The Artists Who Shaped Me: From Progressive Rock to Guilty Pleasures
Why I Never Stuck to One Genre
By my late teens, I realized I wasn’t built to stay within one genre. Good music is good music, and anything that makes me want to pick up an instrument and sing along feels like home. I’ve even been moved by the occasional country track — I’m not loyal to categories, just connection.
Voices and Artists That Left Permanent Marks
Some artists didn’t just influence me — they rewired something in me.
Jeff Buckley — his voice feels like a beautiful soul speaking directly to mine.
Radiohead — hypnotic, unpredictable, and deeply emotive.
Sting — especially his solo work, which feels enlightening in ways I can’t fully explain.
Eminem — the artist who single-handedly restored my appreciation for rap.
And of course, the guilty pleasures that are actually timeless:
Olivia Newton-John, Jeff Lynne, Prince, Michael Jackson, Bjork, and more.
Music that moves you is never something to feel guilty about — it’s part of your DNA.
Yacht Rock, Childhood Staples & My Soft Spot for Smoothness
The term Yacht Rock makes me laugh, but some of its staples have been in my top 100 since childhood.
Steely Dan was a household sound — the slickest music ever played 10 knots at dusk.
Toto
Kenny Loggins
Michael McDonald
I’m picky about what songs and artists make it onto my Yacht, but these craftsmen light me up with their sense of harmony, groove, and musical smoothness.
Genesis: My Most Important Musical Discovery
One discovery changed everything: stumbling onto Foxtrot by early Genesis.
To me, Genesis represents the pinnacle of progressive music — the perfect blend of creativity, uniqueness, rule-breaking, and deep musical intelligence, all while honoring what makes music universal.
If I had to choose a favorite band, it would be them. It still blows my mind that those five masterminds found each other.
Why The Beatles Will Always Be My Other Favorite
My other favorite band right there with Genesis is The Beatles.
Cliché? Maybe.
Undeniable? Absolutely.
Listening to them convinced me that you need not 48 tracks of Pro Tools equipped with Autotune and the latest correction plugins in order to create magical audio. Few bands can make me laugh in one moment and hit deep introspection the next. Their emotional range is still unmatched — and it continues to inspire how I write, interpret melodies, and understand the magic of songwriting.
