"It's just a fad you're going through" ......

Lari wrote:

Truth is, a lot of people DID grow out of heavy metal. Or, to be more specific, actively stopped listening to music.

People also grow out of eating tacos. Truth is the people who told us it was a fad were wrong. And you should remind them of this.

I was kind of lucky growing up that my parents had pretty diverse taste.

There are the folks who trade their "-ists" and "-isms" like they're swapping jackets and I actually find that kind of lifestyle kind of offensive. I mean, even if you laugh at it in hindsight, that was YOU, so the idea of the "just a phase," thing is like the worst kind of "taking yourself too seriously" denial.

For example, nothing makes me laugh harder than hindsight at my "goth" phase. Black jeans, nailpolish and band t-shirts may have seemed like I was riding the wave at the time, but it was like being a reject from an early black metal video. Pure comedy gold and I suspect I'm the better for finding that as funny as I do.

So yeah, the idea kind of loses me in general. Grow up all you want, but expand, don't try to keep on the monorail.

Fat Freddy wrote:

I occasionally still get it from co-workers, i.e. "you still listen to that stuff? At YOUR age?" (I just turned 44 last month) .

Apparently I was supposed to start wearing golf shirts and listening to Phish and the Dave Matthews Band at the end of my 20s. Sorry, I never got that memo.

I got a similar comment from one of my wife's friends. "Dave's still a headbanger, tee-hee-hee". My response was "Oh, so I'm supposed to listen to lame white-bread, Dave Matthews stuff now that I'm a dad?"

I guess you could say a part of me got over the fad, as far as the fashion goes. I ditched the long hair, pierced ears, cowboy boots and denim vest stuff long ago. I don't see the music going away anytime soon though. I like what I like. I don't make apologies for it.

I made this sign to hang in my bar before a recent gathering of friends, just so there was no confusion or questions.

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Haha! Nice!

MetalGuy71 wrote:

Fat Freddy wrote:

I occasionally still get it from co-workers, i.e. "you still listen to that stuff? At YOUR age?" (I just turned 44 last month) .

Apparently I was supposed to start wearing golf shirts and listening to Phish and the Dave Matthews Band at the end of my 20s. Sorry, I never got that memo.

I got a similar comment from one of my wife's friends. "Dave's still a headbanger, tee-hee-hee". My response was "Oh, so I'm supposed to listen to lame white-bread, Dave Matthews stuff now that I'm a dad?"

I guess you could say a part of me got over the fad, as far as the fashion goes. I ditched the long hair, pierced ears, cowboy boots and denim vest stuff long ago. I don't see the music going away anytime soon though. I like what I like. I don't make apologies for it.

trust me. These people are fake. I know so many around here.

metalheads are people with a sense of discipline. It is one of the most authentic hobbies really.

many friends actually envy me for my passion and my extensive metal collection. They ask me questions and are curious to know "how I do it".

Runicen wrote:

.  Grow up all you want, but expand, don't try to keep on the monorail.

I'm pretty sure that if you looked at photos from 1986 and now, 'expanding' is something we've not had a problem with   

My parents said that to me a good bit when I was a teenager. And now that I'm 44 I think they are finally convinced it's no phase.   

nevermore wrote:

My parents said that to me a good bit when I was a teenager. And now that I'm 44 I think they are finally convinced it's no phase.   

Yeah, that's where I heard it from too. My parents are big American Idol fans and now when there's some "rocker" in the live shows, they tell me I need to watch because this is some person I'll "probably like" so I guess they too realized this is no "phase" or "fad" for me. And actually, when I tuned in to see this season's "rocker", I did like him and he ended up winning.

Shawn Of Fire wrote:

I listen to more Death Metal and Black Metal at 42 than I ever did when I was younger...I didn't so much hear it was a fad as much as that I would go to hell for listening to it...and Rock music in general, for that matter.

This has been my experience as well! My listening habits have narrowed to be a higher % of Heavy Metal -vs- my youth.

I took it all in back then, and Heavy Metal came out on the other side the decided winner.

scottmitchell74 wrote:

This has been my experience as well! My listening habits have narrowed to be a higher % of Heavy Metal -vs- my youth.

I took it all in back then, and Heavy Metal came out on the other side the decided winner.

me too. I still love metal, and i dont live in the past, but i sometimes think the overall quality isnt there. I guess though when you factor in the availability of the music now compared to then it is a function of hearing more then ever before.

I have never heard this from my parents. They pretty much left me to my own devices even though I know they didn't like the music. Pretty cool of them, I think.

My boss from my old job did give me the "Aren't you getting too old to listen to that stuff?" I was probably in my late 20s or early 30s then. Needless to say I just scoffed at the question.

I see a lot of people around my age saying things like "I remember when I was a teenager who liked metal, before I grew out of it."; which baffles me. You don't "outgrow" music, because it doesn't define your maturity. Your taste can change but it isn't like metal is a genre specifically for depressed and angst ridden teenagers.

