Was there any music you were secretly into when you were younger?
Posted by Smarmy_funeral_chik@reddit | GenX | View on Reddit | 356 comments
Like music you'd listen to as a youngster but never admit to your friends you liked it because it could mean getting really made fun of?
For me: Hall and Oates was a big one. Kind of sorry I never got to see them live but my folks were not into going to shows.
Chilly-Willy252@reddit
I loved Stevie Nicks and Prince.
G4HDU@reddit
massed bagpipes pipes and drums
Salty-Pack-4165@reddit
I think I was pretty vocal about my musical tastes back when I had my hearing. I loved a lot of Rock,Metal (especially Black Metal),Classical,Medieval music, some Operas and just before I lost my hearing I found a rabbit hole on Youtube with recreations of Ancient music from Greece, Egypt and other world regions. Somehow I got into Persian traditional music (thanks to Darvish Radio) and Chinese Operas (via Japanese Kabuki theater performances on YT).
Fine-Watercress8595@reddit
I loved John Denver and classical music
Illustrious_Today654@reddit
Also Denver, tho he was actually more mainstream
Illustrious_Today654@reddit
Military themed music.
Loved the theme to the Green Berets, and had an album of songs from the Civil War
Reasonable-Mirror-15@reddit
I grew up listening to all types of music. I cant remember ever singing kiddie songs but could belt out 70's hard rock, country and r&b songs. In the 80's I got in to metal of all kinds and I am still into metal. Most people are surprised that I absolutely adore Lou Rawls, Roberta Flack, Marvin Gaye, Earth Wind and Fire, etc.
PurposeConsistent131@reddit
I am a white female who lives and breaths Depeche Mode. It’s my persona…everyone knows how much I love them and groups similar to them…. That being said, during high school the ONLY other “group” i listened to on repeat everyday aside from DM was Easy E. Literally it was Depeche Mode and easy e.nobody knew about E. I loved him
MadQueenCalamity@reddit
The Irish Rovers
brains_and_tits@reddit
I was very into singer-songwriters of the 1970s and any other soft sounds of the 70s. Think Bread, Air Supply, James Taylor (who I saw in concert in my 30s and it was AMAZING), Seals & Crofts, Simon & Garfunkel
pt109_66@reddit
I got into Kiss for a girl who was not into me but I learned to love Kiss... My vinyl got lost over time, so bummed.
BeatleWingsfan77@reddit
Corridos
Only_Presentation758@reddit
My first album, other than children’s albums, was The Carpenters, a Christmas gift I didn’t ask for but followed along w/the liner notes & sang along, soon learning all the words to every song. My second album was Elton John’s Greatest Hits, left behind by an uncle, and the third was The Clash/The Clash, picked from Columbia House Record & Tape Club based solely on the album cover picture. Those three albums were pretty funny stacked together on my shelf next to my Nancy Drews.
BonezOz@reddit
Neil Diamond. All my friends were into "the devils music" like Meatloaf, Air Supply, The Scorpions, Metallica, etc... But since I was forbidden to listen to any "rock" that didn't include the Beatles or Queen, my go to was Neil. It wasn't until I was 18, stationed overseas, and had a lot of peer influence that my music tastes changed.
Though listening to Neil sing, "Heartlight" is still a secret pleasure.
katiekat214@reddit
Air Supply was “the devil’s music”?
BonezOz@reddit
All modern rock, well 80's rock and Hair bands were.
Love_to_Read1234@reddit
Donnie and Marie
Only_Presentation758@reddit
I didn’t listen to their music but I did look forward to seeing their show each week. My mom once embarrassed the crap out of me when hinting that it was time for an older neighborhood kid to leave by announcing, “It’s almost time for Donny & Marie!” I don’t think we ever played together again.
Love_to_Read1234@reddit
😆
Only_Presentation758@reddit
This is funny. My Swedish male friend said all the kids growing up would say “I hate ABBA, ABBA sucks!” Then he’d go home & secretly listen to them & found out later that they all did the same! 😂 ABBA is a MUST for parties, cookouts & get-togethers these days.
LeighofMar@reddit
The B52s. I still enjoy their music beyond Love Shack. Channel Z, Revolution Earth, Bushfire just to name a few that still make me shimmy.
Love_to_Read1234@reddit
Channel z is awesome
143MAW@reddit
Heavy metal fan who absolutely loves Doris Day
Embarrassed-Lake257@reddit
Fiona apple. I don't know why
froction@reddit
We saw Air Supply live a few years ago and they are still awesome!
Pmoneywhazzup@reddit
Are they still touring? I thought they disbanded years ago.
froction@reddit
They were in...2023, I think?
therocketn00b@reddit
Enya.
And I also loved some of the compilations by Windham Hill, the New Age and ambient label.
MiamiViceGuy@reddit
I was into Kitaro.
paleotectonics@reddit
I have a weakness for Enigma.
therocketn00b@reddit
Oh, I was into them too!
Smarmy_funeral_chik@reddit (OP)
Yeah I got into New Age too, I admit. Still listen to it sometimes.
therelybare5@reddit
You mean like Barry Manilow and Captain & Tennille? Nope, never got into that kind of music! 🤞
Embarrassed-Theme996@reddit
Carpenters, Carly Simon, Carole King, lots of 70s singer-songwriters.
Civil_Fall_3914@reddit
No, growing up in the 70s and 80s you had amazing music from pretty much every genre.
TCE326@reddit
Barry Manilow, Soft Rock, Doctor Demento
brendini511@reddit
I used to listen to the adult contemporary station instead of the popular one.
yupjustarandomranger@reddit
Nah, I still stand by my younger musical tastes. I grew up with the opportunity to be exposed to many types of music. If anything, I get made fun of more now because I don’t know current music.
MuddyPig168@reddit
Jazz…the Miles Davis/dexter Gordon /lee Morgan variety….. still into it and quite proudly
Brindlewood25@reddit
Black Flag, Fear, Dead Kennedys, Ramones, Joy Division.
Great-Tical-Returns@reddit
My friends and I loved sharing our niche tastes and still do. Also Hall and Oates kick ass.
Smarmy_funeral_chik@reddit (OP)
I'm glad someone else thinks so!
Great-Tical-Returns@reddit
I caught myself rocking out to Barry Manilow at the store recently
Aromatic_Revolution4@reddit
Nope.
When I was a little kid my mom loved Barry Manilow and as a result, I liked him too. Time In New England, Mandy, I Write The Songs... they are sappy but they're also pretty good.
Same with musical show tunes.
As I got older I got into the harder rock that was coming out like AC/DC, VH, Priest, Maiden, etc but TBH I never really hid or kept a secret that I knew all the lyrics of American Bandstand or When You're A Jet.
