I gotta have it. It has to be there and it means something to me. It means enough to look for it with an insatiable need - and that need is almost always accompanied by the desire/need to know at least a little bit more about other songs by the artist. I have nothing against a good hit single but for the fact that such songs are usually chosen by someone else and I don't like the fact that so many other good songs go largely ignored and unnoticed by the majority of people. I guess I just like knowing a bit more and ultimately appreciating a bit more out of an artist. I still find it a bit frustrating that there is so much good music out there that most people will never give a fair chance to - but I've come to terms with it. And I'm willing to share music that I enjoy, but my own enjoyment is not going to be influenced one way or another by someone else's - at the end of the day, my ears can't enjoy it for anyone else.
I suppose if I thought about the small fortune I've spent on recorded music up to this point it might concern me - but here's the thing: it's got to be there....here, wherever I am. It has to be there to blanket my day in whole or in part. It's not the easiest addiction to explain, but for me it's the best one to have. To me, a music collection has to grow and expand and sometimes in ways that are so similar that growth goes unnoticed - to most others. I have a friend in Nashville who says he likes playing drums, loves playing songs. I'm pretty sure his music collection dwarfs mine, and he says that he still feels like he doesn't have much to listen to sometimes. I can relate to that. I like songs, love 'em actually - lots and lots of songs.
Great songs can do any number of things and I'll take any of it, all of it - and as much as I can get my hands and ears on. Every time I think my collection will suffice just the way it is, something finds me - or I find it. From that point it's onward - more, always more and it always means something. In essence, it means enough to have it and be able to hear it whenever and wherever I want....or need to hear it.
There's also a bit of nostalgic value, but that can often be questionable. I don't mean that in a bad way, but I'm a man who sometimes struggles to let go of the past. I remember when The Beatles' Abbey Road came out and my father brought it home. Those were the days of vinyl- no remotes to change or skip songs. Thank God for that. Those were the days of listening and appreciating the body of work that was the album - and there was a flow to it. I guess I just want to know that an artist can create several good songs as opposed to just one or two good ones. Mind you there's nothing wrong with one or two good ones, but it's a bit like only being able to cook one meal well and have most of the other culinary efforts be significantly less enjoyable. How often can one eat the same exact thing? For me, not that often.
Any of the following music has a bit of a nostalgic ring to it: Bob Dylan (early stuff please), Beatles - in particular, Help, Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Abbey Road, The Band, The Rolling Stones - Flowers, Aftermath, Their Satanic Majesties Request, Love - Four Sail. This is music that stands out with the most impact from my childhood, and even if only for a brief moment, it takes me back to the living rooms I heard it in. It's basically music that's in my blood - I've had it almost as long as I've had the color of my eyes. Neither get old to me - that music still sounds as good to me as it did then, probably even better. I couldn't shed that skin if I wanted to - and I don't.
My collection, just as Nick Hornby says in his wonderful book, Songbook, will probably never suffice. It will have to keep growing, like some giant, majestic California Redwood tree. That and laughter, are the two things that I can't ever seem to get enough of.
The photo below is of my friend and former coworker's music collection (Thanks Keith!) - which, given how it's loaded with vinyl - (and you know how I feel about vinyl, my ex) is much more visibly appealing than my own heavy on the compact discs....and um, MP3s collection. His remark that he sometimes still can't find anything to listen to is something I can relate to and appreciate. Can you dig it? If so, we should probably talk, because I love to talk about music - almost as much as I love listening to it. Lots of it. Peace, good people.
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