Losing my music
NS November 8th, 2008
I realised something the other day that both startled and saddened me — music is no longer a significant part of my life. I don’t know exactly how it happened but it has. I’m sure it was a gradual process but sometimes it seems like it happened overnight. I’ve never been a music fanatic or anything but it was a part of my everyday life, certainly. I bought music, sought out new artists, cherished the ones I already knew, attended concerts, listened to the radio, read music magazines, talked about it with other people, went to see live bands in bars and spent time thinking about particularly poignant lyrics. Nowadays I would struggle to name more than a handful of bands that are neither mainstream nor old news. Not only am I not on the cutting edge, I’ve fallen completely off the edge. This doesn’t bother me for the reason you think it might (that it makes me feel unhip or old or something). It bothers me because it means I’m not growing in my musical tastes and letting my existing ones stagnate.
Ever since I stopped working almost three years ago and so stopped using my iPod on a daily basis, I find I can go days or even weeks without turning on the radio, popping in a cd or firing up iTunes on my computer. And when I do listen, I usually just stick on what I know. Maybe because it’s familiar and comforting, maybe so I can sing along. Or maybe it’s because I’ve gotten too lazy to care about finding new sides to myself that could be explored with music. Whatever it is, there’s no denying that I let it slip down my list of things to do and of the things I love.
I actually downloaded my first song from iTunes just a few weeks ago. Usually I just pinch music off of my husband. There are three-year-olds who have downloaded more songs than I have. I don’t know why it is but it seems that my interest in music waned at about the time everything went really digital. Of course, this also coincided with me becoming a parent and so maybe part of it is that I just had less time and money to source and buy new music. And when I did have time to think about music I’d realise that I didn’t know where to go to find it anymore. It certainly wasn’t in a shop, like it used to be because I couldn’t afford to buy numerous cds anymore. I certainly couldn’t afford to take a chance on unheard of bands and singers. And I didn’t really know where to go to find it online without paying for it before I’d even heard it or where it was easy to navigate through the genres. I guess when you look at it that way it’s not hard to see how I let it get away.
Now, I’ve always been something of an oldies and classic girl when it comes to music (most of my favorite artists are from the 50s, 60s and 70s) but I like newer music too. There’s nothing like the feeling you get when you hear a totally different kind of music to anything you’ve heard before– the way it makes you hold your breath until the song is over, your pulse race, your feet tap and your heart melt. It’s like falling in love and jumping off a cliff and having a good cry all at the same time. It doesn’t necessarily have to be new music, just new to you. And that’s what I miss — experiencing music that is new to me. I was looking at my iPod playlists and realised that the only music on there by artists who have become known only in the last few years were put there by my husband. If it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t know who any of the big new bands in the last three years were. The only other way I hear new music is through a few bloggers who put songs on each of their entries, like A Free Man and Jen. I’d like to be able to find new artists myself too though, not always rely on other people to do it for me.
So tell me, what does music mean to you and how do you go about finding new artists to listen to? Do you attend live shows, read news and reviews, ask friends, visit music sites, browse actual CDs in the stores, or what? Share your expertise with me! And while you’re at it, a few recommendations wouldn’t go amiss. To give you an idea of my existing tastes, I’ll tell you who some of my favourite artists are:
Joni Mitchell, the Beatles, Ani Di Franco, Tori Amos, The Shins, Imogen Heap, Frou Frou, Zero 7, Simon and Garfunkel, Carly Simon, Kaiser Chiefs, Snow Patrol, Belle and Sebastien, Jack Johnson, Dave Matthews Band, Tom Petty, Tracy Chapman, Cat Power, Jeff Buckley, Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder and Al Green.
Suggest away!
