Get to Know your Fellow D.B.Oer | Music (DBO)

by Kermit , Raleigh, NC, Monday, April 09, 2018, 10:49 (2206 days ago) @ INSANEdrive
edited by Kermit, Monday, April 09, 2018, 10:54

I have recently found myself with time to just... think. It's been nice. One of the things I've been pondering about is music, why I like what I like and what not. I've lived long enough now that through my memories I can watch the journey I've had thus far of my musical taste. From the seeds planted by my parents own musical tastes, to now where a set of sounds can transport me in time as effectively as smell can. Not only transport but change a room, like some sort of shared psychosis. After all, it's not the room that has changed, but the people in it.

I know. This post is off the cuff here I... I wasn't planning this or anything, it's just I yet again find myself with simple curiosity and an outlet to ask of it. I mean, at worst, Funkmon will present us with an essay why the Polka is ultimate form of music or something. :P

So I'm just going to throw down some questions here, and see where this leads.
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• What do you look for in music? What is musics purpose for you?

Music with a hook (vocal or instrumental), so I’m not an anti-pop snob, but stupid lyrics tend to turn me off, and I do appreciate a zag where I was expecting a zig. Depends on the genre, too. I generally dislike most popular country, but I love traditional country and Americana.

Music is the language of emotion, and outside of the pharmaceuticals no other stimuli affects mood more. I don’t mean to characterize it as only that. Great music is art and does what art does: it expresses something fundamental in us. Also, more so than when I was younger, music has becomes a means of time travel.

[*]How has your taste for music changed, if they have, through the years and what do you think caused this/these change(s)?

Grew up in a household were music was greatly valued. Several people on my mom’s side of the family were professional musicians for some or part of their lives. Worked in a record store through all of the 1980s, and as a result I have about 1,000 LPs (this doesn’t count digital or CDs). During that time I liked at least some things in every genre of music (and could convince newcomers to any genre that I was an enthusiast). I liked all pop as a kid in the 70s (bad and good), but the Beatles were my touchstone, and following the roots of their music back got me into 50s rock n roll, girl groups, Motown, country (Hank, Sr!), tin pan alley, what have you. Following their innovations forward got me into more experimental stuff like Roxy Music and Bowie. I deejayed for several years in college (mainly new wave, punk, college rock [lots of stuff Cruel likes]), I saw hundreds of shows between 1980 and 2000, including many big names before they were that big (To name a few: saw U2 at their first U.S. show of their War tour [amazing], Ryan Adams played at my house during a party once—I’ve met quite a few people, too.) In my 20s and 30s I went to club shows frequently. Around 2000 I slowed down some, but instead of going to PAX as a fan pilgrimage, I went to SXSW, and at the time was familiar with most acts I saw there. Some of you already know I’m a big Springsteen fan. I’ve seen him close to 30 times.

I listen to much more classical than I used to, but I don’t know if my tastes have changed (and for better or for worse, gaming has supplanted music as my primary hobby). I simply find less new music that interests me now. (This depresses me a little. I never wanted to be one of those old people who was clueless about what the kids liked.) Even when I hear something I like, it tends to remind me of somebody else that already did something very similar 25 years ago. There’s a sameness to Top 40--I can’t tell a lot of it apart. Whereas I used to buy one or two albums per week, now I’m back to how I listened to music as a kid. For one thing, my young-adult concern for street cred is dead, Zed (think of the John Cusack/Jack Black characters in High Infidelity). I listen to streaming services, and whereas I used to buy 45s every week, now I buy a song or two and become obsessed with two or three albums per year (Last two albums bought: Dan Aeurbach—Waiting for a Song, Phil Spector—Back to Mono box set [That's been on my wish list for 30 years]. Two favorites from the last five years: Daft Punk—Random Access Memories, Jason Isbell--Southeastern). Last live show: The Blasters? Last live show I’m sorry I missed: Dengue Fever. Next live show I’ll see: Paul Simon (his last tour supposedly). They’ll probably need to schedule some bathroom breaks for that one.

[*]Bonus Question: Have you ever played an instrument? If so do you still play? Are or were you any good? Is there anything you've thought about playing?
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No, I’ve dabbled on clarinet (in school) and piano and guitar (at home). The highlight of my musical career was playing “Moonlight Sonata” from memory for my uncle (he played in an orchestra and was the true musician of the family). I did it perfectly only once, for him. I have my mom’s piano now. I’d like to take lessons, but I think it will be challenging due to a hand injury. :(