kewagi
My Digital Music Collection
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Every human has an emotional side. Mine is like a giant monument covered with a camouflage net - always there, but only visible on occasion. I normally suppress this side, unless someone (or something) forces me to reveal it. One of the few singers who can do this to me is Sheryl Crow.
Now, this is weird. First of all, she has about as much indie music cred as a dead badger. But a few years ago, in my early twenties, I decided I couldn't care less about the coolness factor of a band - it's always just the music that counts. This revelation came to me through a song by Ricky Martin - "Private Emotion" - I heard the accoustic part at the beginning of the song and fell in love. As soon as I realized just who played that number, I was enlightened.
Second, Sheryl's a woman, and normally I have a hard time relating to music written and/or performed by women. Not because hold any primitive sexist thoughts, but because I'm a guy, and no matter what the gender abolitionists say, there are certain differences in perspective.
And still, every time I listen to her songs, it sends shivers down my spine, and I get an uncontrollable urge to tune my guitar and play for a while. I once knew a girl who could play "Strong enough" better than Sheryl herself, and she taught me a bit. I guess that's it - all the songs are a delicate mix of nostalgia and hope.
I guess I'll go and grab my six string now.
Well, autumn is here. It's effing cold, the sky is grey and I feel like hibernating. At such times, I set my iTunes to Random and wait for some kind of inspiring, uplifting song to appear. This time, I got a result that I didn't expect - I only had The Go! Teams' "Thunder Lightning Strike" for a short time, and until yet didn't find the time to listen to it. Then "Bottle Rocket" came along, and this song rocks so hard I almost feel like it's squat in the middle of summer.
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When I'm down, there's nothing like bluegrass. Banjos should be prescribed like antidepressants.
When I was a kid, we had a show on local tv called "Wurlitzer", where you could call in and request a song. Of course, their supply was extremely limited - some folk song, something by David Hasselhoff and maybe a pop song once in a while. The world was rather bleak and music didn't matter too much to me.
Then, a new radio station called FM4 went on the air. They played from 19:00 to 06:00 the next day, which was extremely unusual, and their music was even stranger to my little prepubescent mind. The first song they ever played was "Sabotage" by the Beastie Boys. Nowadays, kids would consider this a tame pop number, but back then, it was like you just introduced nuclear fission to stone-age tribesmen. From this point on, music played a constant role in my life, upt to the point of defining how I live it.
The first music-oriented group I counted myself a member of was the urban punk scene in the late 90s - mainly because I was homeless at the time and lived with punks. The music of the time was equal parts Green Day and German punk. I had my grunge phase before that, but it was merely a fad for me - and I look horrible in flannel. And besides a few strays into Soundgarden territory, all the Grunge I ever heard came from Cobain.
With 18, I was what could be described as pre-emo retro indie hipsterdom - addidas jackets, sneakers and longsleeve-shortsleeve shirt combos were obligatory. The music we listened to was made by sad-looking 20-somethings from northern Germany like Tocotronic, mixed with everything that was currently acceptable in the alternative mainstream media.
Around my 20th birthday, I morphed into a metal/goth type - wearning a black leather trenchcoat, headbanging the nights away in dirtly bars drinking way too much alcohol. I admit that, besides the usual mix of Scandinavian metal and German post-industrial goth stuff, I even had a Manowar album at the time.
Two years after that, I traded the trenchcoat for something comfortable by H&M overneath a shirt with some kind of witty print or slogan, and had my first experiences with electronic music - and after 2 years, what started out as open hate has turned into acceptance, and even joyous contact from time to time.
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I can totally relate about the emotion thing. I tend to do the same thing unless it's dragged out of me. There are a few artists for me that do the same thing Sheryl Crow does for you. Josh Groban, Lifehouse and recently Keane. There are just certain songs that send a shiver down your spine and you can't explain why. There's a song called "Love Song Requiem" by Trading Yesterday that had me in tears when I first heard it and I haven't a clue why.
I dig that Strong Enough song. And I agree, coolness factor should have nothing to do with the enjoyment of music. It may be a perk, but not the motivating factor.