Musical Resolutions
The "new year's resolution" is not a horrible idea at first glance. You take the start of the year — psychologically tagged as a time for new beginnings, even if nothing tangible changes except the calendar — and pledge to change something about your life. Perhaps you'll finally lose that 20 pounds, or quit smoking, or apply for that promotion.
Yes, and perhaps you'll find a cure for cancer and end the recession too, my friend. As good an idea as a resolution sounds, there's just too much inherent pressure for most of them to succeed. You're better
to make changes when you're ready, throughout the year, than on one (technically meaningless) occasion. Really, after eating chocolate, shrimp, and chocolate-dipped shrimp for three weeks, you're going to go on a diet? Really? The idea of depriving myself of anything when I'm on my way back to work, trudging through the grey slush with a heavier stomach and a featherweight wallet...yeah. No thanks. Back to work, I'm-a gonna need all the comfort I can get.
Still, for 2009, I've decided to make some resolutions. You know, if you can "resolve" in a vague, who-cares-if-I-don't-do-it kind of way. (Just checked the OED. Apparently, no, that's not "resolve." Oh well.) Anyway, these resolutions revolve around — surprise! — music. When you work in the business of music, you can easily get jaded, annoyed, cynical, and lazy. You forget — you got into this business not because you love business, but because you love music. So to make music more of a pleasure and less "my work," I've resolved to do some of the following.
1. See more music.
In 2007, you couldn't drag me out of the Casbah, unless you were dragging me to the Pepper Jack (and sometimes Absinthe). In 2008, however, something went awry. Habits changed. Relationships changed. Priorities shifted. My wallet started biting back. My liver wept. So, here's a new concept: drink water! After a long dry spell (hah, get it) it'll be good to get back out there and see what people are doing. Live music has an addictive energy of its own; you get more involved with live music the more you see live music. I hope to load up until I'm overloaded. Then load up some more.
2. Actually read reviews.
If you've been a reader here, you've heard me mention my friend Vickers. We both believe that most criticism has a dubious value (not no value — dubious value). Critics hated many of my favourite bands. Critics hated such cinematic classics as "Better Off Dead" and the Norm MacDonald vehicle "Dirty Work." (What? You hated that stuff too? Screw you, critics!). At the same time, though, a well-written review does something more — and more important — than the quality of the record. They tell you what it sounds like, how it fits in to the artist's trajectory, and why you might love it even though they don't (or vice-versa). I might have discovered some of my recent faves (such as the Gaslight Anthem) earlier if I'd done some reading.
3. Embrace more guilty pleasures.
Yeah, yeah, I don't like the term "guilty pleasure" either. In reality, I don't feel guilty that I like Billy Joel. Or "Too Much Time On My Hands" by Styx. Or the new Britney single. If the Jonas Brothers write
a catchy song, I'll dig it (though I'll still refer to them as "weirdo home-schooled abstinent pretty boys" even as I'm singing along). If my hipster friends turn up their noses, that's okay. I've looked into their record collections. I know the truth. Somewhere behind the cool shiz lies a Creed CD.
4. Explore other genres.
For almost thirty years, while I've had my sights set on pop music, I've caught the shadowy movements of jazz, blues, classical, bluegrass, etc. in my peripheral vision. I couldn't catch up if I devoted the rest of my life — and somehow yours — to the pursuit, but there's always room for a bit more exploration.
5. Support artists more.
I'm not particularly puritanical on the issue, but I don't download. You might not, either, if your day job involved mountains of silver plastic discs being shovelled onto your desk. Still, I want to make an
effort to go into more music stores and buy more CDs. Or DVDs, or T-shirts, or concert tickets, or what have you.
6. Enjoy what I've got.
AV Club (www.avclub.com) readers might be familiar with Noel Murray's "Popless" project, which saw the writer eschew all new music for 2008. Instead, he went back through his collection to enjoy, re-evaluate and (in some cases) even discard older music. Most music nerds (like me) could never buy or receive another piece of music for the rest of our lives, and we'd still never be at a loss for something to fill the air around us.
Happy 2009, y'all.
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