Entertainment For Lively Minds
Great Music You Never Heard Till Quite Late in Life
I've just been listening to the great Golden Years David Bowie documentary on the iplayer and it's reminded me that apart from a few singles, I'd never really heard any David Bowie albums until about 10 years ago. This is even more surprising when I tell you I'm now 48, so was in my late thirties when I heard songs like 'Stay' for the first time - it was prompted by seeing that great BBC live performance around the same time, still not available to buy so far as I know.
I think a lot of it comes down to what your friends like, whether you had a big brother/sister who could introduce you to stuff and maybe your early first impressions of an artist - I probably saw my first David Bowie album in the house of someone who was a total dick so forever associated him with a particular type of person, who knows.
Anyway, what major artists dd you not really discover until quite, or indeed very, late in life?
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Tom Waits
In my world he didn't exist until three years ago. Similarly PJ Harvey did not appear on my horizon until 2011. I now have just about everything by both artists on my ipod.
I think most people have at least one if theyre honest
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Bob for me
I didn't really get, or attempt to get, Dylan until I was about 30. I had he idea that he was somehow 'difficult', and not for me.
In the end it was two discs of Dylan covers given away with uncut that led me to the songs, and then Dylan's own records. Within a few years the only artist to outnumber him in my cd collection was Richard Thompson.
Fairport Convention (more specifically Sandy Denny)
In my mind they were 'folkies' - bearded, earnest, with rollicking go-nowhere, ersatz, fol-de-rol, sing ho for Sir Roger de Coverley, ballads about maidens and lusty young ploughmen.
I'd heard some Steeleye Span at Uni and vowed never to listen to such dirgeful, finger-in-ear tedium again.
Then I read Rob Young's superb 'Electric Eden' and thought, well, perhaps this 'Unhalfbricking' sounds quite interesting...
Bloody Hell. What a band, what a singer! I've now got a best of Anne Briggs and might even try a Traffic album next...
richard thompson
I was the same with richard thompson, now I love just about everything hes done
John Martyn
and Jackie Leven. Missed them altogether to my lasting regret.
Neil and Aimee
I spent much of last year exploring the back catalogues of The Divine Comedy and Aimee Mann, who are now two of my favourite acts. I was dimly aware of both for years, but it was only a steady drip-feed of approving comments on this blog that persuaded me to listen to them properly.
It’s interesting that all the artists mentioned so far in this thread are great songwriters as much as anything else. There’s something timeless about a well-written song that means it can grab you whenever you hear it for the first time.
Now someone is going to prove me wrong by claiming that they fell in love with The Dickies in their 60s...
Nick Lowe
Somehow Nick Lowe passed me by until very recently. Don't know how or why but great to find something new that you can go back and explore their back catologue