[BubonicPlague]

Everyone knows that we somehow wanted to fit in with a community growing up, and most of us did that through style and music.

So I'll tell my part, as a teen I was pretty alternative, black Gothic clothes and dyed hair. I listened to mostly metal, and Goth/Synthwave. Now I mostly wear vintage-inspired clothing, with some Goth-type accessories having to do with aliens and space. I'll listen to any type of music now, especially if I can jump around, mosh, head bang to it, or dance.

So I am asking everyone, whether you were into Hip-Hop, Rap, Reggae, Metal, Soul, Classic Rock, Oldies, Classical, Country, Electronic/Dance, etc. I want to give a shout out to all the people out in the alternative community, the modest, people of all backgrounds, classes and subcultures.

What music did you get into as a kid, what was the subculture, and your style? Also, to this day IF you are an adult, do you still live on with the lifestyle?

[KD1980]

Punkish, and I was really into alternative music growing up.

I'm no longer involved in them. My hair is no longer blue or purple. But I'm so glad I used to be that person.

the first cd I got was "barbie girl" by aqua, and i'm not embarrassed to admit it, because I still like that song (and other songs by them) to this day

I also liked take that, the spice girls and westlife (so top 40, UK pop music)
I grew up with lots of diffrent music.

my mother loved reggae which I had no interest in, and grandmother liked michael jackson (she used to have the video tapes of his songs), and one of my earliest memories as a child is dancing to one of his albums.

also a lot of 90's rock was played on my street, which I had very little interest in- I guess ultimatley I just found what I liked and didn't take influences

I do still like MJ though, about the only thing I grew up with I listen to

[WishfulThinker66]

I was part of the "New Wave" culture - music and clothing pretty flashy and out there. Thirty-five years later and I still sport funky hair. I've never had flat hair since 1982, haha.

[Sometimes psychotic]

I was a nerd, didn’t listen to much music other than whatever happened to be on the radio and a few tapes of ambient noise, waves, rain etc. I think these days I’m less of a nerd, not as smart due to cognitive issues and more social thanks to my meds...I feel as though I’m an average Joe these days. I now listen to pop, world, and acoustic and Spanish guitar.

[Poiuytl]

Originally Posted by Sometimes psychotic

I was a nerd, didn’t listen to much music other than whatever happened to be on the radio and a few tapes of ambient noise, waves, rain etc. I think these days I’m less of a nerd, not as smart due to cognitive issues and more social thanks to my meds...I feel as though I’m an average Joe these days. I now listen to pop, world, and acoustic and Spanish guitar.

And you never miss being a nerd? Sorry if that question sounds insensitive, I guess it comes from me having slight narcissistic traits. I sometimes wish I could have been just a full fledged nerd, instead of trying to appeal to peers who were to old for me. And who listened to music I didn't like.

[Sometimes psychotic]

Originally Posted by Poiuytl

And you never miss being a nerd? Sorry if that question sounds insensitive, I guess it comes from me having slight narcissistic traits. I sometimes wish I could have been just a full fledged nerd, instead of trying to appeal to peers who were to old for me. And who listened to music I didn't like.

Maybe I am still a nerd if you define it by doing your own thing? I do miss being as smart though.

[eskielover]

We are talking back in the 50's & 60's for me & there weren't the subcultures like have popped up since then.

In my day it was like sports or cheerleading or music/band were our basic subcultures along with students who excelled vs students who didn't.

I fit into the students who excelled but had to work harder at it than those growing up in households with parents who valued education. I always was in music....grade school orchestra through marching band in high school & college. I did my own thing & listened to CLASSICAL & Baroque music. I focused on the things that interested me.

Lol....at 66 I am still the same. No subcultures unless you include the horse community here & being involved in community & church & living alone on my farm keeps me too busy & involved to have time to think of much else. Caring for my woodsy critters that come for food. Totally different life than what I grew up in Los Angeles. Rural country is what I always wanted & now have....but probably not considered a sub-culture.

