The Lure Of Good Music

The other night I decided it would be a good night to go out and Getty had a band that she wanted to go see.

She told me the band was a blues band and that they were good. I like the blues. I like jazz. I like some big band, some country, some rock, some hip hop, some of just about everything. I'm kinda picky in what I like, but I'm not a genre-snob per se.. I just like specific things within those genres.

So when she said blues... I scanned my brain of all the varieties of blues it could be. Knowing her, I knew it wouldn't be country blues. She's a rock girl. But I thought it might be some kind of really good blues music. Getty talks often about how she knows music.

So we go. She comes to pick me up so we can carpool. On the drive down there, she's bitching about this that and the other thing. Mentally, I'm hoping like hell the band is worth it.

The band is downtown. It's 9pm. There isn't even a small hope of finding free parking at that time of night.. yet Getty goes on a tirade about what a rip-off these paid parking lot things are. I don't even waste my time trying to explain it to her, as I know her and anything I say will only prolong the tirade.

We drive around for what seems like ages since she wants to find a free parking space. (Financially there's no reason for this btw, and we waste half the price of parking in gas)

I finally start to lose my temper. She's never seen me lose my temper. Most people haven't. So I start raising my voice telling her to just park already.

"Ok fine, where do you want me to park?" She's huffy and frustrated.. still venting about the scam that paid parking is.

"I already told you. The small lot across the street."

My words might have been mild.. but when I get pissed.. I talk slow. I enunciate. I clip my words. That I was at the breaking point.. was made quite clear.

We finally park, and she gives the guy a hard time.. basically telling him that he has an easy job and is robbing people blind... without actually saying that.

I want to crawl into a hole. Then she has no cash to pay the guy. So I pull out some cash and pay the guy.

We get to the bar, and there's a cover. Something she failed to mention.. and I failed to ask her about ahead of time. Its just $5, so not a big loss even if the band sucks. But again, she has no cash, so I give the guy the rest of mine and pay for us both.

She agrees to buy me liquor to pay me back. Which she does.. Thank God.

I would not have made it the rest of the night without some kind of alcohol.

The band gets up to play. Two bald guys and a guy who is making up for them by having hair reminiscent of the Hair Band days. (I really dislike long hair on most men in case anyone wants to know.)

Then they start playing. Its not bad music. I'm not wanting to put in ear plugs or anything, but its not blues.

I tell Getty..

"This is not blues."

"Well thats what the guy brands himself as.. It has its roots in blues."

"It might have roots in blues.. hell everything has roots in blues.. but this is not the blues."

She is unphased and turns back to the band. She believes they are awesome. I am bored out of my mind.

Its this kind of band that I avoid. Their music was.. can you guess?.. a blend of Hair Band sound.. with 70's rock.

Lots of guitar.. lots of guitar solos that lasted way too long unless you were on something.. lots of just boring. While I get that people like to show how talented they are at an instrument, if you're not doing it for a reason other than that.. ie evoke some kind of emotion.. its all just boring show. If you are trying to evoke some emotion.. and fail.. its also equally boring.

The lyrics weren't even blues. The songs were happy happy songs. There was no pining for a lost love or even mourning a dead loved one... it was all just happy songs.. with no Heartbreak Hotel.

I couldn't have been more bored and decieved had she told me we were going to see a great new band.. and taken me to LC Rocks (a cover band for old Hair Band tunes, complete with outfits and the hair).



This is one of the reasons that I avoid any one (potential male dates) who says they are a huge music buff or really love music. The chances of us liking the same music is close to ZERO, and if they're really a music addict.. we're going to fight about them playing their horrid choice in music all the time.

In HS, I liked some of the popular music of the day... I kinda had to in order to be even remotely social with people my age.. But left to my own devices, instead of Hair Bands.. I was swooning over Harry Connick Jr. I studied Bette Midler (I was a singer back then, and worked to mimic her voice).

Even now, I find myself more drawn tword music with great singers, great lyrics, and things that are fun to sing to..

I grew up with music. From the time I could speak, I was singing on stage (in church) with my sisters. When the quartet broke up, I sang solos. We all learned the piano, plus one other instrument of our choice(ish). My father would play the accordion at home sometimes and we'd all sing along. For holidays, or sometimes at my father's request, one of my sisters would play the piano while we sang along. (While I learned instruments, I really can't play any very well.)

So in many ways, music is important to me. But most likely... not the music that others like... Let alone a musician who thinks he's great... only to find out that to my ears its like cats fighting. I'm honest if I think you suck (I do not hide it well), and many "artists" can't deal with that... nor should they really.

It honestly has been rare for me to find a guy who likes the music I do.. let alone plays an instrument in that kind of music. It has happened.. very rare.. and it was very sad to loose that compatibility when we broke up.

I'm sure to some.. my choice in music is horrific as well. I just inevitably keep meeting people who have never managed to get over and move on from the music they heard in HS... once in a while that nostalgia is fun.. but its 2010 now.. surely there is something someone has managed to do better or at the very least just as good.

I like to grow, learn, and widen my horizons... for me that also includes my tastes in music... well to a point anyway. :)



(for more on my tastes in music.. though not all inclusive.. but stuff that gets stuck in my head.. follow me on Blip.fm)