Indaliai@reddit
Still love Barry Manilow!!💞💞💞💞
Independent-Dark-955@reddit
I would have never admitted to liking Duran Duran, but their talent is undeniable.
exhaustedbut@reddit
There's absolutely nobody who sounds like them.
Smarmy_funeral_chik@reddit (OP)
Yeah agree. I was a fan girl in middle school and got made fun of for wearing a t shirt once. Kept listening though. In later years, realized they really were talented and not just another boy band.
Reader47b@reddit
I never had any friends who made fun of people for the music they liked. I had three best friends. One listened to opera and classical music, one listened to pop rock, and the other listened to heavy metal. People just liked what they liked, and I really don't remember it ever being a source of ridicule where I grew up.
I was really into Bob Dylan and Van Morrison, and none of my friends listened to them. I was also into folk and blues (Muddy Waters, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGee, BB King, Buddy Guy, Joan Baez, Simon & Garfunkel, The Kingston Trio, The Clancy Brothers, Odetta, etc.), and none of my friends listened to that, either.
OldManOwl@reddit
All of it. Air Supply. Duran Duran. Synth pop, etc.
Of course, in my group, we were only supposed to like Motley Crue and Def Leppard and Ozzy and the like. Plus the earlier classic rock. But honestly, I liked it all. I was just quiet about it.
In my senior year, one day we were hanging with my friend's older brother, who we all thought was very cool. And he was into the Thriller album. We were like "whaaaat??" and he said "look, you guys KNOW it's good - you just won't admit it. Grow up". And we all realized he was right.
larissaorlarissa024@reddit
1940's big band music. Loved it. Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, all of it. 57F
Independent-Dark-955@reddit
In junior high I set my radio alarm clock to a big band station, thinking it would make me spring out of bed to immediately turn it off. Instead, I grew to appreciate. Was the music undeniably good or was I undeniably lazy? You decide.
Purist1975@reddit
I see no problem with any of that and wouldnt say shit.
MichHiker@reddit
Elaine??
LagrangianMechanic@reddit
Ray Conniff Singers Mitch Miller Barry Manilow
Independent-Dark-955@reddit
you’re the cream in my coffee
Dull-Geologist-8204@reddit
I never went out of my way to keep it a secret but I wasn't yelling from the rooftops that I liked musicals around my friends that liked rap and heavy metal. I liked all of those genres which is why having more than one group of friends is a good thing.
Bassmasta76@reddit
Pet Shop Boys.
Smarmy_funeral_chik@reddit (OP)
Yep me too
mnreco@reddit
Mannheim Steamroller. Everybody knows their christmas stuff, but their Fresh Aire series is pretty great, and some of the songs really lean into a more prog/proto-jazz.
I wasn't embarrassed by it, but it was more a secret because who the hell was I going to talk to about it?
Smarmy_funeral_chik@reddit (OP)
Oh yeah there for a while I was into Manheim Steamroller too. I got introduced to the Fresh Aire series by my high school music teacher. I think that's what lead to my interest in prog/proto-jazz myself.
Huge_Razzmatazz_985@reddit
Secretly! No. However I wasn't going to go to a metal heads party and pull of Metallica for Duran Duran either!
Bladrak01@reddit
Debbie Gibson
kbennett82@reddit
My first cassette tape! I was not ashamed about DG
pickleball_bender@reddit
I openly LOVED Debbie Gibson! 😅
kbennett82@reddit
BeeGees, Temptations, Bill Withers, James Brown, Air Supply
jaypl99@reddit
Bay City Rollers. I think only my siblings knew that I listened to them.
chromebaloney@reddit
Classical from the college public radio. I'd be tooling around solo half the nite but push the button for rock when I pick someone up.
VeeLund@reddit
When I was in foster care, I was part of a very religious group. I had to hide to listen to any non-Christian musician. I got mocked for liking U2 & Bonjovi (?) when it was discovered.
Disastrous_Cat3912@reddit
The Oak Ridge Boys
-SpreadLove-@reddit
Spice Girls
jchrapcyn@reddit
Elton John - I wanted to play piano like that - definitely not cool at the time
TCB247364@reddit
Bee Gees (they were definitely unpopular at that time!). 70s Elvis. Any yacht rock for sure—it was very uncool back then.
Purist1975@reddit
Zamfir lol, no probably Tears for fears, Duran Duran and Wham when I was really young. I had Wingers first album thanks Columbia house lol. I just learned that Kip Winger was a trained classical composer, and Reb Beach is widely considered a guitar god.
Smarmy_funeral_chik@reddit (OP)
ZAMFIR omg stop it! lol that's a memory! That's interesting about Kip Winger didn't know that but not at all surprised. Some of those guys are really talented.
blackcurrents78@reddit
Nope. Proud to like all I always have. From Burt Bachrach to Slayer. From Tiffany to Rage. My likes far outweigh my dislikes
Smarmy_funeral_chik@reddit (OP)
Honestly same here. I have more things I like than dislike. Usually I can find something interesting in just about anything.
Komaisnotsalty@reddit
The Browns.
I would have rather died than admitted to my friends that I adore them.
My music back then was rock and heavy metal and hair bands.
Something else I mever told them? My fave TV show was Lawrence Welk. 🤷♀️
Smarmy_funeral_chik@reddit (OP)
You're like the second person who has admitted to Lawrence Welk which I find hilarious. My grandmother loved the Lawrence Welk show, I remember watching it at her house. Never got into it myself but I can see why some people did.
Combstrander27@reddit
A country singer, Sylvia
mySleepingDogsLie@reddit
Big Band. To this day I still love anything with a horn section.
noelaus3@reddit
Neil Diamond, Rod Stewart, The Carpenters and The Bee Gees. Still listening and now I don’t care thank goodness.
AdExtreme4813@reddit
Not really. I liked a lot of stuff, from up with people to musicals to pop, folk, rock, jazz, big band, mannheim steamroller, weird al, spike jones- not the director, PDQ Bach, country etc...
Unexpectedly99@reddit
Foreigner
PrikNamPlassum@reddit
Nope. I absolutely didn't fucking care what anyone thought about my interests.
QuietBirthday2470@reddit
Kenny Rogers. My mom & I would sing to his duet tape, until we were within 3 blocks of school. Then I’d make her turn it down or change it.
Air Supply. BFF and I regularly listened and sang along whenever we are hanging out at one of our houses.
Used_Bodybuilder_670@reddit
Meatloaf
RedditSkippy@reddit
I used to love top 40 music from the 60s. I would secretly listen to the oldies channel in our area (WDRC.)
