Do you think you could do my buddy Bob's old job?
I don't think I could unless I was unemployed and needed a job quickly because the mortgage payments were due and I had to eat. I can't even listen to music on the radio or TV. I'm that guy that long ago did away with the DJ and decided that I was only going to listen to music I wanted to, when I wanted to. Of course, it hasn't always been a perfect storm, sometimes it's unavoidable, but it hasn't been for want of trying !
Just how musically adventurous are you or are you locked into the music of your younger years ?
I remember saying to people at HR back in 2010 or 11 that I wasn't looking for new music anymore. I had {have} a vast collection and had been through several listening and acquiring phases from '73 until 2009. And I loved them all. It was so exciting, discovering either new genres, new artists or new albums or new songs. So often, in fact virtually every time, I was going against the grain of those that I was hanging with. Back in '79 when I discovered Pink Floyd's first two albums, I was in a city where everyone was going disco ga-ga. It was huge. And there was I, Mr Unfashionable, who didn't party or have muscles, getting into these weird albums from the 60s. My cousin said to me "Typical you, always
has to be different." But he was wrong. I genuinely loved the Floyd's music. They changed my musical headspace and opened the door to so many other arenas, not least jazz. As a kid, I loved the pop of the 60s and 70s. Through my sisters, I acquired a secret appreciation of the likes of David Cassidy, David Essex, Carly Simon, the Osmonds and the Bay City Rollers. I discovered the Jackson 5 and the Beatles all on my own. I heard the Stones through my cousin Eric. My Dad unwittingly turned me onto classical and the easy-listening path I learned from my Mum with her Jim Reeves, Man of LaMancha soundtrack and Seekers. All the other paths came my way through school, friends, curiosity or accident. But I had the greatest time. And I stayed even when they'd long departed and moved on to something else.
So to answer the question, after that ramble, I think that I'm both. I am unashamedly locked into the music of my younger years and I don't actively pursue new stuff. But every so often, I'll hear a song that I like and I'll buy it. It might be one from 1970 or 2021. It'll be new to me. It might come from a TV show or be something one of my kids is listening to. My personal tastes are very adventurous ~ you have to be to get into Indian music when everyone around you is listening to reggae ! And I think this reflects itself in the actual music I make. It's a real mish-mash that happily goes beyond my personal limitations as a player.
I consider myself open minded
I consider myself closed-minded in an open-minded sort of way. Or open-minded until my mind closes. Once I like something, I'm not going to stop liking it, except in very rare instances.
Same as I am with food, roughly - I'll try anything and be open minded about it
I'm at my most closed-minded when it comes to food. I like what I like and if I don't like the look or smell of something, on pain of death will it cross my lips, let alone enter my goblet.
I can be open-minded though, at surprising times. This morning, I made myself scrambled eggs and added mushrooms, pineapple
, peppers
, cheese
and onions
. No surprise there. But I saw some strawberries
in the fridge and added some. I had never eaten a strawberry in my life up until this morning. So that was damned near revolutionary for me.
Tasted great in the eggs, by the way.
But I do recognize my inner biases
Not only do I recognize mine, I revel in them.
I seem to be predisposed to material that is closer to what I grew up with
That's natural. I've long held the theory that human beings will be disposed to music they've heard from really young. Peer pressure can also "dispose" one to a particular genre.
it is just all music. Trying to pigeon hole it into different genres I have always found to be for communication purposes only
I have to disagree wholeheartedly with that. Yes, it is "all just music" in the same way "disease" is all just "disease" and a bike and an aeroplane are just "vehicles." But you try getting from England to South Africa on a bike or heading downtown to buy some bread on a plane. Or treating influenza the same way you would neck cancer or a broken leg.
For me,
not pigeonholing music into specific categories is sheer ignorance and just trying to be clever where cleverness isn't required. That isn't to say that there aren't overlapping and very grey areas. Fusions exemplify this. But can you imagine walking into a record shop {oh, those days !} and asking the person behind the counter for some music ? You might want some Diana Ross or Gladys Knight for your convalescing Mum and the shop person gives you Metallica or Stryper.
Mama gonna
love you !
I have a friend who once, to make a point to an audience about the believability of an eye-witness, ate the contents of a can of dog food.
It was sickening to behold.
Some time later we were talking about the misapplication of the term 'classical music' and he said his favourite composer was Bach.
He was at a loss as to why I laughed and laughed !