Over the holidays, I was in a heated conversation about music which ended with someone demanding I name my favorite band.
This infuriated me for a number of reasons. Initially, I found the question to be fairly juvenile, being a freak about music doesn't necessitate having a favorite band. But soon I became distraught that I couldn't remember the last album I bought (non digitally) and angry that I didn't even have a stock answer followed by an enchanting non sequitur.
In the early '90s, when I began my path toward musical maturity, I was exposed to maybe a couple hundred bands a year. Picking Pearl Jam out of that lot as a twelve year old was logical, decisions are always easier with fewer options. Now, I might devour a couple hundred bands in a week. Things done changed.
“You can’t roll a joint on an iPod,” Shelby Lynne told the New York Times Magazine early last year. And she's right. Our relationship with music has changed dramatically. Instead of albums, we have playlists, and those playlists often smash together artists of any genere from any era. Most of the time we don't even know the name of the album that provided our song du jour.
The iPod protects us from shelves of records with only one or two great songs, but it also curbed our enthusiasm and loyalty toward single bands or musicians. Well, I'm fighting back. This is me trying to find my new favorite band.
This afternoon, I went careening into my iTunes, surely my search should start there. One name jumps right out a me: Simple Kid. This Irish electronic folk rocker had two stellar records (the first one completely dominating my summer a few years back), maybe he'll have a new one coming out that I can order up and get my damn head straight.
This is what I found at simplekid.com:
SIMPLE KID IS
CURRENTLY
WONDERING WHAT
DO WITH HIS LIFE.......
No upcoming tour dates, no new music videos. Nothing else, just this. I'm not even sure he had the heart to reread it before posting. Is he quitting the biz? I don't know, but I can't crown him my favorite band with that attitude.
Sure it's a fairly depressing first step of my journey, but in a lot of ways it has galvanized my determination. So if anyone wants to be exposed to new music or relive songs you used to rock out to, stick around, this might take a while.
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