Aidyn: Besides LL Cool J’s Mama said to knock you out, was there any other rap records you liked?

AntimonyOrchid: With rap I tend to listen to individual songs rather than whole albums. I liked The Chronic by Dr Dre, but not the lyrical content. I should listen to more but I’m not very motivated to.

Yuhzimmi: How long have you been on Genius and why did you start using Genius?

AO: I joined Genius on June 7th, 2020. I had been using the website to learn lyrics for some months before hand, as I found that it was user friendly and had a large number of songs that I listen to on it. I had two reasons for creating a profile: first, there were a few annotations on Judas Priest that infuriated me with their lack of information and insight, and there were quite a few songs that weren’t on the website, particularly by DeWolff and Asomvel. So I joined to use my skill in writing and obsession with trivia and research to fill in knowledge gaps.

AJ: Who do you think Freddie Mercury was more influential than Kurt Cobain, or Kurt Cobain more influential than Freddie?

AO: That’s an apples to oranges comparison. In general I think Kurt will end up being equal to Freddie, but only now is that becoming apparent.

AJ: What moment of your life besides music changed you the most?

AO: A personality is the cumulative result of many life events, so it’s a little misleading to point to any one event. That said, my childhood ended when I finished Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. My diagnosis with a neurological condition also seriously changed my life, both physiologically and psychologically.

Y: Do you want to become anything more than an editor on genius?

AO: I do, I’m trying to gain enough experience with mediating to convince a mod to mentor me.

AJ: What was the first record you listened to?

AO: As far back as I can remember my parents have listened to whole albums around me. One of the earliest that I chose to listen to by myself was Fleetwood Mac’s live album The Dance. Others include Santana’s Supernatural and Journey’s greatest hits. First record on vinyl I listened to was Joan Baez’ Diamonds and Rust.

Y: How long did it take you to get your first role on genius?
AO: People don’t believe me when I say a month but it’s true. I met vintagewashingmachine, a fresh editor at the time, in the Rock Genius forum. We started DMing about our shared music interests, and then he offered to mentor me. A month later Vinny had kept me focused well enough that I was ready to be considered for promotion. I’m still amazed at the outpouring of goodwill I got in the wake of it, thanks to everyone that puts up with me.

AJ: Out of all your birthdays, which one did you think was the best?

AO: I’ve liked all my birthdays. I enjoy being alive and always have.

AJ: What are ur fav biopics?

AO: Haven’t seen many. I loved Bohemian Rhapsody (2018). Does Black Beauty (1994) count?

AJ: When you were homeschooled, was it hard?

AO: It depends on what you consider hard. I went in depth on the subject in a recent Get Involved. Probably less than public schooling, objectively.

Y: What’s your favorite genre of music, and artist?

AO: I’m notoriously bad at picking favorites. Rock is my favorite genre, but that’s kind of cheating because it’s such an umbrella term. I have many favorite bands and artists. One of my longest obsessions is Styx, the prog-rock band from the 70s best known for a goofy song about robots.

AJ: You said before you liked Adele, what was your favorite record by her? I feel like 30 was her best record but that’s just my opinion.

AO: Easily 21 , one of my favorite records ever, closely followed by 19. Next best is 30, then 25, which is a pretty uneven album comparatively.

AJ: Foo Fighters or Nirvana?

AO: RIP Taylor Hawkins, one of the best drummers I’ve ever heard. But as a band, I prefer Nirvana. The Foo Fighters is a good pop-rock band, and Nirvana is one of the most unique, innovative, honest creations of the last 40 years. It’s hardly a fair comparison.
AJ: In your opinion which female rock singer was the most influential , in my best opinion it was Joan Jett .

AO: Before Joan Jett, there was Suzi Quatro. She is one of the earliest examples of a woman in full-fledged rock. Grace Slick, Linda Rondstadt, and Janis Joplin weren’t really rockers but Suzi was. She proved that it could be done.

AJ: The Beatles or Rolling Stones?

AO: Both. The Beatles is goody-two-shoes music I listen to with my kid brother, but also pure art. The Rolling Stones is the original rock ‘n’ roll rebel music that doesn’t feel out of place next to heavy metal. The Beatles showed how good pop music could be, the Stones showed how good ripping off the blues could be.

AJ: David Bowie or Elton John?

AO: David Bowie. To be fair, I can and have listened to David for straight months, but I’ve never listened to a whole album of Elton, so I’m basing my opinion off of poorly balanced exposure. I have Elton songs I love, so I should give him a chance. I just like Bowie better so far.

AJ: Who are your most favorite people to hang out with?

AO: IRL my family. On Genius, you, BuhHromu, Evergreen Sherbert, and vintagewashingmachine.

AJ: Did you like sports as a kid?

AO: Never played. Only one I enjoyed watching was hockey. Mostly for the instant replay of brutal injuries.

AJ: Over the years, did you ever have a taste of fashion that just changed over years?

AO: In the words of David Bowie, “They mistake fashion for style.” I’ve always been fashion illiterate, but very interested in the different ways of being beautiful and well dressed. A lot of it has to do with persona: the way you dress signals to the world what kind of person you are. So as my personality has grown and changed, my style has with it. I used to hate pink because I was a tomboy that didn’t want to be mistaken for a girly girl. Over time I developed a healthy apathy, and am now comfortable with occasional touches of classy girliness. The basics haven’t changed though, I’m still the jeans ‘n’ t-shirts type.

Y: Do you think music affects the world more than nature?
AO: If by nature you mean Mother Nature, then no, music is a transient experience of a transient existence. In a million years, whatever sentient raven people evolve to take our place won’t be able to dig up a music fossil. If by nature you mean human nature, music is basically a product of human nature, and affects the world in a somewhat more positive way than, say, war or prejudice. Music is useful because it’s one of our main ways of articulating the search for meaning, whether theistic, atheistic, gnostic, or agnostic. It’s a direct method of sharing emotions and thoughts with others, so the implications can be pretty extraordinary for the world. There’s a reason that the Golden Record we flung out in to space has music on it: it’s a distillation of humanity. Come to think of it, that may mean it would only be meaningful to us and the Golden Record may reflect a terribly anthropomorphic potential interaction with extraterrestrial life. Oh well, at least we get it.