Everythings cool?

[glenatron]

Somehow not quite adjusting back to real life yet. After the last month of constant intense learning and really pushing my ability it's strange to find myself back in the world I left behind. Strange and a tiny bit demotivating, which is ridiculous because what I need to do is get better at what I do, so I can eventually afford to do it less and do more of the things I love.

Also I'm feeling time's arrow somewhat- a night or two before my birthday I had a dream in which I was terrified of getting old and everything that goes with it. I don't know why because I don't think I am particularly afraid of that but it was very odd. I can't believe that dear, crazy, shanks01 is thirty. That's hit my idea of myself as someone even moderately young pretty hard because Stu's kind of a whippersnapper to me and even he's hit that wall. Still, there's life in these old dogs yet, I guess we'll just pick up our guitars and show these kids how it's supposed to be done.

This is another thing that is bothering me- and I think this is a consequence of getting old- there just isn't much new music that is blowing my mind. I can remember hearing bands when I was in my first intense love affair with alternative music who were just playing music that was, to me at least, stunning and original and interesting. In the last five years I haven't heard anything that even approaches the scale and imagination of Giant Steps, the cynical perfection of Now I'm A Cowboy or the brutal soulfulness of Gentlemen. Do people just not make music to push on things any more or have I lost the capacity to respond to it? Has being settled and married and generally kind of content with how things are somehow compromised the connection I once had with that music? Or is it the fact of having been in the band, witnessed a bit of what goes on in the back rooms, the working of the smoke and mirrors to charm the audience- have I become so sceptical of the music industry that I can't enjoy it's output any more?

The answer I'd like to have, I guess, is that the music is out there but I'm just not finding it. I mean, I've found some good albums in the last year or two- Band of Horses, Fleet Foxes, The Gutter Twins, they're all fine, but none of them have managed to astound me. Perhaps nothing since maybe the first British Sea Power record or the Arcade Fire one I can no longer safely listen to have really captured my imagination and those are getting on a bit by this point.

Comments

[penella22.livejournal.com]

Having not quite hit that wall myself yet, I suppose I can only comment hypothetically. But there's a reason for that stereotype of people loving the music they heard when they were young, no matter how old they are. Trust me, I've worked in Nursing Homes, I know.

I still love some of the music I was blown away by in my late teens /early twenties. But I don't listen to it all that often, because y'know, I *know* it inside and out. I feel a bit depressed by the lack of good music too, but I don't spend much time searching for new good music. Certainly the more you know, and have seen and heard and felt, the harder it is to push the boundaries.

Honestly the only song I've heard recently that made me perk up my ears slightly was by Gomez...I'd guess they're old news to you.

But...I guess if there isn't much good music out there right now, because we're all wimps and not living in ground-busting times, or simply because...maybe you'll just have to keep on writing it...

[glenatron.livejournal.com]

I guess I'm lucky to be in a place where I can rectify it a little creating new music. What happens next on that front may be quite interesting and fun...

[z111.livejournal.com]

Music is kind of boring right now. It seems some time periods are better than others, and the last few years just isnt' all that. I don't think it's just you.

There is a song I like by Fleet Foxes but don't recall the title.

[glenatron.livejournal.com]

Is it the one with the greek name or the one that is a round? Those two seem to be the best ones to me although whether it's smart to like a band because they sound a bit like Steeleye Span in the early seventies (which is kind of what I like about them) is a question I can't answer yet. I think they could use having some stronger songs.

[overload74.livejournal.com]

You're probably thinking of Mykonos.

That and White Winter Hymnal are their most played songs.

[ramalam.livejournal.com]

Music is like a sound-wave. Sometimes the zeitgeist seems to allow you to find new and impressive sounds easily (peak), sometimes you have to dig and dig (trough). This is also affected by your personal circumstances, apathy, drive, etc.

There are better bands and sounds out there. I am certain of it.

[glenatron.livejournal.com]

I think you're right- maybe if Our Lost Infantry or Godwits had full albums I could listen to those would be marking something closer to a peak but I just can't seem to dig down to the good stuff lately.

[overload74.livejournal.com]

At the moment, I am greatly enjoying The Joy Formidable.

MBV-wall of sound guitars with ethereal female vocals. Done before, but not for a while and I like it a lot.

I think you'd be hard-pushed to find something as impactful as Funeral from the last ten years. That album was astonishing.

[glenatron.livejournal.com]

I'll look out for those- always nice to find something a bit interesting. I guess we're about due for nineties retro now, although that only makes me feel older :)

[life-of-tom.livejournal.com]

Joy Formidable? MBV- style guitars, eh? Interesting. The Pains of Being Pure At Heart do that too, by the way.

My little round-robin of enquiries through Facebook about new folky people came up with a few interesting answers. I think you like Je Suis Animal quite a bit, for one.