I was a late bloomer in terms of music - I didn’t start really appreciating it until I was about 12. I’ve always been very defensive about my music. When people talk smack about one of my bands I’ll yell at them as if they had just insulted me personally. Perhaps I take it too seriously. Anyway, this is a list of some of my favorite (and least favorite) bands. Take it in.

The Good

AC/DC
Classic 80’s metal. They don’t get a lot of love around here, but I love ‘em. Wonderful guitar riffs that get stuck in my head seem to be their forte. In a modern world of crap “rock” bands, it’s nice to put on some AC/DC and rock out. I love “You Shook Me All Night Long”; it’s easy to sing to and fun to play on the guitar.

Electric Light Orchestra
Underappreciated rock group from the 70’s and 80’s. They mix classic instruments like the cello and violin with electric guitars and synthesizers, and the result is fun music with a great beat. My favorite song is “Hold On Tight” - there’s a French verse and it’s just generally an awesome uplifting song. I also love Do Ya and All Over The World.

Guns N’ Roses
Fucking epic band. Musical geniuses with amazing tunes. If I can remember every guitar solo and every breakdown verse by a band, they must be incredible. Favorites? Coma, Estranged, 14 Years, Breakdown, So Fine, and Locomotive. I can’t choose between those.

Metallica
I am a closet metalhead. And what kind of metalhead doesn’t love at least one Metallica tune? They’ve got real heavy stuff, but they also have great clean guitar solos and instrumentals. MY favorite is To Live Is To Die - 10 minutes of almost total instrumental. Fade To Black is also a good song - it’s definitely softer Metallica, but all the talent is completely intact.

I also like
Aerosmith, Augustana, The Beach Boys, The Beatles, Beirut, Beulah, Black Sabbath, The Cure, Damn Yankees, Death From Above 1979, Def Leppard, Eric Johnson, The Everly Brothers, Firescape, Hum, Interpol, Iron Maiden, Jack’s Mannequin, Jackson Browne, Jets To Brazil, Kaiser Chiefs, The Killers, Led Zeppelin, Lucky Boys Confusion, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Matthew Sweet, The Monkees, Muse, The New Amsterdams, Ozzy Osbourne, Pearl Jam, Pelican, Queen, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Scorpions, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Something Corporate, Sunny Day Real Estate, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Two Hours Traffic, Velvet Revolver, Waking Ashland, William Tell, Weezer

The Bad

Avril Lavigne
Back in the day, I was a huge Avril fan. I owned all her CDs. Avril was all I listened too. Then I listened to some different music and realized something. Avril sucked! Listening to her new stuff, I still think she sucks. I’m waiting for Weird Al to come and poke more fun at the horrendous lyrics (we all loved “Constipated”, but what about her newer crap?). In the meantime, I’ve done a couple of parodies of “Girlfriend” - Lyricist and Pancakes.

Evanescence
I’ve heard people say that some bands’ songs all sound the same, but never did I actually believe it… until I heard Evanescence. I must have listened to 45 minutes of the band and for all I know it was all the same song. I swear, most of it sounded like the same chord being played over and over again on an out-of-tune guitar, accompanied by a female screeching about her need to attempt suicide every other second.

I also dislike
Boys Like Girls, Coldplay, Fall Out Boy, Hawthorne Heights, My Chemical Romance, Panic! At The Disco, Pink