My accounting & computer science degree got me a good career for 15 years & it still helps to be the techie of the people around me.....just enough to figure things out & get them to work

[Mountaindewed]

I really started listening to music in 2004 when I was 11. I had Avril Lavigne’s “Complicated” and Vanessa Carleton’s “1000 Miles” on repeat on my portable CD player. Then when I was in Jr. High 2 years later I listened to mostly Green Day, Blink 182, Fall Out Boy, and Fountains of Waynes.

Now the only thing I listen to is the stuff that comes on 80’s on 8 on Sirius radio. I still dress the same though. Hoodies, T shirts, jeans and Vans. My hair is super short now instead of super long.

I’m accepted way more now than I was when I was a kid. Those people that say it does get better are right.

[Unrigged64072835]

I grew up when it was preppy or punk. I was a bit of both. Music was a mix of pop, punk, and rock.

Now I’m more of a jeans and T-shirt person, though I’m working on expanding my wardrobe. My music tastes expanded some to include world music, but still about the same. It’s cool to find old favorites touring and making music. I’ve seen bands that I’ve been wanting to see since my teens, but just couldn’t afford then.

[saidso]

I was into Motown. The opposite of my peers who were worshipped rock stars. I did go to a couple of good rock concerts by the Who.

I grew up listening to my dad play jazz, so the rhythm and harmonies are why I listened to black music rather than 4/4. Plus rock stars seemed to make very "male" music.

I was lucky that there were some wonderful musicians around then. I was waiting at a bus stop recently and a car went past playing loud late 60's early 70's music, and even after being dead so many years it was friggin beautiful.

I don't listen to Motown now. I do listen to good African blues guitarists - they feed my soul when life sucks me dry.

[gina_re]

I still listen to the same music I grew up loving, late 90s and early 2000s rock music. It's all that's on my iPod. Current music doesn't sound as good to me. And I still dress the same as I did in high school. I've been told I look ten years younger than I actually am.

[MuseumGhost]

When you're born with artistic talent, your subculture is pre-determined for you.
I always felt a little odd and out of step and out of place, even in my own family. I am usually most comfortable around other artists; even the, "annoying", ones.
I was surprisingly young when I developed a non-conformist attitude, although I couldn't really express it until high school and later.
I have always been very eclectic in my tastes, and do lean towards alternative EVERYTHING.
I'm pretty open-minded, and have never judged anyone for their life choices.
I have long-ish hair, almost always have---and am still wearing mostly dark, plain clothes, loose and comfortable, as much as possible.
I am an environmentalist as well as a designer.
I am pretty sure no one can quite understand where I'm coming from, unless they are realists, perhaps have a pretty wide creative streak, and maybe experienced a few bumps in life. These things lead to much more compassionate individuals.

[cptsdwhoa]

Oh boy this takes me back (grin)!

Well, when I was about 10 I was really, really, REALLY into Britney Spears haha! Loved her. Her Baby One More Time... album was actually my first cd in the fifth grade circa 1999. That was like the gateway to all things pop for me haha. Britney, Christina Aguilera, N'sync, and the Backstreet boys...TRL...ya know the tween scene twenty years ago. I loved it.

But then at some point I discovered rock music. It started simply enough by the time 2002 rolled around and I discovered Avril Lavigne. But then by time I got to high school a year later I was a full blown punk loving teen (anyone remember that Afropunk movie? yeah I was in love with that movie and scene...other afropunks like me existed!) with a little bit of Coldplay mixed in haha. My taste in music was actually really wide even though I never would have admitted I ever had that tween pop phase haha.

Then...it happened...I was introduced to my favorite band for YEARS...The Kills. I pretty much only listened to them for years. I really got into them, Andy Warhol, Velvet Underground, and that whole scene. I fashioned myself bringing that whole artist collective scene back.

Now, I listen to a lot of jazz and artists like Nujabes and Devin Morrison (getting back to my 90s R&B roots I think lol). My tastes are still really wide, but I'll always love anything 90s.

