Tara v. John: Music

John and I agree on a lot of things.  We like basically the same types of food.  We agree on the temperature setting of the house.  We can typically sit down and find something that both of us want to watch on tv. We both like sports.  But there is one thing that John and I do not agree on.  Music.  There are bands that both of us enjoy.  These typically fall under the classic rock genre.  Let's be real though, who DOESN'T like this:

Or This:

 Or This:

   John and I can jam out to classic rock and be perfectly happy.  Many Saturday mornings or Sunday car rides have been spent doing this. But classic rock is just about the only thing we CAN agree on as far as music goes.

I grew up listening to country.  My first cassette tape was a Clay Walker album.  My first crush was Billy Ray Cyrus.  My family likes to tease me about jammin to this classic in the bathtub when I was barely old enough to talk.

When I got older I discovered boy bands.  I LOVE NYSNC.   It wasn't that long ago that some of my college friends and I went to a Backstreet Boys concert.  If NYSNC ever goes on a reunion tour you better believe I will be there.  Boys bands (and I don't mean One Direction.  I mean Boy Bands from the 90's and early 00's) will always hold a special place in my heart.  I don't know of a person my age who can't bust out the dance to this great song:

Granted, John does appreciate the NSYNC. He can jam right along with me to this album (or he would if he hadn't returned his leased car with this CD in the CD player.  Yes I am still upset that one of the greatest CD's I had is now off in CT somewhere.  Some lucky teenage girl is going to stumble across it and really discover something great).

The vast majority of the time I listen to country music.  I really enjoy it.  I love the concerts, I love the music, and I love that, for the most part, I don't have to worry about the lyrics being inappropriate while I am listening to the radio at work.  Plus, look at this video and try to tell me that Luke Bryan isn't one of the most attractive human beings you have ever seen.

As I have mentioned on this blog before, my favorite band is Parachute.  They are NOT country.  But still great (in my opinion).  I try and go to all of their shows here in Utah.  I just think they are fantastic and I love them.  Here are a couple of my favorite Parachute Songs

Now for John.  His favorite band is an Australian band Karnivool:

I don't mind them, or some of the other Australian bands John likes.  As a matter of fact, if I ever get a tattoo, there is a line from this song by Hands Like Houses that is at the top of my list for potential tattoo images:

Bonus points if you can guess what line I would get tattooed!

Then there is the music John likes that I am NOT a fan of.  He listens to the hardcore rock or whatever you call it.  I call it scary devil music because there is screaming that makes me want to curl up in a ball and cry.  Not ALL of it is horrible, but the vast majority of it I refuse to listen to.  Some of the bands John likes that fall into this category are We Came As Romans and August Burns Red.  I know there are more but since I try to avoid listening to it at all costs I don't remember the names of the bands.  We Came As Romans actually has some songs that I don't mind.  And they have a pretty sweet cover of Taylor Swift's I Knew You Were Trouble.  Check it out: 

I refuse to listen to the screaming scary music.  I will NOT go to a concert by any of these artists.  John refuses to go see country acts with me.  Neither one of us will even ask the other to attend such concerts.  We will find friends or siblings to attend, but we both know that asking the other to attend these types of concerts is pointless.  There are some concerts that, while we might not be thrilled about it, we will attend with the other person because we love them.  John will go see Parachute with me.  I will go see John's Australian bands with him. And for a while I would go see bands such as 4 Years Strong with John. Four Year Strong is a band that I actually don't mind at all if I'm listening to them on the good ol' youtube.  I know some of their songs and actually really enjoy listening to them in the car with John.

 This is an acoustic version of one of their songs so it doesn't give you the full picture of who they are.  But still, they have potential to not be a band that I would consider scary devil music.

I have gone with John to see Four Year Strong twice now.  The first time I went I had just hurt my knee.  At that time we didn't know for sure what I had done to it.  All we knew was that it hurt for me to put a ton of weight on it.  John took this into consideration and tried to get me as close to the stage as possible.  Why as close to the stage as possible you might ask?  I asked the same thing.  Everything was honky dory great during the opening acts.  And then Four Year Strong came out.  The crowd surged to the front of the stage.  I was NOT in control of which way my body was moving.  I got kicked in the face by a crowd surfing idiot.  I looked over at John and said "You can stay here with all the  BO crazy people but I'm headed to the back of this venue as far away from the crazies as possible".  I will give John mad props.  He did come and stand in the back with me until Four Year Strong was done with their set.  And then we left.  My knee was killing me but I toughed it out because John really likes them and I really love him.  
A few months later John informs me that Four Year Strong is coming back to Utah. And they are headlining.  I wasn't thrilled, but I figured he could be asking me to go to a worse show.  So I hesitantly agreed to attend the concert with him.
Well that concert was this past week.  The venue had been changed from a place we had been to before and really liked to a loading dock.  Like a legit loading dock.  It was literally a garage, half inside half outside.  You know what it's like attending a concert in a garage?  HORRIBLE!  The acoustics were awful.  There was NO space.  And it was kinda cold. John and I got there early enough to secure a spot right next to the stage.  In the grand scheme of things the best place to be if you want to be able to see a band like Four Year Strong and you are attending a concert in a garage and you don't want to me in the middle of the crazy people and the crazy mosh pits and the horrible body odor is right by the stage. The only problem with being right by the stage is that it often means being right by the speakers.  Shows like Four Year Strong tend to be very bass heavy.  Do you see where I'm going with this?  I left the show last week with what seemed like NO hearing.  And being right next to the stage didn't even mean I was immune from the mosh pits and BO.  In a venue that is literally a garage there is NO space. I still got the pleasure of not being in control of which way by body moved. I still got to be surrounded by the lovely aroma of BO. I still got the pleasure of crowd surfing idiots.  It was SO MUCH FUN. . . NOT! 
Luckily I have an awesome boyfriend that realized I was not enjoying myself.  After John had heard all the songs he really wanted to hear he guided me through the crowd of people and let me leave.  I felt bad because I know that John really likes Four Year Strong.  I just couldn't take it anymore.  I am not cut out for those kinds of shows.  I don't like not being able to hear.  I don't like not being in control of my body.  I don't like smelling BO.  On the drive home from Salt Lake John told me that he would not ask me to go to another concert like that again unless he absolutely could not find anyone else to go with him.  I am forever grateful for that. I don't think I could handle another experience like that.  I am not opposed to Four Year Strong as a band, but I am not a fan of what happens at their shows.
John and I both love concerts.  Seeing a band you love live is just so awesome.  I'm sure there will be many more concerts attended by John and I in the future.  John and I have learned about some great bands by going to shows such as Four Year Strong.  I hope to continue to expand my musical horizons by attending shows with John.  I just might stand in the back by myself from here on out :)