When I was a kid, we had a show on local tv called "Wurlitzer", where you could call in and request a song. Of course, their supply was extremely limited - some folk song, something by David Hasselhoff and maybe a pop song once in a while. The world was rather bleak and music didn't matter too much to me.Then, a new radio station called FM4 went on the air. They played from 19:00 to 06:00 the next day, which was extremely unusual, and their music was even stranger to my little prepubescent mind. The first song they ever played was "Sabotage" by the Beastie Boys. Nowadays, kids would consider this a tame pop number, but back then, it was like you just introduced nuclear fission to stone-age tribesmen. From this point on, music played a constant role in my life, upt to the point of defining how I live it. The first music-oriented group I counted myself a member of was the urban punk scene in the late 90s - mainly because I was homeless at the time and lived with punks. The music of the time was equal parts Green Day and German punk. I had my grunge phase before that, but it was merely a fad for me - and I look horrible in flannel. And besides a few strays into Soundgarden territory, all the Grunge I ever heard came from Cobain.With 18, I was what could be described as pre-emo retro indie hipsterdom - addidas jackets, sneakers and longsleeve-shortsleeve shirt combos were obligatory. The music we listened to was made by sad-looking 20-somethings from northern Germany like Tocotronic, mixed with everything that was currently acceptable in the alternative mainstream media.Around my 20th birthday, I morphed into a metal/goth type - wearning a black leather trenchcoat, headbanging the nights away in dirtly bars drinking way too much alcohol. I admit that, besides the usual mix of Scandinavian metal and German post-industrial goth stuff, I even had a Manowar album at the time.Two years after that, I traded the trenchcoat for something comfortable by H&M overneath a shirt with some kind of witty print or slogan, and had my first experiences with electronic music - and after 2 years, what started out as open hate has turned into acceptance, and even joyous contact from time to time.