[cptsdwhoa]

Originally Posted by raging vortex

the first cd I got was "barbie girl" by aqua, and i'm not embarrassed to admit it, because I still like that song (and other songs by them) to this day

I also liked take that, the spice girls and westlife (so top 40, UK pop music)
I grew up with lots of diffrent music.

my mother loved reggae which I had no interest in, and grandmother liked michael jackson (she used to have the video tapes of his songs), and one of my earliest memories as a child is dancing to one of his albums.

also a lot of 90's rock was played on my street, which I had very little interest in- I guess ultimatley I just found what I liked and didn't take influences

I do still like MJ though, about the only thing I grew up with I listen to

Oh...how could I forget. Yeah the Spice Girls was life there for awhile . I had the dolls, listened to the music, watched the movie. Oy lol

[cptsdwhoa]

Originally Posted by Mountaindewed

I really started listening to music in 2004 when I was 11. I had Avril Lavigne’s “Complicated” and Vanessa Carleton’s “1000 Miles” on repeat on my portable CD player. Then when I was in Jr. High 2 years later I listened to mostly Green Day, Blink 182, Fall Out Boy, and Fountains of Waynes.

Now the only thing I listen to is the stuff that comes on 80’s on 8 on Sirius radio. I still dress the same though. Hoodies, T shirts, jeans and Vans. My hair is super short now instead of super long.

I’m accepted way more now than I was when I was a kid. Those people that say it does get better are right.

I listened to a lot of the same.

You know what? Now that I think of it things did get better. My peers and I were made fun of by our families so hardcore because we were black kids into punk, rock, and alternative music. We wore alternative clothes, loved our chucks and vans, and hung out with the skateboarders lol. Our high school was a refuge because it was an arts school where everyone was "weird."

Nowadays it's no big thing for black kids to wear vans (there's even a song about it) and to be really into Jimi Hendrix (another phase I went through ). I'm happy that things have changed for the better.

[Poiuytl]

I listened to jazz music like an old fart. Bebop.

Contemporary things, fashions, music, I linked with self-abuse and abuse through others. I preferred staying at home, in peace, reading books, watching TV, listening to old music.

Probably I was never healthy enough to enjoy staying out late, drinking and stuff. I did it, but only to be with the ones I perceived as "cool", who were mostly just regular failures, but with the right kinds of jeans and boots.

I also consumed hashish in the wrong ways and much too early through peer pressure. Today I strongly believe I messed up my brain then. I wish I could have been left alone, I would have developed into something better and finer.

Or not.

But generally, I think joining "subcultures" is a form of weakness, and means subjugation to other "norms", not freedom.

[Poiuytl]

Originally Posted by Poiuytl

I listened to jazz music like an old fart. Bebop.

Contemporary things, fashions, music, I linked with self-abuse and abuse through others. I preferred staying at home, in peace, reading books, watching TV, listening to old music.

Probably I was never healthy enough to enjoy staying out late, drinking and stuff. I did it, but only to be with the ones I perceived as "cool", who were mostly just regular failures, but with the right kinds of jeans and boots.

I also consumed hashish in the wrong ways and much too early through peer pressure. Today I strongly believe I messed up my brain then. I wish I could have been left alone, I would have developed into something better and finer.

Or not.

But generally, I think joining "subcultures" is a form of weakness, and means subjugation to other "norms", not freedom.

What a negative last comment!

The final words of the doomsayer!

I never thought of myself as being in any subculture. I wasn't part of any cliques. I guess perhaps the closest to that, one might consider, is that I was extremely into ballet between ages 10 and 16 years old. After that, I was not as serious, but still took some Modern dance classes, and occasionally ballet. I've also taken ballroom and Latin dance in more recent years. I had started studying ballet at 8 years old. By the time I was about 14, I was already taking seven lessons per week (four weekday nights and on Saturdays). Given that intense time dedication, most of my major friends were ballet friends. You'd usually see us walking around in tights and leotard with leg warmers (popular then) and ballet skirt or sweat pants, with our hair up in buns. But at school, I was sort of more of the U2 kind of style, but that wasn't really a "subculture", I don't think. I was a deep thinker back then and enjoyed friends at school who were deep thinkers and at the same time humorous. I went through a major Irish music phase.

