Hitting quite a strange point in my relationship with music at the moment.
Until about 18 months ago, I had built my music collection in an almost straight line from the age 15 onwards. I thought that each new artist I found should develop my musical palette. (In other words, the evolution of my taste and the growth of my collection seemed simultaneous.) For instance, I discovered and got into Elvis Costello at the age of 20, half a decade after having gotten into Feeder. I had a clear sense of how Elvis Costello was better than Feeder. The problem is that, about 18 months ago, I plateaued. I found it increasingly hard to find new things I enjoyed and – at the same time - found myself bored of the old albums. Unable to find a solution, for the past 18 months I haven’t stopped listening to music. I simply haven’t paid much attention to what I listen to. It hasn't seemed worthwhile.
This past month though - having sorted out a boat load of other things - I started listening to the old music again. And I found something strange. The opinions that I’d developed as a teenager e.g. about why this album as better than that one, and how it mattered etc. were gone. Just vanished from my memory. So - though I remembered the words and music to each song - I could listen fresh. This then means I’ve been discovering entirely new things about these songs I thought I knew back to front. For instance, I find I listen to songs differently. Five years ago all I cared about were lyrics. Lyrics lyrics lyrics. If an instrumental started, chances are I’d tune out. These days though, I get a much more immediate pleasure from listening to the instruments. More often than not, I don’t hear the words at all. In addition, I don’t feel the need to compare and evaluate as I once did. I doubt I know enough about how I listen to music now to describe my taste - but this feels like a whole new thing. Feels like an opportunity to explore a side of myself I didn't even know existed in music. Which is nice.
