Instrumental (Narada/New Age), Foreign (Pop), some Classical (Baroque), Movie Soundtracks, Trance, Alternative, Popular, Rock, Metal ... plus a little bit of everything else, a music for every mood. You will find my knowledge of the 'entertainment scene' (music, movies etc) somewhat lacking due to the long periods of time I spent overseas and in remote areas (of Canada). For the few artists and albums I found palatable the tendency was to lean more toward instrumental and foreign music. The reason primarily being lyrics: I find many song lyrics (and the ideas therein) of the English speaking-world unsatisfying. Whereas foreign music, due to my inability to understand the lyrics, I can instantly connect to the rhythm of the music and emotion of the song. Present & past, these are the names and works of the more influencial musicians I know and remember ...
Female Vocalist:
Lisa Gerrard (of Dead Can Dance), Alka Yagnik ("the reigning queen of Hindi film music"), Sinead O'Connor (when she uses the full extent of her voice -- example album: The Lion & The Cobra), Bjork, Deborah Harry (her solo work & with Blondie), Dolores O'Riordan (of The Cranberries),
Male Vocalist:
James LaBrie (of Dream Theater), Geoff Tate (of Queensryche), Rob Halford (of Judas Priest), Axl Rose (on Appetite For Destruction only, before his vocals were wrecked), Sebastian Bach (of Skid Row), Morten Harket (a-ha),
Female Artist (present & past):
Fiona Apple, Tori Amos, Chantal Kreviazuk, Bjork, Jewel, Dido, Jennifer Lopez, Madonna, Sarah McLachlan, Deborah Harry, Laura Branigan, Mitsou, Sinead O'Connor, Sheena Easton, Cyndi Lauper, Whitney Houston, Belinda Carlisle, Sam Brown, Paula Abdul, Arethra Franklin, Kate Bush,
Male Artist (present & past):
Lenny Kravitz, Peter Gabriel, David Bowie, George Michael, Robert Plant, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Nash The Slash, Michael Jackson, Harry Connick Jr., Andreas Vollenweider, Gowan, Billy Joel, Prince, Eric Johnson, Barry Manilow,
Bands (present & past):
fave band is Dream Theater (1993-present); faves before this were The God Machine (1993), Queensryche (1991-1992), Kiss (1985-1990), and Duran Duran (1982-1984). Other bands I like are Killswitch Engage, Linkin Park, Portishead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Corrs, Massive Attack, Prodigy, Santana, The Cranberries, Radiohead, Sepultura, The Tea Party, Pantera, Dead Can Dance, Skinny Puppy, a-ha, Pink Floyd, Megadeth, The Doors, Alice Cooper, Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, Judas Priest, Skid Row, Dokken, Scorpions, Motley Crue, Whitesnake, Ace Frehley, Aerosmith, Vinnie Vincent, Bon Jovi, Blondie, Heart, EZO, Def Leppard, Fastway, Toto, ABBA, LA Guns, Kingdom Come, Guns'n'Roses, Journey, Ozzy Osbourne, The Cult, Cinderella, The Alan Parsons Project, Wham, Eurythmics, Sisters Of Mercy, The Rolling Stones, Great White, Genesis, Thrill Kill Cult, The Cure, Nitzerebb, Ministry,
Most Influencial Artist/Musician:
The one, the only -- Paul Stanley
Most influencial album:
Dream Theater's Images & Words (1992). Runner-ups are The God Machine's Scenes from a Second Storey (1992), Skinny Puppy's Too Dark Park (1986), Dead Can Dance's The Serpent's Egg (1988), Queensryche's Operation: Mindcrime (1988), Megadeth's So Far, So Good ... So What! (1988), The Doors (1967), Skid Row (1989), Led Zeppelin I (1969), Alice Cooper's Billion Dollar Babies (1973), Kiss' Alive! (1975) & Creatures Of The Night (1982), Paul Stanley's solo album (1978), A-ha's Scoundrel Days (1986), Duran Duran's Rio (1982), Blondie's Eat To The Beat (1979), and Dream Theater's Octavarium (2005).
