into hairbands. Alternative rock I listen to with my kids in the 90s and early 2000s. I’m in my 50s and I still enjoy some really good heavy metal too.
drainbamage1011@reddit
Kind of. We listened to the classic rock station in the car most of the time, which got me down the general path of rock music over any other genre. But once I started listening to newer rock and alternative, my mom didn't think the lyrics were appropriate. I'd have to listen to "safe" music until she wasn't around, and then put on what I wanted.
My dad liked a lot of obscure stuff though, and even if I wasn't particularly interested in those bands, it did plant the idea of looking for new music in places other than mainstream radio.
ERA82@reddit
Not really. I have a great appreciation for classic rock; I often listen to it. Growing up I first listened to ZZ Top, The Cars, Alan Jackson and Garth Brooks. They influenced me early on, they being my mom. No idea what my dad listens to. When I got into middle school, I started listening to Boyz II Men, 112, Usher, etc. I listened to that through high school. Into college I started listening to more radio rock - Matchbox 20, Fuel, 3 Doors Down. That evolved into some scene and harder stuff. Now, I am into pretty heavy stuff. Distant, Within the Ruins, Mirar, The Archaic Epidemic, Disembodied Tyrant, and the like. My mom still listens to classic rock. No idea what my dad listens to. The only thing I ever knew that he listened to was Hootie haha
RoyalPuzzleheaded259@reddit
My dad listened to rush Limbaugh and Paul Harvey exclusively. My mom listened to 50s doo wap. I don’t listen to talk radio or doo wap.
Frosty_Cloud_2888@reddit
I still clean the house to either Led Zeppelin or Neil Diamond
SweetCosmicPope@reddit
Hmm. Maybe to some degree. My dad liked classic rock and a little bit of modern rock. He listened to those about equal to country music, both classic and modern. He also listened to some pop music, especially the 90s dance music, and there were a couple of hip hop songs he liked (he was a sucker for Whoomp! There It Is!).
I love rock music, and I have a strong love of the 60s and 70s hard rock that he grew up listening to like Led Zeppeling, ACDC, ZZ Top, etc; I absolutely cannot stand country music, though. 90s pop is a bit of guilty pleasure of mine, and of course I love hip hop, at least the good stuff from the 80s through the 2000s.
My mom also listens to country, but what I remember from when I was really little was riding around in the car with her to run errands and she would have the pop station on and it would be playing the 80s pop of the time: The Cure, Taylor Dane, Debbie Gibson, Phil Collins, you get my drift. So I really enjoy all of that music, as well.
Moxie_Stardust@reddit
My parents had fairly basic music tastes, lots of greatests hits/compilation stuff. We had those red & blue Beatles collections, and a Beach Boys collection, those were reasonably formative. Heard Casey Kasem on the radio a lot.
Overall, I'd say not really.
Nadathug@reddit
My parents listened to 70s and 80s soul and r&b when I was growing up. They were also pretty current with pop music that was popular when I was a teen.
When I got into hip hop in the early 90s, so much of it sampled the music my parents listened to, that suddenly their music seemed even more interesting than what I liked. It was like, hip hop was cool, but if you were REALLY cool, you knew where all those samples came from. I was and still am obsessed with all that music, along with all the hip hop that came out during my era.
Sadly it seems like copyright laws ended the type of creative sampling that was widespread in the 90s. The only time you hear samples is when it’s really blatant, and the label probably owns the sample and is just using it to popularize a new artist of theirs. Back in the day, samples would be really obscure and from forgotten records, so it was really an opportunity to rediscover great old music.
Donut_or_dontnut@reddit
Yes, my parents listened to nothing but country music. Now I never have to listen to country music ever again.
_WeSellBlankets_@reddit
My mom listened to country and that dictated what we listen to as a family in the car. As a result I'm still okay with late '80s early '90s country. But I stopped listening to country when I developed my own musical tastes in middle school.
p4terfamilias@reddit
My mom listened primarily to classical music. I like it just fine, but nowadays I wouldn't listen to it casually.
My dad definitely got me into Simon & Garfunkel and the Beach Boys as he had their tapes in his car. Love both of them to this day.
When I was super young, my sister (11 years older than me) had the biggest influence on me musically - plus she got me started on learning piano, although I ended up being a guitar player in my teens. The Beatles and popular 80's music mostly, which I also love: Tears for Fears, Queen, Bowie, Culture Club, The Police, Duran Duran, and Wham! are the ones that pop to mind first.
smooth_grooves@reddit
Video game music was a greater influence, introduced me to so many different genres from around the world.
GenghisConnieChung@reddit
My parents listen to classical and jazz (then and now). They’ve been oblivious to pop music their entire lives. Like I don’t think either one of them could name a Beatles song - maybe my dad could but for sure not my mom.
As a result they were woefully unaware of what I was listening to and I was very unrestricted. As a result I have pretty broad musical tastes. As for their influence on those tastes I studied classical and jazz piano/trumpet at university. I have a decent library of both and listen to them fairly regularly.
briefcandle@reddit
Yes, but not in a restrictive way. More like a solid foundation on which to build my own taste. My parents had great taste in music and a large vinyl collection. All kinds of 60s/70s rock and folk, plus a ton of classical.
mom_bombadill@reddit
One hundred percent. In fact, the music my parents listened to became my career. My mom has always loved classical music, and some of my first memories are sitting in the backseat on road-trips, staring out the window while violin concertos played on the tape deck. I’m a professional violinist now.
Off topic, but when I was pregnant, my nurse practitioner told me that babies in the womb can hear music, and when their mother hears music she loves, her body releases feel-good hormones. The baby feels those hormones and can associate that loved music with those good feelings. Sounds a little out there but I like to believe it’s true ❤️
rjcpl@reddit
I blame my guilty pleasure enjoyment of the BeeGees and such on my mom’s obsession with the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack starting from when I was in the womb through my early years.
TheREALBaldRider@reddit
My parents listened almost exclusively to 70s and older or whatever was playing on the classic rock stations in the 90s.
I could listen to what I wanted to (except parental advisory stuff because...reasons?). My taste in music is more varied now than it ever has been.
I used to be anti-country music until I found artists I liked.
ElectroSpore@reddit
I wasn't particularly restricted. So I like a fairly wide set of music and even my kids are influencing new artists I listen to.
I will say that I DO still like quite a few things my parents would listen to over and over, but it is more of a subset of my taste than anything.