Big_Gassy_Possum@reddit
I used to crank it to the Madonna Cherish video.
I was like 13......and also last week.
pickleball_bender@reddit
It's so boppy!
NateSedate@reddit
Grew up heavily into hip-hop.
When I got older and explored the alternative rock scene I had to hide it from my friends.
Then when I was a little bit older I had to hide the fact that I was exploring punk rock.
And nowadays my gym playlist is gay as shit (I'm hetero). I have a lot of late 80s/early 90s house type records. I also have Good Vibrations on there. That's the kind of music they played in gym class when I was younger. I don't know... it's good to exercise too.
But honestly I stopped giving a shit what anyone thinks about me a long time ago.
Big_Gassy_Possum@reddit
"Heavily into hip hop''
"Exploring punk rock''
"Good vibrations"
Lol...yeah, whatever you say buddy
NateSedate@reddit
I grew up in the 80s. First music I heard was 80s pop and hip-hop.
That caused me to listen to all kinds of music my whole life.
But in the time period I grew up in it wasn't cool to listen to "everything". You were supposed to pick one.
I listened to 70s and 60s music in jfuhigh school as well.
When I was 19 I listened to Jungle and DnB.
From 5th grade I listened to D.C. go-go and Reggae.
I listened to EVERYTHING growing up. Jazz. Everything.
No wonder I turned out to be a musician and also mentally ill.
Silver_fish1978@reddit
Eagles.
Bug_Calm@reddit
I loved Hall and Oates.
DaddieTang@reddit
Go Go's. My older brother caught me jamming out to them in 1982 and almost killed me.
SweetsMurphy@reddit
Jane Wiedlin forever
DaddieTang@reddit
Damn straight.
tralfaz66@reddit
Kiss
GelatinousGoober@reddit
No
Sea_Brush4156@reddit
I loved Wilson Phillips and wore out their debut album. I had it on cassette and would listen to it on my Walkman at night.
141bpm@reddit
I listened to dance/techno/house (EDM, still hate that acronym) music in the early 90s as a young teen. Very into it when no other straight male was. Most people didn’t even know what it was at all unless you were a specific age and went to dance clubs. Now? It’s absolutely everywhere.
1leftbehind19@reddit
When I got into car audio I was more interested in the sound quality genre and not just having loud bass. I prefer live recordings and always have, so I wanted to have a system to play live music as best I could. This was around the year 2000, maybe a little before it. To get the sound tuned in, I’d been told to listen to all types of music, and I branched way out from the rock and jam band music I’d always listened to. Classical music definitely grabbed me, and Jazz as well. But I guess I couldn’t ever say I was secretive about it, because I talked about it, but usually listened alone.
kalelopaka@reddit
None, I introduced my friends to all sorts of music. My dad was born in 1920 and was in WWII, so Hawaiian music, big band, swing, Nat King Cole, Roy Orbison, etc. my mom was born in 1942 in Kentucky, so bluegrass, Hank Williams Sr., and a lot of old country, 50’s and early sixties pop, older sisters introduced me to the Beatles, and others. So I grew up listening to a wide variety of music, and even though I was listening to a lot of hard rock and heavy metal throughout my early teens and later, I still listen to the rest at times.
rick43402@reddit
My parents were born in the 20s too, I listened to that, I listened to Motown too.
Smarmy_funeral_chik@reddit (OP)
See you were the one I would have wanted to hang out with
HezFez238@reddit
Classical, especially Prince Igor by Borodin. But I also had the benefit of growing up in an era that extolled the virtues of “Classical Gas” and “A Fifth of Beethoven “. So there’s that.
rick43402@reddit
Growing up Broadway Musicals, then I became a theater kid in my teens so didn't hide it anymore.
Sufficient_Stop8381@reddit
I liked bluegrass. And bluegrass was definitely not cool back then.
spavolka@reddit
Same here. We used to go to Bluegrass festivals. The multi day ones were so fun. My parents and their friends would party down and we would hang out with cousins and be feral kids camping out at a big music festival. They also listened to wide range of music which is how I got such an open mind about all types from bluegrass to Black Sabbath
LookMuffy@reddit
I loved oldies (which was 50s and 60s music). My parents constantly listened to the oldies radio station so I knew so many of the songs. I still love music from those eras.
the_real_MBAPROF@reddit
Same here. We had 2 power house stations in Detroit that played 50’s and 60’s top 40.
Befuddled_GenXer@reddit
Not really. I was the weird awkward kid and I was going to get ridiculed no matter what. So there was no need in hiding my musical taste.
Armadillo-Overall@reddit
During the Satanic Panic, I had to hide my heavy metal.
Columbia_Guy001@reddit
Christian Rock. The kids at church knew. The kids at school did not.
Flipfleury@reddit
Hated disco. Really dug Donna Summer.
Stefgrep66@reddit
I think I've said this before, The Osmonds.
I thought Crazy Horses was the best song Ever.
Give me a pass though, I was only 6 when it came out!😊
exlibris1214@reddit
My parents played Neil Diamond records in our house, so I was a big fan.
425565@reddit
I've always liked Gregorian chants, but none of my friends knew my secret.
Impressive_Star_3454@reddit
Duran Duran
It was no secret on my house. I played my Seven and the Ragged Tiger cassette so much that I wore it out and it became unlistenable. The heads on my boom box took a beating as well.
Snogafrog@reddit
REO Speedwagon
SageObserver@reddit
The Bay City Rollers
skinisblackmetallic@reddit
Basically, all dreampop newwave goth punk type shit. My crew were militant heshers & I had to back them in the streets.
railworx@reddit
Synth-pop & new wave. Everyone in my neighborhood & schools were head bangers haha
Decent_Direction316@reddit
I had to hide disco. And the Captain & Tennille, and the Hudson Brothers.....if I wanted to keep my "cool" rep.
imbrotep@reddit
Classic and 70s/early 80s Country and Western. Merle, George Jones, Hank Sr, Charlie Pride, Buck Owens, George Strait, Bosephus, Randy Travis, Travis Tritt, etc.
KillaHertz1@reddit
Dwight Yokam!
GravityTracker@reddit
I was into Christian rock and metal. I didn't really hide it then, but I do moreso now.
OnlyGuestsMusic@reddit
My mother had a Madonna greatest hits album and that shit was a bop. Otherwise, I was all rock and hip hop.
KerryBoehm@reddit
Yeah I woulda tormented you for listening ti that.
I grew up in a highly religious family so I loved metal cause it scared the crap out of them.
Smarmy_funeral_chik@reddit (OP)
I know but that's the funny thing, mostly I hung out with the stoner/heavy metal kids and I listened to what they listened to, but I also like OTHER stuff lol
KerryBoehm@reddit
Back then I would have tormented you but now doing your own thing is way cool in my book.