My musical interests are broad. As a kid, I grew up in a musical family where most everyone played an instrument. My grandfather and second cousin were part of Jazz/Dixieland bands. On weekends, my family (paternal side) would have jam sessions with my grandmother or cousin playing the piano, grandfather the trombone or guitar, uncle the bango, my dad the double bass, and often someone playing percussion. I would dance and dance. That was in the 1970s. At that time, lots of people liked all kinds of great or fun music (from Led Zeppelin to disco to punk to Queen...all kinds of music). During my ballet days, I was obviously into classical music, too. I still love classical music. My husband is very into it. The 1980s brought about some great music, too, including U2, Queen, Cheap Trick, The Cure, The Police, even Michael Jackson was at his best. I was not really into heavy metal. The 1990s were interesting music years. I liked Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Jane's Addiction, Red Hot Chili Peppers. I also thought some of rap and hip hop was pretty cool! I liked some pop music, but not bubble gum type or boy band stuff. I really dislike the newer music of recent years and have never been a fan of country music. I know I've left out a lot of great music that I like(d) from the 1950, 60s, and even before.

In my 20s to mid 30s, I was traveling around the world. I had some interesting jobs and started my career towards the end. I had some friends, but wasn't part of any clique. Sometimes I was a loner.

I always joke about how when I became middle-aged I started liking Billy Joel. I sort of see him as a middle-aged person kind of music. Obviously not all middle-aged people, though.

Alternative, heavy on the post-punk. I thought the shift in music that started late 70's was the greatest thing that ever happened in music. (Punk/post-punk/alternative etc, but *especially* post-punk). I think the luckiest thing in my life is that my "prime" (if you will, you know what I mean), coincided with this shift. I have been described by others as goth (I *do* wear a LOT of black... ), but I feel that is a bit restrictive to my style both musically and fashion-wise. I do not strictly follow any herd, and love to defy stereotypes.

I am 56 (though perceived as younger) and still very much have my own style, fair to be described as above. I am perfectly fine with my, um, unique style. It's who I am.

I often wonder, when people think it's weird to be... let's call it alternative -- when someone's older -- I would ask, "at what age to plan to stop being yourself?"

Maybe if someone only joined a subculture when a kid/young adult to fit it, it wasn't really them. But if it truly connects to their soul, why would that change?

(Sorry, but I have to disagree with you, MuseumGhost, in saying, "When you're born with artistic talent, your subculture is pre-determined for you." I don't think anything's pre-determined. And yes, I'm a creative. For starters, the closest thing to my subculture didn't even exist when I was born. Also, true creatives don't tend to be in boxes. Outside the box most likely.)

[healingme4me]

Ok....I was at the turn of pre-subculture subculture. I used to say, I was Emo before there was emo (note scar(s))and goth before there was goth(note this pic in my yearbook). And yet I was also an athlete, a brain and fashion savvy while at it. Well, that depended on whether my mom recognized that tall legged jeans were indeed going to cost a little extra? Enough to pull her husband off a weeks worth of lottery though? Nope..
Rap met Rock when I was in Middle School....all became fair game from that day forward. I grew up on Zeppelin and Black Sabbath and also enjoyed classical music when with my grandparents which was often.
I lately go from Tyler the Creator to Pearl Jam. So do I miss my teens? Oh heck no.....

[MuseumGhost]

For Innerzone: You might have misunderstood what I meant when I wrote what I did. I should have clarified my intention. Most artists are seen as outsiders, even in their own families. They basically have to hang with other Creatives to be understood and appreciated.

I am reminded of this on a regular basis, even now.

There are no 'boxes' involved. Only other groups of people who 'get' us, and those who don't. Those numbers are fluid and always changing.