The Slow Descent Into Music

For a long time I was a musical snub, insofar as I refused point blank to listen to music because I thought it was terrible. I was at an age where puberty was about to hit, so my peers were going ga-ga over different artists and I, being oh-so superior, decided that music wasn't worth any effort. I actively repelled it.

It sounds silly now, but can you blame me when the only artists I had as reference points were Steps, S Club 7, Busted and Abba (along with a host of equally cheesy popstars). None of the above groups seemed appealing, what with all their songs being over the top in the peppy stakes. If that was all the music world could offer me, I wasn't bother with it.

In contrast, my sister loved music. She loved choreographing her own dance routines, lip-syncing and general bouncing all over our shared bedroom to hits by the Spice Girls. She would screech "reach for the staaaars!" whenever I walked by and I would smile to myself, reassured by my choice to boycott these atrocious tunes.

Considering these days I never leave the house without my iPod, I quite clearly hit a turning point. It came in the form of a rebellious teenage singer-songwriter who grabbed my attention with her hit single, Complicated.

Yes, you heard right. Avril Lavigne was my first proper foray into the music industry.

She did what no other artist had done up to that point; she showed me that other genres existed. She wrote her own music (something I respect immensely even now), it was about life, it wasn't overtly poppy and I was taken by how "meaningful" said lyrics were. I could relate to the song and I liked the way it sounded. I especially liked Avril's image and wanted to emulate her (I asked for a skateboard for my birthday and never used it, but hey, it looked cool).

I didn't find or discover Avril Lavigne or her album Let Go on my own. Actually, I didn't discover her at all. My Mum gifted the album to me one birthday and I decided to give it a go, shoving it into my portable CD player (I can assure you those things were not portable). I was immediately hooked and when I got my first MP3 player a year or so later, I uploaded the album onto it, along with a few My Chemical Romance and The Rasmus tracks.

Despite turning a corner with regards to the way I perceived music, I still didn't fall head over heels in love with it. I had no obsessions or bands that I absolutely had to see in concert. I didn't desperately count down the days to a new release. I just kinda liked a few songs and didn't hate listening to the radio. That cataclysm didn't occur until I was thirteen and the band at the centre of it was Linkin Park.

How I discovered Linkin Park is a little less conventional when compared with the ways in which I've discovered all my favourite artists since then. I happened to be at home alone, flicking through the music channels the way my Mum does whenever the adverts are on. I did this out of habit and I wasn't paying much attention as I continually hit the down button on the remote. After a while something piqued my interest. Not the music. No, my interest was piqued by the music video, which happened to be in the form of an anime.

I love anime and manga, and have done since I was a kid (you can thank Pokemon for that love). Interested by the style of this video, I stopped to watch it and was immediately struck by the story it was telling. Coupled with the lyrics and vocals, it was a very moving and compelling experience. I clocked the name of the song and band (if you haven't already figured it out, it was Breaking the Habit by Linkin Park), and set off to discover more about them via the internet (I think we were still on dial-up in those days).

After seeing Breaking the Habit on television, I then listened to Numb via Yahoo! Music (oh those were the days!) and decided I needed the whole album. I physically needed Meteora. For the first time in my life I was pining after an album and I had done so after listening to two tracks.

What followed went a little like this: I went on a shopping trip with my parents (I hated shopping as a kid too) and while we were in Woolworths, we browsed the music department. I must have deliberately sought out Meteora in the 'L' section of the albums stand and I definitely remember finding it. I turned to my Mum and asked for the album, to which she replied "you can wait until Christmas" or something along those lines. I persisted and asked to her to buy it there and then, since it was the first time I'd laid my hands on a copy and thought it highly unlikely that she would be able to find it again. She agreed and stashed it away for Christmas.

That year I hurried to my stocking and pulled out the first CD looking present I found. Once I had my hands on Meteora, I never let go of it. I spent the whole of that Christmas listening to Linkin Park whilst playing Spyro: A Hero's Tail on PlayStation 2, and I have super fond memories of that time. Whenever I load up Spyro now, I think of that Christmas and Meteora.

As for my love of Linkin Park, it started right then. There wasn't a track on Meteora that I didn't like. My gamble had paid off and I'd found a band to be a devoted fan of. I am still a massive Linkin Park fan to this day and have an array of varied artists on my iPod to listen to whenever I can grab a moment.

Music is a massive part of my life now, and I wouldn't have it any other way.