CanadianExiled@reddit
My first album purchase was WHAM! But ended up a closet fan because the cool kids hated WHAM. Turns out they hated me too so I should have enjoyed my music.
Smarmy_funeral_chik@reddit (OP)
Oh man I know exactly how you feel lol! Wore a Genesis shirt one day - never made that mistake again lol!
Itchy_Pride1864@reddit
Hard rock friends wold give me hell if they thought I'd listen to erasure
Thirty_Helens_Agree@reddit
Erasure is awesome.
Itchy_Pride1864@reddit
Fuzzteam7@reddit
Big Band
Capital-Meringue-164@reddit
Scorpions. I really liked that Winds of Change song and wanted to see them in concert. My grunge loving friends and siblings shamed me (class of 93), so I didn’t talk about it after that.
Mattturley@reddit
Ha. I had a good friend/roommate I was crushing on before I came out who was totally into Scorpions and Poison. He absolutely loved Poison and Memorial Day Jam was announced - Poison, Damn Yankees, Firehouse, and Leonard Skinner. Most of the people we got tickets with were much more interested in Skinner and thought that was the headliner, but it was actually Poison. Good lord, what a concert that was (drove up, he wanted to drink on the drive so I drove, got pulled over going 87 in a 45 (long story) and I had lost my wallet, including my DL. Ohio state troopers could not find my WV DL - got deloused). I have not thought of Scorpions or Poison in a long time.
Capital-Meringue-164@reddit
lol sounds like our youth!!
Skelley1976@reddit
Old beach boys & Jan & Dean
SamHandwich0@reddit
Billy Joel- i loved innocent man lp (he was my secret 10 cassettes for a penny pick)
Hall and oates- i actually got to see them wirh the averge white band in the early 2000s maybe 01 or 02
Caloso89@reddit
West Coast Jazz (Brubeck, Guaraldi, Getz). My mom’s influence.
Thirty_Helens_Agree@reddit
Not wear coast USA, but my dad got me into George Shearing.
Queasy_Wealth_7912@reddit
Culture Club, Dead or Alive.
Thirty_Helens_Agree@reddit
I want surprises!
Smarmy_funeral_chik@reddit (OP)
I WANT YOUR LOVE
zappyface1@reddit
I have this song on my playlist at work! Just one of the few club songs I like!
Havetowel-@reddit
I used to love Tom Jones back in high school. His voice was incredible!
Friends would rail on me about it so i kept it hidden.
Tigress_Solaris@reddit
It's not unusual.
Babaganouj757@reddit
throws panties onstage
Smarmy_funeral_chik@reddit (OP)
I feel you I sort of liked Barry Manilow. I never let that out lol
Babaganouj757@reddit
Same. Also Barbara Streisand. She’s like buttah.
Smarmy_funeral_chik@reddit (OP)
Oh my best friend in school LOOOOVVVVVED Babs. He was the only person I knew anywhere who would drive around our city with the windows down blasting Barbra Streisand. I told him there must be a city ordinance somewhere about that lol
HissTankDriver@reddit
Same!!!!!!!!
Bokononfoma@reddit
When Mars Attacks came out Tom Jones was hilarious in it. That's when I felt like I could fan openly
Babaganouj757@reddit
I liked Air Supply
Thirty_Helens_Agree@reddit
I liked Richard Marx back then and I still do.
thumpingcoffee@reddit
Me too. And as a confirmed metalhead I never let on
jenmoocat@reddit
Me too. I actually do Air Supply covers now. Sped up and a little more jazzy….
Loadtapchanger@reddit
I’m a sixty year old punk, through and through.
As a kid tho, I LOVED Disco.
Thirty_Helens_Agree@reddit
I recently watched that PBS documentary series about disco. Man, when disco was sincere good stuff in the early days before the over saturation? That stuff was legit.
Physical-Pizza7064@reddit
I’m a hard rock and metal adherent to this day, but I was always a sucker for Air Supply, Barry Manilow, Firefall, England Dan and John Ford Coley, Chris DeBurgh…pretty much anything you hear on Yacht Rock today.
But, I wouldn’t say I kept it a secret. Always had a good laugh when one of my Maiden or Priest friends would ask to borrow one of these from me but wouldn’t want anyone to know.
Mr8vb@reddit
Chris Deburgh, I thought I was the only one 😆 Flying Colours got me through my parents divorce, although I still can’t hear “Tender Hands” without shedding a tear.
Physical-Pizza7064@reddit
I got into Chris DeBurgh after hearing one of his songs off the album Crusader in an obscure 80s movie (If you Could see what I hear) that I watched maybe 100 times on HBO one summer.
CDubs_94@reddit
Blues and Soul. I got into John Lee Hooker and Sam and Dave and Wilson Pickett when I was like 15. Me and my friends were all into Metal and Punk...But...tbh. I played some Wilson Pickett at a party once and everybody lost their mind. They loved it.
b_o_m@reddit
I bought the soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever when it came out. I was maybe 8 or 9 at the time. Used my birthday money for it. It was a double album and quite the investment for a small kid in 1977. At that age I thought the BeeGees were pretty cool.
Smarmy_funeral_chik@reddit (OP)
Nowhere near as cool as you. Around that same age, I was gifted a double vinyl album of the Village People. "Live and Sleazy." My parents were a bit clueless, guess they just saw the cool costumes lol.
Lopsided_Tomatillo27@reddit
Yeah. My mom liked the singer songwriters; mostly Neil Diamond and John Denver, but also Jim Croce, Gordon Lightfoot, and Carol King.
SomewhereTiny8407@reddit
Elvis. And some old doo-wop type 50’s & 60’s shit my dad used to listen to on thee local oldies AM radio stations. And I was really into female vocalists that folks considered “lil’ sissy” music at the time. Jewel, Fiona Apple, Alanís Morrissette, Sarah McLachlan & my absolute favorites The Cardigans & Mazzy Star, I was “in love” with Hope Sandoval of Mazzy Star! Good times lol
P.S. I would still love to fade into Hope 🤣🤘🏻😍
Kinda_ShouldaSorta@reddit
Leif Garrett
Randeth@reddit
Unashamedly a fan of Hall and Oates. But Air Supply was just far me. 🙂
Tigress_Solaris@reddit
I couldn't care less what people thought about my love of Tom Fkng Jones or Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass. At 11.
Smarmy_funeral_chik@reddit (OP)
My folks had a couple of the HA and Tijuana Brass 33s that I played a whole lot.
Tigress_Solaris@reddit
Whipped Cream and Other Delights? That was my favorite.
