Why do you listen to the kind of music that you listen to

[geofra]

I remember as a little kid on family trips listening to what my dad put on - 70's FM radio - I remember the nasally voices that were trendy back then ("Alone Again, Naturally"). I don't know why that particular aspect of 70's music sticks in my head.
I also was affected by the spacey jams in 70' s music ("Fly Like an Eagle"). They were my lullabies on school nights.
I grew restless for different sounds as I went into high school. My brother listened to hair bands which I absolutely despised - mostly because my brother loved them. I gravitated towards blues and jazz mostly because they had a great guitar sound (Elmo' James) or wonderfully evocative sounds (Miles Davis). I also got into classical music (Mozart, especially) because my cousin was a dj for the public radio station and I liked to listen to her.
College was where I discovered Punk and Alt Rock. The radio in the area I came from did not play this music. I never heard of REM until I saw them play "South Central Rain" on the Letterman Show (1984, I think). Firehose, Replacements, U2, they all opened my ears to different sounds.
After college, that was it. There were new trends in music and some bands (SoundGarden, Beastie Boys) did outstanding work, but music never seemed new and exciting as it once did.

I guess what is imprinted on my brain is a guitar sound that is low on the fret board, slow to moderately fast finger work, and melodic. The bass is exuberantly skipping along or slow and setting a mood. The drummer is very creative as he keeps time (like a jazz drummer). And the singing voice is strong, almost in your face (Aretha Franklin - I like women's voices). Other instruments, such as pianos, saxophones, flutes, horns, etc. are never the featured instrument. They are used as accents.