a. you aren't listing to it in the right format

the other day i did a little test. while researching some new music, i stumbled across a wide array of little labels that were doing cassettes only. i got to digging around within that. whoa, there is some really cool stuff being done within that realm. and also being a person that likes black, round records, i went on the net and researched some new vinyl records that were being released. not re-issues of older stuff but currently made music. guess what?

all my musical dreams have come true! it is as though, viewed through that lens, all of the mainstream has disappeared, and all we have left is interesting, cool music being put out in inexpensive awesome sounding/looking formats. imagine my surprise and happiness at this revelation! damn.

here's a bit of an analogy. i read a fair amount, and i have an electronic reader, plus i read some stuff on my smartphone and some stuff on the net and all that. and i guess virtual reading is a valuable resource and a badass way of tapping into the database of all extant information {symbolized by the letter "e"}. however, you don't really get the experience that way. if i really want to jam, i have to dig the real book. it's kind of like computer flight simulators. they have some really nice ones, where a person can basically fly all over the u.s. within a detailed simulation of the earth with random weather and all that. guess what? it's not as breathtaking as actually getting behind the yoke of a little plane and taking off and flying around.

it's a simulation. it is not the actual experience.

within my own system, that is analogous to the cd/mp3 experience. it's a valuable tool. very convenient on so many levels, and i download stuff like it's going out of style. and gosh being able to get on youtube and research like crazy is an amazing tool. but it's not the real deal. it is a convenient simulation.

the real jam, is cassette and vinyl, and ultimately the live show. for lots of reasons that i won't get into here.

think about this. if you go into a record store, the folks that are the heaviest into music will likely be thumbing through the vinyl. only your friends that are really heavy into music know who is playing next week in that filthy club downtown.

in reference to format, here is a definition to consider: objet d'art: an article of some artistic value.

b. you got so caught up in what you were doing, you forgot to listen.

kind of a cliche story arc to american life goes like this: a person goes through school, and music is part of the fabric of their life. their friends listen, and they listen, and they create the soundtrack of this kind of movie of their lives. then they either go to college or start work. in the former example, they still groove with friends and stuff for a bit, but in either case, eventually, the old clock on the wall starts ticking and the grind starts. the person starts sweating real estate, and retirement and kid's college, or whatever success or goal in their work world, however that gets played out. the result being they get so wrapped up in the struggle of the material world, that music really just becomes burdensome. here are some common phrases of this particular rut:
"well they just don't make music like they used to!"
"i'd go out and hear music but it starts so late!"
"well i used to like music but then i had to get serious about my life!"

all of that stuff. sometimes a person gets to be 40 years old or so, and they often think that whatever was popular when they went to the senior prom is still the best music ever, so since that artist is dead, music is over. the rat race and the propping up of the system will push the search for great new music aside, as well as the search for unheard old music. {the system needs you working a bunch and in lots of debt, and probably on lots of meds.} perhaps that is why the eagles play at casinos, and pretty lights doesn't.

c. you got lazy

you know, even with all this data so readily accessible, the one constant in my life is that it still takes about the same amount of work to uncover cool stuff as it always did. the ratio is still about the same. so one has to spend a certain amount of time digging. and it's much easier to let that slide, and just complain. and not be blessed by glorious music.
don't blame the artists. "they are all so lame now!" actually there is more cool stuff being done now than ever. and there is more access to older stuff than ever. this is really a great time to be a music fan. try just pretending the mainstream doesn't exist.

d. your friends don't listen so why should you?

one of the primary places to find out about great stuff is through having friends who like music. that's where i personally find out about lots of stuff anyway, through my more knowledgeable friends. if a person's friends aren't into it anymore, that can be a bit of a disincentive to a tribe member to seek things out on their own. "well geez no one at the office is jamming, so i better not either. wouldn't want to upset the apple cart."

i am so blessed by having great friends that are way into different musics. it's like having a support system or something. life support.

e. you never did listen to it anyway {music never did mean that much to you}

when i was a young man, growing up in a small town in the 70's there were basically two channels. jock or freak. the freaks were really into music, the jocks, not so much, though they had their own soundtrack to their rituals. i still see this kind of weird dividing line in our society, decades and time zones away. {they have lots of music for folks that hate music, just like they have books for folks that hate reading, and so on.}

f. you are kind of a dick to begin with

the thing about art, it's kind of a one way deal. the person makes it, and you have to deal with it, or not. i think self-centered people may perhaps have a hard time letting this control go. for some odd reason, many folks think that artists are interested in hearing opinions about set lists and other business decisions. kind of like armchair quarterbacks {jocks}. it's amazing to see giant groups of people struggle with, and subsequently not be able to affect, decisions from artists. it just doesn't work that way. {okay, i suppose it does happen in some realm that i have no interest in, where the art is focused-grouped, but i just pretend that shit doesn't even exist.} in order to be really blessed by a music, one has to give up some control, but it's okay, you can always turn it off or leave it it gets too intense but it's worth checking out. for a super control freak, this can be really hard. to a certain mindset, listening to music would involve cessation of self-thought, and lord that ain't gonna happen!

i notice that sometimes if i get feeling kinda agitated and weird, it can be fixed by turning up some great music and listening and being swept away by that. in that place, all the negativity and un-fairness and stuff just kind of melts away and i feel good again. i love hearing new music. i even love finding old music i didn't know about. to me it's a process. and not an event that happened back at some other point than now. for example in my system, music is proof that time doesn't exist, or is at least elastic. i can go and hear music from all these great artists, and in many cases i can find more stuff on them now than i could when they were alive and putting out music. that realization will put a spring in your step!

my point, is that you might be happier with some great music in your life. it's a place where all that other negative stuff can melt away. don't forget about that feeling.