Smarmy_funeral_chik@reddit (OP)
Yep, they had that one and Going Places. GP is the one I listened to the most.
don_teegee@reddit
ABBA and the BeeGees. In the 80s this was cheesy music but I loved it and did not tell a soul.
twstdbydsn@reddit
I’ve always been vocal of my love for Hall & Oates. Saw them live once and it was glorious. I’ve been into punk, metal and grunge since I was 10.
CheesyRomantic@reddit
I loved jazz and blues (especially the blues) and music from Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald and Dean Martin etc...
I was 14 loving these genres. And yes. It wasn't cool at the time.
Hymen_Cholo@reddit
Motown due to my parents.
Still enjoy it today as it was one of the greatest musical eras ever.
Self-Comprehensive@reddit
Nah I was a musically inclined kid who played several instruments. I still do, but I did back then too. I was open to pretty much any type of music and I'd talk enthusiastically about any song that caught my ear.
Mattturley@reddit
I grew up with much older parents as I was an oops baby and youngest, by far, of 7 boys. My parents were into classical music mostly, and as a singer I was into everything from renaissance madrigals to show tunes to old school country. The only thing that probably still embarrasses me is that I enjoyed the Zamfir (pan flutes) that my father insisted on listening to on road trips.
archedhighbrow@reddit
Barry Manilow
Smarmy_funeral_chik@reddit (OP)
Me too lol
archedhighbrow@reddit
Do you have a favorite song of his?
Smarmy_funeral_chik@reddit (OP)
Read em and Weep. I love it because, being written by Jim Steinman, it's completely over the top, theatrical, a bit ridiculous and there were absolutely never times I blasted it and sang along after having too many glasses of wine.
archedhighbrow@reddit
This one is new to me so I made a trip to youtube. Dang, that song is long.
TobyDaMan8894@reddit
Love me sone Barry Manilow.
archedhighbrow@reddit
Do you have a favorite song?
No-Sheepherder448@reddit
archedhighbrow@reddit
Love this!
Chief7064@reddit
Barry Manilow
Colonel_Autumn_@reddit
My list starts with the Grease soundtrack and ended with Lief Garrett and Shawn Cassidy. All my older sister's stuff. When she hit her teens she bounced to Styx and Ozzy. My first record was an Alfred Hitchcock mystery record.
knoxcos@reddit
As a kid I wasn’t very secretive about what I listened to. I listened to a lot, I think, EXCEPT country / western. Just could not get into the twang.
Dobgirl@reddit
Spa music - instrumental
Least_Imagination860@reddit
Roxette
JudgeJuryEx78@reddit
Who didn't secretly love Roxette?
Puzzled-Locksmith-42@reddit
Gary Wright
Secret_Fun_1612@reddit
Air Supply
Bokononfoma@reddit
100%. Air Supply and Asia are still guilty pleasures to this day.
Smarmy_funeral_chik@reddit (OP)
Oh yeah I listened to Asia too
Havetowel-@reddit
Survivor too.
ChuckYeagerWV@reddit
Chicago!
Havetowel-@reddit
Asia was so good!
Bokononfoma@reddit
I remember my cousin having strong feelings about Asia, and would repeatedly say how they were so much better than Journey.
bigtex_1008@reddit
The Beach Boys. Actually saw them in concert when I was like 12.
BebopTundra76@reddit
I had a Scott Joplin Ragtime tape. I would jam out to that on headphones😅
HissTankDriver@reddit
Enya
DawnGW@reddit
yeah I remember having a friend laugh at me for liking Enya. I loved her music (still do!)
Specialist-Box4677@reddit
I was a 'very cool indie musician' with big opinions and I definitely collected everything she did, which was not 'very cool'.
Zincdust72@reddit
I was a total hair metal rocker when I was in high school... but I'll be damned if I didn't love MC Hammer.
BrianOfAllThings@reddit
Dixieland Jazz. I was such a little dork, I’d stay in on Fridays and listen to Mama Jazz on the local station and record all of the music I could. There was a band that played about once a month about an hour away and I’d ask my friends for rides to see them.
DawnGW@reddit
I love this answer.
GarionOrb@reddit
I've never been secretive about the music I like.
DawnGW@reddit
I remember I was so proud of my Commodores mixtape, included with my artwork, and played it in my car stereo a lot. I was giving my friend a ride and she promptly turned the stereo down because she thought it was embarrassing. (I still listened to it, among all my other tapes... still loved it)
ChuckYeagerWV@reddit
Air Supply.
easy-revolution0329@reddit
fadedtimes@reddit
Goth music, synth pop, country, classical, oldies, classic rock, disco.
Boring_Menu_5962@reddit
Fat Boys, Fresh Prince, Run DMC, Whodini. Basically all of the hip hop l liked. Everyone else was into GnR, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin and I would frequently get beat up by white guys who didn't like me listening to it.
GargamelBalls@reddit
I ❤️Art of Noise
Smarmy_funeral_chik@reddit (OP)
Me too but that came later in high school
DadofJM@reddit
John Denver. Close friends knew but otherwise huge secret. Decades later his music still stands up. I will die on this hill.
FWIW: Until the horror of "Kiss On My List," Hall and Oates was solid. Especially the Abandoned Lunchenette album.
CaptGeechntheOneders@reddit
My first concert was John Denver at the Bloomsburg fair when i was in the 7th Grade. My mom wanted to go, so i went with her. He was great and I'm so glad I got to see him live.
DadofJM@reddit
So jealous. Along with original Skynyrd line-up, he is tops on my Resurrection concert bucket list
Organic_Mix2282@reddit
Classical when I would paint, but pretty much wide range in music taste.
doobette@reddit
As a preteen with all my friends obsessed with New Kids on the Block, I secretly liked all the hair metal stuff (beyond Bon Jovi and Poison). I used to tape Headbangers' Ball.
LouBiffo@reddit
The first album I ever remember buying, as a child, was the soundtrack to Flashbeagle.
Smarmy_funeral_chik@reddit (OP)
Yes, but did you have Mickey Mouse Disco?
LouBiffo@reddit
I cannot recall ever seeing that sleeve, I'm impressed.
hapster85@reddit
Wasn't a secret, but I was into hard rock and metal but didn't have any friends that really were.
Wide_Breadfruit_2217@reddit
Nothing I wouldn't admit. But I listened to a lot of folk stuff like Arlo Guthrie and Leo Kottke.
MidnightBlueSilk@reddit
My parents would play John Denver and Peter, Paul, & Mary in the car and I still love them to this day.
DMFD_x_Gamer@reddit
Metal Head to the core.
