I grew up in a very musical household. That is, classical music. And Broadway musicals and the Beatles and lots of Manhattan Transfer. I know some parents let their kids pick what they listened to in the car, but my parents just didn’t play, so that’s mostly what I listened to. And the town I grew up in didn’t have much to offer as far as radio stations, a couple oldies or adult contemporary stations, a couple top-40 stations, our local station which played “chore music”, polka, in the evenings for the old-timers. And a hard rock station.
It was only when I got my driver’s license and was allowed to use my dad’s old Toyota that I got to choose what I listened to. And the top-40 stations had REALLY annoying morning DJs, so I started listening to the hard rock station. The song that changed my life I heard on that station, Chop Suey! by System of a Down. That’s when I learned that a song could be both heavy and headbangy, but also melodic, also have some good singing and harmonies. In short, that a song could be so DIFFERENT.
Later that year, my town had what I believe was a fundraiser for the local hockey team at our newly built indoor ice rink. It was a local music festival, called Contopalooza! after a kid a few grades ahead of me, who, side note, played sousaphone in the pep band and would blast the baseline to Black Sabbath songs as we climbed the stairs to put our instruments away. A local band did a cover of Chop Suey! and, in a crowd of other kids all screaming with me, our eighth grade social studies teacher running the Zamboni behind us, I finally felt cool. Kinda.
Also, my sister and I talked my dad into listening to it after church one day, and I think he was actually offended, which is one of those important milestones of youth, offending the parents, and also just plain fun.
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