Us old farts can still rock! I grew up on (and still listen regularly to) The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Santana, Chicago, Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, Iron Butterfly, Jefferson Airplane, Alice Cooper, Spooky Tooth, Yes, King Crimson, Emerson Lake & Palmer, Soft Machine, Genesis, Rush, Mahogany Rush, Captain Beyond, Savoy Brown, Foghat,The Eagles,The Doobie Brothers, Grand Funk, Cream, Roxy Music,Van Halen, Foreigner and many others and that was just the 60's and 70's.
I got into Jazz Rock and Fusion in the late 70's with George Duke, Stanley Clarke, Weather Report, Return to Forever, Miles Davis, Billy Cobham, Larry Coryell just to name a few and then into Modern Jazz with bands like Spyro Gyra, L.A. Express, Tom Scott, Elements, The Yellowjackets and others and finally into what I call Jazz Age with acts like Bruce Becvar, Checkfield, Full Circle, Danny Heines, Randy Tico, Tim Timmermans, Kit Walker and many others.
Then it was on to the New Age stuff with artists like David Arkenstone, Peter Buffett, Richard Burmer, Suzanne Ciani, Robert Rich, Steve Roach Shadowfax and others.
MTV also exposed me to the second British influx in the 80's with great bands like Duran Duran, Simple Minds, Tears for Fears, The Eurythmics and as well as others like The Talking Heads and Dire Straits.
On to the 90's with Nirvana, Pearl Jam, STP, Alice in Chains and progressive acts like Marillion, Spock's Beard, The Flower Kings and of course Ozric Tentacles.
Sorry for such a long and extended list, but I think we are indeed influenced by all the music we listen to over our lifetime. As I've gotten older, I have learned to appreciate the old stuff more and more, from old blues, to the Frank Sinatra era and beyond. There is just so much good stuff out there!
Like Vlad, I don't listen regularly to Country and Western (go figure, I am born and raised in Texas!) or Rap.
Music is the opium of the masses!
Personally I love FSOL, Brian Eno, Front 242, Pete Namlook, Monolake, Dead Can Dance etc
