I wish I was like you, Easily Amused…
I’ve been listening to a lot of music I listened to when I was in High school, Partly through coincidence, and partly (tonight at least) due to the fact its 17 years since Kurt Cobains body was found, actually without even realising that this morning I decided to rock out to Nirvana on the way to work.
The first rock bands I remember getting into were Silverchair, Everclear and Nirvana. Thanks to a pretty amazing friend (or someone who should be slapped repeatedly) I ended up with tickets to see Silverchair in 96 at Festival Hall. At this stage I wasn’t really into the band but I soon fell in love with them, and music in general.
I guess I should blame Niff for my trip down the rabbit hole into the music industry, but I’m not sure if that should be blame or shower with gifts for the rest of her natural life.
Anyway. I digress.
I’ve been thinking a lot about music, and the way it used to make me feel vs how it makes me feel now. I remember when learning a song on my guitar was the most amazing feeling in the world (even if it was a hole song with only three chords), or learning how to play something simple on drums. I remember having to hunt to find a new band to listen to, or finding them through interviews in magazines with other bands I liked and then having to trek to Melbourne to the nearest record store.
I’m not sure if it’s because technology has changed the way we find music, or if it’s just that I’ve gotten old (and jaded, I mean if you’ve ever been to a show with me, chances are I’m positioned behind the mixing desk instead of in the mosh so I’m getting the *best* sound in the room), but it seems that discovering bands that blow me away is happening less and less.
The Internet, Napster, Itunes, Youtube, Myspace, it all means that music is right at our fingertips whenever we want it, but there’s no quality control anymore. I could record my dog howling and upload it and it would be there. I love the idea of being able to access everything, but who has time to sift through all the Myspace pages in even a genre or location to find that one or maybe two bands that are gems.
Instead I rely on recommendations from my friends, word of mouth and if I’m at SXSW the excitement of being able to stumble into any one of a hundred gigs to see a band I’ve never heard of. It makes me wonder what I’m missing out on though.
If you look at my listening habits, I always go back to the same albums. Nirvana’s In Utero, Everclear’s Sparkle and Fade, Smashing Pumpkins Siamese Dream, Hole’s Live Through This. All albums from around the same time in my life, when I was really starting to discover music.
This isn’t to say that I haven’t found bands I’m in love with since the 90’s, but those bands just keep coming back. I don’t know the longevity of the bands that I’ve found recently, maybe in 10 years time I’ll still be listening to them as well, reminded of a feeling, a moment in time.
I’m watching the Nirvana MTV Live DVD and lamenting the fact I never saw Nirvana live, I was admittedly too young to go to any of their Australian shows, and discovered them far too late in their career, but even on DVD there is power in Kurts voice and lyrics. I can’t help but think that along the lines, had things not gone the way they did that they would have sold out and become in many ways, much less than they are remembered as. They still would have been the band that opened the doors for the scene, but there were other bands doing similar things at the time, the timing was just right for this one band. That’s what it all comes down to with musical success like that, not just the hard work but also some pretty good timing and a lot of luck.
I wonder how the internet has changed the way people will feel about music, downloading makes music feel so disposable, it’s different to having to trek to a record store to buy an album and before you get home opening it up to pour over the booklets. I miss that, I buy physical CDS whenever I can but I know they’re a dying breed.
It feels (or seems from the outside) that while people have more access to music and to the musicians themselves, that this makes the fanbase more fleeting. If you feel like you *own* a part of a band, what happens when the music develops in a way that you’re not happy with, does it feel more personal than in the past where there hasn’t been that personal connection to the bands. And how much of the person connection is real and how much is some intern being paid at the label to pretend to be the band.
I feel like cornering some of my friends kids and asking how they feel about music, does it define them like it defined a lot of my friends at their age, are there bands that they want to know EVERYTHING about, and I wonder if they will still feel that way in 1 year, 5 years, 10 years. I wonder how many of my friends will let me quiz their kids now and a few years down the track, it could make for a good paper. Or make those kids think I really am loopy Aunt Saff
Sookie said,
May 19, 2011 at 11:41 am
Funny that you feel old as I lament not seeing Bowie or Zeplin in the 1970s, and I only want vinyl when given the choice.
If you want some advice- I’d say dig deeper into music as opposed to looking for new bands to fall in love with. But if you find a new band that interests you- wear it out like you did your favorites when you first got them.
You need to listen to a recording you like in all moods, seasons, times of day…