I loved me some Prince. Purple Rain was 🔥
boethius61@reddit
I wouldn't say 'into' but geez that "Nana" Mouskouri could sing!
I_am_Russ_Troll@reddit
Big Band Jazz
hudnut52@reddit
Nope. I was pretty contrary and immune to peer pressure.
"Don't like it? Fuck off then."
cjr1217@reddit
I’m a serious “Metal Head.” Not the newer scream stuff! But, older stuff like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest etc… my mother made me go with her to a Lionel Ritchie concert. I really liked it and will still listen to him from time to time!!!!
TobyDaMan8894@reddit
Up the Irons!
TobyDaMan8894@reddit
In fifth grade, our teacher would put classical music on while we read. I still do this. So relaxing and it’s like a soundtrack to my book.
Bulky-Hamster7373@reddit
Opera and classical. Not all the time but damn sometimes it's great to turn up the volume, shut your eyes and just experience it
Better_Ad7836@reddit
Old folk songs, like Greensleeves, Scarborough Fair, Waltzing Matilda etc
Specialist-Box4677@reddit
Huge Roxette fan, to this day I couldn't tell you why. But I have all of it.
Trashman169@reddit
Disco and funk. As a diehard Zeppelin fan, I had to hide the fact that disco and funk had some of the most grooviest bass lines!!!!
antisocialdecay@reddit
Elton John, Mellencamp, Rod Stewart. Crocodile Rock, Maggie May, and Rumbleseat are my jams.
jvaughn68@reddit
JCM has been my favorite since 1982 when J&D came out. I was 14. I still listen to him weekly.
No-Lock6921@reddit
Elton John was my very first concert 1982, I was 12.
OrganicIgnorance@reddit
Kenny G. Dude is a legit talent.
Babaganouj757@reddit
For a second I thought you were talking about Michael Bolton, that no-talent ass clown…
HarveyMushman72@reddit
He used to rock: https://youtu.be/Ga_reU5lasQ?si=Xd9-d_gYin1lOzGR
OrganicIgnorance@reddit
LoveIsLove75@reddit
I see what you did there.
savorie@reddit
I was secretly a hard-core Beatles fan when I was 12.
Sounds normal, right? But not where I was.
I was living in Miami, Florida and at the time I discovered them it was the late 1980s. I was in middle school, and schools were like 90% children of Cuban immigrants. Girls in that area then were basically expected to be huge fans of New Kids on the Block or Miami Bass sound (2 Live Ceew, DJ Laz), or early Salt n Pepa, Mili Vanilli , merengue artists and so on. There was also a niche 1950s revival going on, which I also appreciated, but the Beatles were fully irrelevant.
I had tried to pretend to be interested in those artists in order to fit in, but I knew I was a rock 'n' roll girl at heart. Someone introduced me to the Beatles and it changed everything for me, overnight. They were all I wanted to listen to. I bought documentaries about them on VHS and I bought a discography book to completely nerd out, and whatever biographies were out there.
Tentatively, I tried to share this with other friends, but their reaction made it pretty clear that I needed to keep it to myself, and it wasn't until a few years later that I met a girl, another child of Cuban immigrants, who, for her own reasons, adored the Beatles and knew everything about them just like I did, and we bonded hard over it. She moved away with her family about a year later.
I was helped out a little bit when the Imagine: John Lennon documentary came out and was making headlines, so it made what I was listening to feel slightly more relevant. But no one around me was reaching the same levels of excitement.
To this day, it's the weirdest thing. I'm 50 years old and I now live in the Bay Area and I have lots of friends. They all dislike The Beatles, especially John Lennon's voice. My husband doesn't like their original songs but appreciates covers of their songs much more. Across my family and my friends and both coasts, I don't know any other fans. Online is a different story, of course, but I didn't think it would be this hard in real life to come across and become friends with another Beatlemaniac.
Unlikely_Talk3387@reddit
John Denver
Worldly_Process7939@reddit
TV themes that I recorded using a tape recorder held up to the TV speaker. Loved them. Would never admit to it to schoolfriends though.
Smarmy_funeral_chik@reddit (OP)
Believe it or not...
PSN_ONER@reddit
A bunch of stuff that wasn't heavy/trash metal. Not necessarily secret, depending on the friends I was hanging out with. Probably the oddest was Allan Holdsworth.
elphaba00@reddit
I immediately thought of this lyric:
Went out for the football team to prove that I'm a man
I guess I shouldn't tell 'em that I like Duran Duran
Babaganouj757@reddit
BNL for the win!
ChavoDemierda@reddit
Jazz. All of my friends were into either punk, or hip hop and it was the 80's and 90's. I still love jazz.
Every-Self-8399@reddit
Lionel Ritchie and Duran Duran
reachers_toothbrush@reddit
Did I listen to Metallica and Pantera? Yes. Did I secretly listen to Belinda Carlisle? Also yes.
Runaway Horses is a good album dammit!
Grimace2_9@reddit
I made fun of the fan girls, but yeah, I secretly dug Duran Duran.
Babaganouj757@reddit
That was me in Grade 9…
vbtodenver@reddit
Not too late to be a big fan now!!!
shiny1988@reddit
I mean… the Chauffeur was somethin’…
BlondeJess19@reddit
Big Band era. Artie Shaw and Benny Goodman. Still love it.
Antique-Brilliant535@reddit
This. I was a misfit into punk/new wave when that was not a popular thing in my school also, but the small crowd I ran with would not have understood my interest jazz music from the 1930's/40's at all.
Babaganouj757@reddit
Man, that time in the early 2000s when swing was popular for a short time was fantastic.
Thirty_Helens_Agree@reddit
I do remember taking my Wham! button off my denim jacket when someone said they weren’t cool.
Do_U_Scratch@reddit
Nah. I didn’t care that much about what others thought. Still don’t.
ottis1guy@reddit
Nah. Music is a gift and fun to explore, nothing to hide from or be ashamed of, in my social group. Everything from Punk, Dead, House Music, and show tunes.
ShivRoy13@reddit
Probably the “Grease” soundtrack.
shiny1988@reddit
No shame there, Sandy.
Roomaroo27@reddit
How about Grease 2, though? No shame…my friends and I all loved it.
boognish1984@reddit
Bought a TLC single
Strong_Medium_6646@reddit
The Carpenters, and I still love them!
Odditeee@reddit
I liked older music when I was a kid. Chuck Berry, The Beach Boys, Duke Ellington, etc. My friends were all into The Clash and Minor Threat, etc. I liked that stuff too but I never mentioned my fondness for “the oldies”. ( The REAL oldies. Not the current ‘classic rock’ station that plays Pearl Jam.)
MaximumJones@reddit
I listened to all kinds of music and introduced my friends to it.