Most influencial songs
(there are many, many other songs I could add to extend this list, but this covers the basics): Dream Theater's
Learning
To
Live
is my all-time favorite song; in the beginning, however, it all started with
Hungry Like The Wolf by Duran Duran. Come Undone is an additional fave of mine;
Scoundrel Days, The Swing of Things, Manhattan Skyline, Slender Frame by A-ha;
Troy, Jackie by Sinead O'Connor;
Musica Eternal, Song Of Sophia, The Host of Seraphim, The Writing On My Father's Hand, Ocean, Orbis de Ignis, Radharc, Chant Of The Paladin, Echolalia (and other songs sung) by Dead Can Dance's divine vocalist Lisa Gerrard;
Everybody Wants Some, Ain't Talkin About Love, Right Now by Van Halen;
Let's Get Loud, Waiting For Tonight by Jennifer Lopez;
Purity, I've Seen The Man, She Said by The God Machine;
Foolish Games by Jewel;
Play Dead by Bjork;
Wait For Sleep, The Mirror, Pull Me Under, Sacrificed Sons by Dream Theater;
Wild Is The Wind, Wanted Dead Or Alive by Bon Jovi;
Spasmolytic, Death by Skinny Puppy;
Street Spirit (Fade Out) by Radiohead;
Mama, Land Of Confusion by Genesis;
Godhead, Sugar Sweet by Nitzerebb;
Holy Wars, Anarchy In The UK by Megadeth;
Caught A Lite Sneeze by Tori Amos;
Back Door Man, My Wild Love, Peace Frog, People Are Strange, Break On Through (and other wonderfully carnival-esque songs) by The Doors;
Sailing by Christopher Cross;
Lovesong by The Cure;
Stagefright by Def Leppard;
Black Diamond, Rock Bottom, Detroit Rock City, Love Gun, I've Had Enough, Turn On The Night (and many, many other songs) by Kiss;
Take Me Away (Together As One) by Paul Stanley (my favorite song & style from the man who defines the Kiss sound);
Ratamahatta, Kamaitachi by Sepultura;
Crossfire, I'm Leaving You by The Scorpions;
That Time Of Year by Vinnie Vincent Invasion;
Breaking The Rules by Ozzy Osbourne;
Close My Eyes Forever Lita Ford & Ozzy;
All Time High by Rita Coolidge;
Smooth Criminal by Michael Jackson;
Breathe by Prodigy;
Teenage Frankenstein, Eighteen, Luney Tune, Billion Dollar Babies (and many other songs) by Alice Cooper;
What Love Can Be, 17, Just Like A Wild Rose by Kingdom Come;
Babe I'm Gonna Leave You, Dazed & Confused, In The Evening by Led Zeppelin;
Beautiful Life by Ace of Base;
Slow And Easy, Still Of The Night by Whitesnake;
Shine On You Crazy Diamond by Pink Floyd;
Speak, Spreading The Disease, The Mission, I Don't Believe In Love, Eyes Of A Stranger by Queensryche;
Otherside, Californication by Red Hot Chili Peppers;
If Looks Could Kill, Crazy On You by Heart;
Criminal Mind by Gowan;
Shock The Monkey, The Rhythm Of The Heat, Solisbury Hill, Big Time by Peter Gabriel;
Ribbons, More by Sisters Of Mercy;
Everything She Wants by Wham!;
One More Reason, One Way Ticket, Over The Edge by LA Guns;
Little Red Corvette, When Doves Cry by Prince;
The Show Must Go On, Under Pressure by Queen;
Crusader by Chris Deburgh;
Surrounded, Souls by Chantal Kreviazuk;
The House Is Rockin by Stevie Ray Vaughan;
More Human Than Human by White Zombie;
The First Taste, Sullen Girl, Criminal by Fiona Apple;
Mandy, I Write The Songs by Barry Manilow;
Ridiculous Thoughts by The Cranberries;
Bitch, Undercover Of The Night by The Rolling Stones;
