So pitchfork has this series where they interview artists about what music they listened to every five years of their life. It’s called 5-10-15-20. I thought it’d be fun to try it out myself so here I go.

5

When I was 5 I remember our family room being our playroom for my sister and I and at the end of the day we would have toys sprawled out all over the floor. Before dinner my parents would put on this one song by Chicago, “Hard To Say I’m Sorry”. We would have to clean up the room before the end of the song and at the end of the song the temp speeds up and we would all run around and end up dancing. It was so fun. Then we would sit down and eat Spaghetti and meatballs or something. Chicago was also my first concert. I sat on the lawn with my parents.

10

When I was ten I think I listened to classic rock a lot. I has CD’s like ACDC and Led Zeppelin. I think it was mostly from listening to classic rock stations on the radio and my friends that I got it from. I can remember going to a friends lock in (is that what they’re called?) at my friend’s church and secretly listening to “Hell’s Bells” on my CD player. I thought I was so badass. (I had a live CD)

15

When I was 15 I developed a love of all things Weezer. My art teacher used to play the Blue Album during class and after that I had to get every song they ever recorded…b-sides, acoustic, everything! Weezer was my second concert and I still remember it so clearly. I was so excited that day in school and waiting in line with my friends for like 3 hours (eating hoagies) and moshing in the crowd losing my voice and I yelled the words to “The Good Life”. It was around that time I started getting into alternative rock and listening to stuff like Cake, The Strokes, the first Franz Ferdinand album and Modest Mouse.

20

Since I’ve turned 20 I think there’s two bands that sum up where I’ve settled in my music tastes. When I was in high school I heard about the Flaming Lips when I heard “Do You Realize” on a short blip of an ad from VH1. Then I realized how music can be both strange, melodic and fun. They’ve lead me to listen to stuff like Deerhunter and Atlas Sound, Beck and Deerhoof. I’ve also really gotten into Yo La Tengo in the past year started just around my 20th birthday. They’re the complete opposite of the Lips because I think they’re more about the simple pleasure of playing music for a living. They strike me as a really humble group of people and (in my opinion) sound like the Velvet Underground but better. I love how they have these beautiful quiet songs, jangly pop songs, and wild rock songs all in the same band. I think now I’m into bands that are more diverse and try different things. (Below: The original VH1 promo I saw & Yo La Tengo’s video for “The Summer”)

I wonder what I’ll be listening to in 5 years!? Hmmm….