So I’ve devised a solution: I drive a week in silence. I consume most of my music in the car, so by driving a week without music, I’m effectively removing most music from my life, for a week.
It’s hard for me not to become jaded at the whole world of music. Being in the music industry, and specifically a guitarist, I can’t listen to music without thinking things like:
- Hmm, that’s a strange/super awkward chord selection for the chorus. Bad job producer. You should have caught that.
- I wonder what delay pedal that is? Oh, who am I kidding, it’s probably a plugin.
- This song is only I, IV, and V.
- I can’t believe this band has been touring for the past 3 months with *insert*
- That is SOOOO ‘98. Wow.
When I grew up out in the middle of nowhere in East Texas, I was in the car for a couple hours a day usually because I was 30 minutes from school and 30 minutes in the other direction to everything else. These long drives were critical to my development and I would never, never, never trade them in for a short commute to society and back. I had huge CD cases with hundreds of albums in each, and they were babied as my prize posessions. (Sidenote: I had a friend who had his car broken into in Dallas and the thief stole his CDs. This would have been traumatic to me. ) When I had the luxury of lots of time by myself driving, I had the time to really “get into” an album. I’d put it in and drive to it for a week or two, really getting to know the lyrics and parts. Now, I download a few albums a week, and my driving time is significantly less, so even albums that I really like don’t get the attention that they would have back in the day. This is a shame.
All that being said, after a good weeks worth of music cleansing, I’m back in the game, and I have some things I’m really excited about:
First, the Mumford & Sons album has finally brought about something really new and fresh in my musical bubble. The beautiful lyrics and melodies, the dynamic song structure, and the killer instrumentation have been exactly what I’ve needed. I’m fairly certain that come December, this will be my album of the year.
Second, Sleigh Bells are straight up blowing my mind. I don’t even know what I’m listening to when I’m jamming them, but I do know that it’s AWESOME. Hardcore guitarist meets M.I.A.’ish girl with rap beats? I’m in.
Lastly, I’ve finally gotten to where I can listen to country music and appreciate it. BUT, I’m extremely picky, and odds are that if it’s played on the radio, I’m not going to like it. I’ve learned that I’m into the old country vibe with good storytelling and dirty vocals and production. So yeah, thanks to Ryan Bingham and Eric Church for dominating my airways this past week.
love,
Mark