Nightrain, Civil War by Guns N' Roses;
Opportunities by Pet Shop Boys;
I Don't Care Anymore by Phil Collins;
101 by Sheena Easton;
Condition Critical, Metal Health by Quiet Riot;
Closer To You by Glass Tiger;
Maneater by Hall & Oates;
It Keeps You Runnin' by The Doobie Brothers;
Cry Little Sister by Gerard McMann;
Napoleon by Tom Cochrane;
Troubled Soul, A Little Love by Sam Brown;
Foolish Beat by Debbie Gibson;
Kickstart My Heart, Looks That Kill by Motley Crue;
Somebody Save Me, Bad Seamstress Blues/Fallin Apart At The Seams, Gypsy Road by Cinderella;
She Bop by Cyndi Lauper;
Honey Honey by ABBA;
I'm Alive by Love & Rockets;
Crash'n'Burn by Don Dokken;
Youth Gone Wild, 18 & Life, Quicksand Jesus by Skid Row;
Hiway Nights by Great White;
Solitaire, Satisfaction, Mama by Laura Branigan;
Goodnight Saigon, The Stranger by Billy Joel;
Ship Of Fools, Heaven Knows, Tie Dye On The Highway by Robert Plant;
I Build This Garden by Lenny Kravitz;
Rosanna by Toto;
A Prayer For The Dying by Coverdale/Page;
The Beast by Concrete Blonde;
Boys Of Summer, Dirty Laundry by Don Henley;
Separate Ways by Journey;
Borderline, Material Girl, Cherish (and other songs) by Madonna;
Sweet Dreams by Eurythmics;
Chalice by National Velvet;
Close To You by Maxi Priest;
I Want Your Love by Transvision Vamp;
In Love With Love by Deborah Harry;
King Of Pain by The Police;
Crossroads by Ry Cooder;
Union City Blue, Rapture, Atomic (and other songs) by Blondie;
We Are In Love by Harry Connick Jr;
Bela Lugosi's Dead (the gothic equivalent of 'Stairway to Heaven') by Bauhaus;
Jesus Build My Hotrod, Psalm 69 by Ministry;
A Daisy Chain 4 Satan, The Days Of Swine & Roses by My Life With The Thrill Kill Cult;
Rag Doll, Hangman Jury by Aerosmith;
Protection by Massive Attack;
Pull Out The Pin by Kate Bush;
Laughing On The Outside (Crying On The Inside), I Wonder (Where You Are Tonight), Drinking Again by Aretha Franklin;
The Sentinel, Blood Red Skies by Judas Priest;
The Greatest Love Of All by Whitney Houston;
Dancing Nowhere by Stacey Q;
Rocking In The Free World by Neil Young;
Wild Child by WASP;
If You Could See by Fastway;
I Want You (She's So Heavy) by The Beatles;
China Girl, Glass Spider, I'm Afraid Of Americans by David Bowie;
Pretty Mess by Vanity;
The Bank of China Tower,
"situated at No. 1 Garden Road in the Central district of Hong Kong. This 70-story Tower reaches an overall height of 367.40m and has a total building area of 135,000 sqare meters. The Tower was designed by the well known American architect of Chinese descent, Mr. I.M. Pei. Mr. Pei took the growth of the bamboo plant as his design inspiration, symbolizing the enterprising spirit and future growth of the Bank of China as it shoots skyward section by section. Construction was started on 18th of April, 1985, and the official opening took place almost five years later on 17th May, 1990. The Tower glistens like an everchanging prismatic crystal whether viewed from the harbor, the mountains, the air, or from nearby passer-bys at ground level. After nightfall, the mirror-glass of the Tower reflects the lights of Hong Kong like a diamond."
(East) Indian actresses:
Aishwarya Rai, Madhuri Dixit, Malaika Arora, Amrita Rao, Juhi Chawla
Films: