Finding Music

I started my music blogging in April, though the listening that led to it started earlier than that. Still, a lot has happened in less than a year, because what really kicked it off was Lisa providing her alternatives to my list of love songs, so that was around Valentine’s Day.

Since then, I have listened to a lot of guitar and a lot of crappy pop. I have fallen in love with My Chemical Romance, had my love for other bands deepened or rekindled, and been to four concerts, three of which were ones that filled specific holes in my concert-going history.

In terms of where I am now, I am still working my way through previously mentioned books, movies, and great guitar bands, but that has sort of paused as I have been focusing on preparing for concerts and then blogging about them afterwards. (See yesterday’s post for more on that.)

At one point, when it was just balancing Rolling Stone’s top 100 Greatest Guitar Songs list with exploring tween pop, I would wonder what would come next. I knew I was going to want to know more, and there was so much to know, and I was thinking about influences a lot.

One idea that led to was starting way back in time and moving my way forward. Partly it was thinking about the 80’s, and my theory that Republicans in office leads to bad times, but good music. If I could examine the musical history along with the social history and search for correlation, it would be interesting whether I found any or not.

Other things came up though that broadened the scope. For example, when Donna Summer died, people were reminiscing about how “I Feel Love” changed music. I had not heard it before, but I listened to it then. I didn’t honestly like it, but there was a story about how Brian Eno came to David Bowie with it and said this is the future of music, which is what Bowie thought they had been doing, but…

He said, "This is it, look no further. This single is going to change the sound of club music for the next fifteen years." Which was more or less right."

So I was thinking about the knowledge it would take to immediately understand the significance of something, and to be able to accurately predict its future, and that is amazing to me. So, great respect for Brian Eno there, of course, but also, new appreciation for the song.

Also, Rolling Stone’s number one was Johnny B. Goode, and it seemed like part of that was its novelty. This was a new way of doing things, and it had an influence. Looking it up though, there are references to other songs that influenced it.

Also, I was remembering The End of the Century and at one point it showed this map of all the bands that sprung up everywhere the Ramones played. When we saw the rock exhibit at the Oregon Historical Society, they had something on the bands that sprung up from the Ramones concert here. Sometimes, when I was checking out new bands, there would seem to be little clusters that started around the same time, so who toured then?

The point is, I don’t even know how far back to go. Obviously blues, and jazz guitar, going into the 20’s. Do you look at Ragtime? Do you start with the invention of the phonograph? There’s so much to be explored.

That would be the most expansive way. Other thoughts I had were working my way through the diagram on the board from School of Rock which I actually did try once, but some of the bands were disappointing so I didn’t keep at it. I thought I could work my way through a Fanatic! If you are not familiar, Henry Rollins has a radio show, and then he puts together “song lists and notes”. He had a lot of musical knowledge and he gets some variety in there. He was the one who led me to “Babylon’s Burning” by the Roots. I have Volume 2 already. I would learn a lot from that.

As it is, I want to do all of those, but I don’t actually need to search for music, as it seems to come looking for me. Just from concerts I have seen recently, I have another seven bands to review. By the time I am done with them, I may have seen another one or two.

After that, I will start on the bands that have come to me via Twitter. That number is currently at 22. And, there is sort of a combination Twitter/concert thing on that which could add another 6-9 bands.

Also, reading the Hip Hop book and the Emo book has left me with a lot to listen to before I really understand that. I really want to write about Emo at some point, but I will need to listen to a lot more first.

Speaking of which, my young Twitter friends keep mentioning bands about whom I know nothing. I probably should check them out. It is completely possible that they fall into a new wave of Emo that happened after Nothing Feels Good was written. I do not know, but it feels like something I should know.

This is not to mention side projects that different band members have, or the 43 ones left from the comments on the top 100 list, or the question of whether I will try working through Rolling Stone’s top 100 guitarists, or that one book I will read is not finished now, because I realized I needed to go through it slowly, listening to each player as I read his interview. (That’s a collection from Guitar Magazine interviews in the 70’s.)

It also does not get into this feeling that I really want to delve into music theory, maybe take classes or start drumming again. I do not have time for it now, but maybe when I turn 50, and start my next 10 year plan cycle, I will put it there, so that in 2032 I will be part of a small rock combo. Because, you know, people are totally waiting for more geriatric rockers who did not successfully establish themselves before they were geriatric.

I guess all I really have is the continued confirmation that I want to know everything and see everything and try everything. I guess I want to listen to everything too. You know, today I listened to a black metal band from South Africa, and that’s not really my genre, but I liked it.

Anyway, back to the lists that started it all, they are both Spotify playlists now. I still like mine better, but I will always be grateful for the introduction to the Misfits. And Lisa is engaged now, so maybe she knows love songs better than I do. I admit, you shouldn’t listen to mine when you are depressed about no one loving you. Trust me on that one.

http://sporkful.blogspot.com/2012/04/non-annoying-love-songs-and-alternative.html