The time is ripe to be formed by music

apparently your music taste is formed between the ages of fourteen and twenty-four. that puts me right in the middle of my formative period. i’m not sure i’m convinced by this, because i know so many people outside of that age range who have turned on to different genres, including ones which didn’t exist when they were that age. at any rate, it’s interesting to think about.

i don’t even think that i really have a “taste” in music. i have some styles and artists that i prefer, and some styles and artists that i don’t enjoy so much, but overall i’ll listen to most things and won’t feel put out by it. as long as i can feel a rhythm, i can appreciate it. the thing that i like most is passion in the lyrics. lyrics which start somewhere and finish somewhere and tell a story or articulate an emotion or express gratitude or sorrow or loneliness. i want the music to make me cry, either from sadness or joy. that kind of thing doesn’t stick to a particular genre, which i think is why i listen to such an eclectic mix. and also different languages. i speak very little german, but sido’s songs sound so emotional just because of his tone of voice that it gets me going.

it’s also a cross-generational thing. people who talk about the “golden age” of music frustrate me, especially when they hold up incredible classic songs and compare them to any old modern trash. it works both ways - there are songs today that will stick around, and so many songs from the last hundred years (and beyond) that are awful (especially among the most prolific artists. van morrison, elton john, and the beatles off the top of my head have enormous catalogues of mediocre songs). if something’s still being played after fifty years, it’s likely to be good, and it’s not fair to only pick the good stuff in such a comparison. keep exploring, keep listening. there will be something that will suit you and make you feel how you used to feel when you first listened to the stones.

on a related note, i wish that music was more rough around the edges. polished sound is nice, but i think it only puts people off making and releasing their own music. i want music with white noise in the background, dud chord progressions, lyrical fumbles and not quite hitting the notes. but sing about the real shit, what matters to you. make something that you would want to hear on the radio, if anything you wanted to hear could be played on the radio.