Dear Readers,
Music has been on my mind a lot lately. Literally. I've had my iPod plugged into my head for hours on end, wondering what tricks I can use to make Animal Collective play louder, or being caught rapping along with Dr. Dre. Occasionally I pop one ear bud out and tap it into Lucas' little ear and have an impromptu dance session in the living room. I've even been streaming my favorite classical piano music, pining away for a keyboard to play on. Day and night I've got a beat in my head and I just can't seem to get over it.
Now, please understand this is not a negative place for me to be. Between Shay and I we have over a months worth of music. Can you imagine? We could go through the entire month and never hear the same song twice with our stereo going 24 hours a day. Take out the dub step and some of the other crap Shay tries to pretend is listenable, and you're guarenteed at least 25 days worth of good music. So I have taken on this insatiable craving as a challenge to listen to songs and bands I'm not familiar with. And you know what I've found? Some real gems, like Pretty Lights and CocoRosie. I also included some blasts from the past like The Talking Heads and a few old PJ Harvey albums. Fantastic stuff. And if you haven't listened to the new albums out from Bjork or the Beastie Boys you're missing out.
At this point you might assume that I'm going to tell you what a music snob I am; that I have albums that no one has ever heard of. That I will mock your taste in music regardless of what name you drop. Unless you're my sister Andrea, I assure you that's not the case. In fact, I've realized that I am stuck in a music rut. Despite my recent exploration of our music library, I pretty much listen to the same albums and bands over and over. So, in no particular order, here is the list of the top 10 albums I've listened to consistently for the last few years:
1. Radiohead: In Rainbows
2. Radiohead: Hail to the Thief
3. The White Stripes: White Blood Cells
4: Handsome Boy Modeling School: White People
5: The Shins: Chutes to Narrow
6: Badly Drawn Boy: Have You Fed the Fish?
7: Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits
8: The Beatles: The White Album
9: LCD Soundsystem: Sound of Silver
10: Seu Jorge: The Life Aquatic
You can tell just about everything you need to know about me from this list. The only thing more revealing would be my reading list, but that's an entirely different blog. Also, there are individual songs that I listen to over and over, like a teenager newly in love or with a fresh broken heart, depending on the day. Loren's song "Honce" is played almost every day (and with a sip of PBR spilled on the sidewalk in his honor). Hot Chip's "My Baby Said" is consistently stuck in my head. Why's "Gemini" is a gift from the heaven's and never gets old.
Regardless, I feel like I have finally become old enough that I have a hard time believing that music is going to improve over what has already been made. It's a ridiculous concept, I know. Of course there will be new amazing artists and songs. But I just don't care anymore, not like I used to anyway. I can feel my arthritic self settling into this next phase of life where my interests and cares are shifted from pop culture to other distractions, like tea or crocheting. No longer will I lay next to my stereo speaker, listening to Led Zeppelin like I was the first person to discover them. Never again shall I come face to face with my rock idol and say "I love you!" like a complete jackass. There are only a handful of bands that I would pay over $50 to see live. And festivals that go on for days remind me of some sort of torture.
So I'll just settle into my rocking chair with my cat on my lap and my iPod on shuffle, enjoying the sounds that take me back to a time when I spent all my money and time on the music that's still pumping through my headphones.
Sincerely,
h.
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