It never crossed my mind to be secretive or give a fuck what anyone else thought about what I listened to.
Balrog71@reddit
My parents did the Colombia thing when I was too young to remember, maybe ‘72 or ‘73. Among the very few cool albums in the stack were The Carpenters singles 67-71 and Paul Simon-Still Crazy After All These Years. I listened to the Carpenters album almost daily from age 9-12. I don’t recall a single instance of mom or dad ever playing anything.
Outrageous-Advice384@reddit
Secretly? I don’t think anything. Maybe Vanilla Ice, as I wouldn’t wear a tshirt with him on it but I definitely liked a few songs. I think most around me liked him but didn’t want to admit it.
Trike117@reddit
I feel bad for people who were afraid to openly like what they enjoyed. Just seems like a terrible way to live.
I got made fun of for liking Science Fiction back in the 70s — “space face” was a big insult then — but I didn’t care. Same with music. I listened to Dolly Parton, Ray Charles, Earth, Wind and Fire and Styx (I even named my dog Renegade), among others. Good music is good music, and it doesn’t bother me if someone else doesn’t like it.
SHDrivesOnTrack@reddit
Meat loaf. I always liked the songs Steinman wrote for him
totallylegitburner@reddit
Isn’t that all of them?
SHDrivesOnTrack@reddit
Pretty sure Steinman wrote all the songs on the two Bat Out of Hell albums and Dead Ringer
I don't believe he contributed to Midnight at the Lost and Found, or Blind before I stop.
Welcome to the neighborhood I think were a mix of Steinman and other writers including Sammy Hagar
to OP's point, my go-to artists would have been Depeche Mode, New Order, Pet Shop Boys, etc. I would never have told any of my friends in high school or college that I possess all these Meat Loaf albums. Even now writing this I'm a little low key embarrassed that I know as much as I do about this (although I did look it up to confirm.) I would also not admit to liking songs like "Total Eclipse of the Heart" / Bonnie Tyler or "Making Love Out of Nothing at All" / Air Supply
wendz1980@reddit
Shakin Stevens. Man I love him. But I wouldn’t have admitted that when I was younger.
Radiant-Eye1338@reddit
LOL.... Bolero
gatorchrissy@reddit
Band nerd here, love Bolero. No shame in that.
PahzTakesPhotos@reddit
My metalhead self was into Air Supply and Journey.
Journey wasn't too much to admit, but Air Supply?
NotoldyetMaggot@reddit
My metalhead friend wore out my Journey greatest hits tape... and my Air Supply greatest hits tape....sometimes it hits different
Sea_Measurement_1654@reddit
Ella Fitzgerald, Louie Armstrong, sixties folk music and some country, 70s rock. A very few 80s artists. I listened to everything but 80s music in the 80s. That's where retro styled 80s movies get the soundtracks wrong.
Ok-Educator-9437@reddit
The Carpenters. And as time passed Karen Carpenter is STILL the best singer in all the world.
grzebelus@reddit
Yes!! My parents had the Singles double album. I have always loved the Carpenters.
Forest_of_Cheem@reddit
OMG! I’m not the only one, lol! I had a friend that was five years older than me that didn’t go to my school who got me into The Carpenters. I agree that Karen is still the best singer in all the world. I still have all of my records. I have multiple copies of some of them, lol.
1stnspc@reddit
I’m not sure if I’d disagree with you and even if I did, I don’t know who’d I’d counter with. She was a great drummer too.
rimmo@reddit
And an unbelievable drummer
Cultural-Ambition449@reddit
Broadway show albums.
yearsofpractice@reddit
I’m a straight, straight-laced man but have always loved camp hi-NRG euro pop. Always have, always will.
zoeybeattheraccoon@reddit
ABBA. Was not cool in the 80’s.
mmfn0403@reddit
You were not alone. Loads of us secretly loved ABBA!
raymondspogo@reddit
After being teased relentlessly in junior high for iron maiden shirts, then the next year seeing those same kids in iron maiden shirts, I decided that I will like whatever music I like.
Perplexio76@reddit
My parents had me in their 40s. They were from the silent generation. I listened to a bit of Frank Sinatra, Bobby Vinton, Brian Hyland, Bobby Darin, and Dean Martin to name a few.
But my musical tastes leaned more towards my older siblings influence on me they were all boomers and older gen-X. Boston, Nazareth, Styx, REO Speedwagon, Chicago, KISS, Little River Band, Toto, J. Geils Band, Pink Floyd, Alan Parsons Project, Harry Chapin, Meat Loaf, and Billy Joel to name a few. And one of my older cousins (who was closer in age to me than any of my siblings) got me into the Beastie Boys.
I was into Chicago the most though, and as embarrassing as it might have been for some. I didn't care and leaned hard into it. Even saw them live about 9x between 1993 and 2004.
AtomicHurricaneBob@reddit
Lawrence Welk. I still have all my parents vinyl too.
HypergolicHyperbola@reddit
I grew up where you either listened to Country music or Rock and Roll. Through a friend, I got into Motown. Then, he started getting bootleg cassette tapes of guys rapping. I couldn’t get enough. This was around 1982 or so. Anyone who heard me listening gave me a ton of crap.
Suttree1971@reddit
Never gave into pressure like that. I loved Iron Maiden and Debbie Gibson, Black Sabbath and Katrina & the Waves. The whole gamut.
Infamous-Yak2864@reddit
Conway Twitty, Mel Tillis, George Jones, Moe Bandy, Faron Young, Tammy Wynette, etc...not totally secret...I grew up in a rural area so it was a 'thang'...
Mr8vb@reddit
I never told my “alt” friends, but when I wasn’t listening to Depeche Mode, The Smiths, The Cure etc. I was listening to the schmaltziest easy listening music you could find.
Brunhilde27@reddit
Country/western and old school delta blues were my guilty pleasures. Now I don’t care what others think about what I like.
Weird-n-Gilly@reddit
Echo and the bunnymen, the cure, talking heads, U2, really most late 80’s new wave. My high school was country, 70’s rock, hair metal, and stuff like Metallica, Megadeath, slayer, which I loved too.
9inez@reddit
You didn’t show up at school with a skinny tie and Elvis Costello glasses or Siouxsie hair?
forfearthatuwillwake@reddit
George Michael, I liked him in the 90's when everyone else was into grunge. I was always behind the times on music.
GargamelBalls@reddit
Same. Had to hide my copy of Faith from my fellow punks, but that album is killer!
eyehate@reddit
When I was young, I loved punk and metal.
But, I realized from a young age that Beethoven's Fifth is my favorite piece of music ever. Never really shared that with friends.
