Guitar And Pen

Giant Bomb is a website about video games. In some way, shape or form, that's what brought all of us here. Whether we read about video games, write about video games, discuss video games, even watch other guys play video games while talking about them, video games are at the core of everybody's Giant Bomb experience. Personally, I come here for a little of everything. The Wiki is an incredible, often overlooked tool with a lot of remarkably detailed pages, and it's become my go-to resource for video game information. The editorial content is a constant attraction, as keeping an eye on the various goings-on in the industry has long been an interest of mine. The videos are entertaining and informative, especially the Quick Looks which often provide as much insight into a game as a cross-comparison of ten full reviews. On a good day, the forum community is well worth getting involved in, too. More than anything, though, as you've probably ascertained over the last hundred-plus posts, I come to Giant Bomb to blog - to share my opinions on games and the industry with like-minded individuals, in the hope of encouraging discussion, inspiring others, or even coming away with a fresh viewpoint on something myself. I've always enjoyed reading the feedback, the recommendations, suggestions and even criticisms from my readers, as much as I have writing the blogs themselves.
 
Unfortunately, I've reached a point where writing my next blog has started to feel more like a chore than something to look forward to. I feel under pressure to churn out a constant stream of quality content, not through any fault of this brilliant community, but because of the expectations I've come to heap upon myself. Somewhat backwardly, this often has the effect of making me decide not to write anything. Episodes of Enduring Final Fantasy VII have been postponed for days, sometimes weeks on end. Topics that seemed like great ideas for blogs months ago still haven't been written. It's frustrating, because rather than writing for enjoyment, I'm writing to cater for an imaginary demand that I alone am responsible for fabricating. For this reason, today's blog isn't going to be about video games. Instead, I'm going to dedicate it to another of my passions that has recently worked its way back to the forefront of my life - music. 
 
Compared to others that I've talked to, I discovered music remarkably late in my childhood. As one of the group that have not-so-affectionately come to be known as '90s kids', living in a terraced house in south-east England with parents who didn't care much for contemporary music, I grew up oblivious and impervious to the wealth of great stuff that was being made at the time. Initially I was weaned on my parents' music, a completely incongruous mix of over-produced bubblegum 80s synth-pop from my mother's side and several assorted tracks that were synonymous with the Mod revival of the late 70s from my father's side. One of my earliest memories involving music was of me watching my father engaging in darts practice, while his vinyl copy of The Who's Meaty, Beaty, Big & Bouncy blared 'Boris the Spider' from the speakers of his record player. But beyond a brief stint of learning to play the recorder in primary school and an even briefer tendency towards the terrible pop directed at us in the latter half of the 90s, I had very little to do with music before I turned thirteen. 
 
A few weeks after my thirteenth birthday I discovered two VHS tapes (Google it, kids, they were real) belonging to my father, containing live performances from a band called Queen. Watching them back to back left me absolutely spellbound. The incredible showmanship of Freddie Mercury, combined with the band's collective musicianship and the brilliant songwriting on display, were enough to get me completely hooked on Queen, making them my first "favourite band", I suppose. Not long after that, with what was left of my birthday money, I bought my first ever CD - The Platinum Collection, a three-disc compilation of Queen's greatest hits. It received almost constant play in my bedroom over the next few months, but for whatever reason my interest in both Queen and music in general began to wane. 
 
It was brought back to the foreground shortly after I turned sixteen. In the interim I'd picked up a couple of CDs here and there, but for the most part I hadn't been too bothered by music. All that changed when my father dug out an old vinyl copy of The Who's Quadrophenia album. I was absolutely blown away by this double album on every level, but mostly because every word of every song seemed to have been written for me. This album had been expertly crafted by men who knew what it meant to be a sixteen-year-old misfit, and I clung to that mutual understanding as if Pete Townshend were my closest friend. When I went through a tough break-up later that year, the album was a key factor in helping me to rebuild my life. Keith Moon's unique and inspired drumming was also perhaps the biggest proponent in my desire to learn to play drums, which I took up at around that time. It's this close affinity with Quadrophenia, coupled with my deep appreciation for the band's talents, that has led to The Who becoming my favourite band of all time - a fact that isn't likely to ever change.
 
It was around this time in my life that I got my first part-time job, working as a cleaner in a flour mill. Right from the off, an unhealthy proportion of my wages went towards music-oriented items. I purchased my very first MP3 player, and became an avid collector of CDs. My first purchase was (of course) a CD copy of Quadrophenia, followed rapidly by the rest of The Who's discography. Next came bands I'd discovered through friends at school. My good friend Joe, a pretty accomplished guitarist, turned me on to progressive rock, resulting in me purchasing a few Pink Floyd and Genesis albums. Other friends had introduced me to artists as diverse as Led Zeppelin, The Fratellis, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Muse. Parallel to these events, I discovered Last.fm, and through it a great deal of music recommendations came my way. The final source of new music at this time was my father's CD collection, which I have to thank for introducing me to The Jam and, by extension, Paul Weller. Off the back of all these influences, my friend Joe and I formed our first band, an attempt at classic rock emulation dubbed Self Diagnosis. Despite being unofficially disbanded as a result of University commitments, we still meet up and practise together when we can, and it usually results in some pretty inspired jams working their way out of our instruments. 
 
In the time between now and then my music tastes have been pretty much established as centering on guitar-oriented rock and blues, with The Who, The Black Crowes and Paul Weller making up the bulk of my listening these. My most recent discoveries that have rekindled my love of music are the incredibly talented blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa, American rockers Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Audioslave, and Paul Weller's latest album, Wake Up the Nation, all of which have been instrumental (no pun intended) in turning me back on to music after a significant lull in my listening habits. While I used to believe that there was a "golden age" for rock music back in the 70s, I've come to acknowledge that good music is always being made, and that older stuff simply has the benefit of more public exposure. I'm constantly on the look-out for exciting new music to expand my already vast library of over 4000 songs, and any recommendations that anybody is willing to throw my way will definitely be looked into. If anybody out there is interested in checking out my musical tastes a little more in-depth prior to recommending me anything, my Last.fm profile may be found here.
 
I'd like to close this blog with my favourite song of all time, along with a succinct apology for the lack of video games present in this entry. I think I need a little more time to clear my head and remove these strict expectations that I've placed upon myself. Hopefully, as with my relationship with music, it's simply just a lull, and in time something will bring me full-circle back to the point where I want to be - enjoying writing about video games. Thanks for reading guys, I'll see you around.