Only a.) when I was active in church, and b.) during my stint with therapy and anger mgmt. Sadly, I caved to a. and began listening to some really awful music, thinking it was the only way to make right with Christ. I think it made things worse lol.

corplhicks wrote:

Only a.) when I was active in church, and b.) during my stint with therapy and anger mgmt. Sadly, I caved to a. and began listening to some really awful music, thinking it was the only way to make right with Christ. I think it made things worse lol.

"I listened to radio friendly christian music, and I drew further away from the lord.'

Big Rich wrote:

corplhicks wrote:

Only a.) when I was active in church, and b.) during my stint with therapy and anger mgmt. Sadly, I caved to a. and began listening to some really awful music, thinking it was the only way to make right with Christ. I think it made things worse lol.

"I listened to radio friendly christian music, and I drew further away from the lord.'

Basically.

metalhead777 wrote:

I see a lot of people around my age saying things like "I remember when I was a teenager who liked metal, before I grew out of it."; which baffles me. You don't "outgrow" music, because it doesn't define your maturity. Your taste can change but it isn't like metal is a genre specifically for depressed and angst ridden teenagers.

LOL youre stupid metal is stupid pretentious cheesy guitar masturbation for kids go listen to serious music like Radiohead or Sigur Ros or smthn.



  

If it's not in your blood, you won't understand.

I really have never heard this. My mother was a concert pianist, so she loves all sorts of music and would just stroll in to my room and tell me which classical artist a particular song/artist had ripped off. Ha! My Dad loved all kinds of music and didn't care what I listened to. They also had a large LP collection which was mostly big band/classical. Hell, my Dad at various points in his life took up playing the dulcimer, the ukulele, the recorder and the bagpipes! He was terrible at all of them, but he kept on trying!   

The only music that has kind of proven to be a phase for me is grunge. For me, that whole movement was during late elementary school through early high school and it defined a time when I was really not a happy person in even a remote sense. Listening to it now is like the worst kind of nostalgia. Musically, I can appreciate a lot of it and I feel kind of honor-bound to own the Nirvana and Soundgarden discographies, but they don't remind me of a place I'd like to live again, so it's difficult for me to really dig on it the way I used to.

I don't recall my parents giving me too much grief about the music. Some, but not much. It was mostly the look. My mom hated the long hair and scruffy look. And my dad didn't care for the pierced ear or tattoos. I suppose if I got caught-up in more of the "sex, drugs and rock n roll" aspect of it, it might have been a different story. But I kept my nose clean, more or less.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

I don't recall my parents giving me too much grief about the music. Some, but not much. It was mostly the look. My mom hated the long hair and scruffy look. And my dad didn't care for the pierced ear or tattoos. I suppose if I got caught-up in more of the "sex, drugs and rock n roll" aspect of it, it might have been a different story. But I kept my nose clean, more or less.

Same here. My parents didn't really give much of a hoot about it one way or the other. Aside from telling us to "turn it down" frequently, their most common complaint was that my brother and I were pissing away too much of our allowance $ on tapes or band shirts.

Now that I think about it, the invention of the Walkman was probably a Godsend for both sides, cuz my brother and I could then jam our tunes to our little hearts' content, and Mom and Dad didn't have to hear any of it.

I do remember watching a report about the PMRC hearings on the news with my Dad, and when Tipper and her friends were holding up huge blow-ups of various "offensive" album covers (Def Leppard's Pyromania, W.A.S.P.'s Animal, Iron Maiden's Number of the Beast, Venom's Welcome to Hell, etc.) my brother and I were goin' "I have that one! I have that one! I have that one too!" ... Dad's only comment was "That's what you spend your money on? (shakes head) Jeez."

My Dad would always tell me to turn off that "Say-tonic" crap. 3/4 of the time I was listening to Vengeance Rising, Morty, Bride or something like that and I'd laugh at his accusation. Of course, when it was Maiden I'd have to defend them, but whatever. I turned out okay, and now he just grins and asks, incredulously, "you're still listening to that stuff?" Yep.

I never got the fad stuff from my parents.... heck, they bought me albums for birthday/Christmas presents (including KISS albums as a kid, my own LP/Cassette/FM/AM stereo)

Heck, my Dad thought the PMRC was a joke and made quite a few jokes about the bored Washington housewives.

Quote :

Heck, my Dad thought the PMRC was a joke and made quite a few jokes about the bored Washington housewives.

My parents thought the same thing. Mom was a Beatles fan growing up and Dad was an Elvis fan, and both of those artists went thru similar "controversies" with busybody housewives proclaiming "It's the devil's music! Ban it!"... so when Tipper and her friends came along they just shrugged like, "Pfft, good grief. Heeeeere we go again"