Growing up, it found it's way into mixed tapes. The best was when the Fifth dropped into Man in the Box. It was wild how those two perfectly merged.
OneCallSystem@reddit
Nope. Im always the trendsetter and im confindent in my taste. If you don't like it that means YOU have bad taste lol.
I got into rap in the mid eighties. Heavy metal like Slayer then death metal.
Then got into jungle/ house in the early 90s.
Dubstep in 2005.
Always exploring new music and then everyone else always seems to come in later.
Being ashamed of your music taste is stupid
_WillCAD_@reddit
Same shit I'm into now - movie soundtracks. John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, Basil Poledouris, stuff like that.
Kitchen-Zebra-4402@reddit
Yep they were my gateway drugs to classical music. I also got the classical guitarist John Williams’s Baroque Album not realizing they were two different John Williams which really got me into the Baroque era which to this day is my favorite sub-genre of classical music.
Impossible-Science-4@reddit
I really love Bread, England Dan and John Ford Coley, Seals and Croft, Cat Stevens and Gordon Lightfoot, being a big stoner i would have been reamed lol
jwezorek@reddit
i had the soundtrack to Tron on vinyl; loved that album.
Fernandop00@reddit
Neil Diamond and John Denver and maybe throw in the occasional Christopher Cross.
HissTankDriver@reddit
Love John Denver!
bene_gesserit_mitch@reddit
I remember a kid in my metal shop class wore a Hall and Oats concert shirt the day after the show to class. He never wore it again. I think he got too much shit for it.
gofixmeaplate@reddit
It was whole genres for me, not a specific group or band. I remember having to hide ll cool j, run dmc, fat boys, etc cassette tapes from my white friends and the Def Leppard, Cinderella, Iron Maiden and inxs tapes from my black friends. Both were cool with my licenses to I’ll tape so that one stayed visible lol. People were not in agreement with cultural lines being crossed so much back then, at least my friends weren’t. Too bad I didn’t have the balls at like age 10 to just be ok with the resistance/ opposition but that’s kids for ya. Always need their peers approval
KurtStation68@reddit
Listening to Dan Fogerty on my brother's HiFi record (probably more so because he had a nice set up and anything on vinyl sounded choice). I'm grew into an audiophile, my brother has moved on.
No-Solid-294@reddit
John Denver, The Beach Boys
Havetowel-@reddit
Both are in my regular rotation. Saw Brian once playing the Pet Sounds album anniversary and those guys still brought it. So much good music.
just321askin@reddit
For a very brief time at the turn of the millennium I gave in to the nu-metal trend (Korn etc.) but didn’t tell anybody. I’d previously dismissed that whole thing, but I was craving rock music with riffs and energy, at a time when hard rock had dipped in popularity in favor of softer indie rock.
wellbloom@reddit
Willie Nelson and Frank Sinatra!
NoFollowing7781@reddit
I really liked Tom Petty.... behind closed doors anyway lol... alotta people in the punk scenes that I ran in would not have understood 😂🤣
LawrenceSpiveyR@reddit
ABBA and the Bee Gees
TXtogo@reddit
Kodachrome by Paul Simon always seemed like a bubble gum song, but I love that song
And now that I’m old I actually understand it
SnowblindAlbino@reddit
I was not into and would never have admitted to liking Hall and Oates in the early 80s in high school, but my eldest and I saw Darryl Hall last summer and damn...they had far more good songs than I remembered, and he is a good songwriter.
When I was in high school, though, I was all about listening to music others did not. Jazz, Delta blues, folk, old time "string band" and Western swing, you name it. I hated pop music and made that a thing in high school, which was probably silly. Never got a lot of crap for it though.
Worldly_Possible2925@reddit
I was a died in the wall heavy metal fan. I used to really enjoy Kenny Rogers greatest hits. Still do.
elphaba00@reddit
I saw him live before he died. It was my husband's idea, but Kenny, even though he had to use a stool for most of it, went through his whole catalog.
Smarmy_funeral_chik@reddit (OP)
Oh Kenny Rogers good one, I had a few of his 45s
WritingRidingRunner@reddit
Showtunes. Not just Les Miz and Phantom, which I loved, but musicals from the 30s, 40s, and 50s.
tdawg-1551@reddit
My dad was huge into music and stereos, but his main music was classical. I knew way more about Bach and Beethoven and Mozart than most middle and high school kids in the 80s.
Scared-Ideal-1483@reddit
Surf music in the early 80s. Dick Dale, Jan and Dean, the Surfaris and obviously the Beach Boys. It absolutely wasn't on anyone's radar by then......
EmployedByCats@reddit
Johnny Cash.
OkWinp@reddit
Phil Collins
Smarmy_funeral_chik@reddit (OP)
Yep
idiotsbydesign@reddit
Journey.
Magnas@reddit
The Bee Gees
Smarmy_funeral_chik@reddit (OP)
OMG how could I have forgotten this one
wifeofbath73@reddit
This is what I came here to say. I still love them and watch their One Night Only concert regularly.
cbs1138@reddit
I was part of the metal head/stoner crowd at my school. But growing up, my mom took me to plays, musicals, and movies of the not-so child recommended kind. So I liked musical soundtracks like "A Chorus Line", "Annie", "Cats" and dug on the Bee Gees thanks to "Saturday Night Fever". I've also always enjoyed Prince and Michael Jackson thanks to MTV. I would have been ostracized for sure.
aphasiative@reddit
Sophie B. Hawkins
HoraceBenbow@reddit
I was a punk/industrial music lover in high school. But I secretly loved Michael Jackson's Thriller album and listened to it all the time in the privacy of my room.
jimmytwo57@reddit
Buck’s Fizz 😆.
lylydazzle@reddit
I would blast my mom’s Linda Rondtadt tape when nobody was around. I found out later that a lot of my high school friends loved her too.
Uranus_Hz@reddit
Big bands: Glenn Miller, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, etc.
automator3000@reddit
Oh. I thought you meant how I had to play the AC/DC tapes my buddy handed me on really low volume so my mom wouldn’t hear and take them away for being a satanic band.
I did go through a whole phase of being into country music so that a girl would like me, but I didn’t want my friends to know I was into country. It got me laid, which as a teenager had way too much importance
7_62mm_FMJ@reddit
Southwest Native American flute
chace_thibodeaux@reddit
People would've made fun of you for liking Hall & Oates?!?
Smarmy_funeral_chik@reddit (OP)
Oh yeah, the heathens, no taste at all
bumpynuks@reddit
Toto
phalanxausage@reddit
I have never been afraid to admit to liking anything I enjoy. I was going to get made fun of no matter what I did, so faking it was too much effort for the same result.