Thursday, February 4, 2010

Searching for Musical Relevance

Payday in the early to mid-1980’s always meant a trip to Sound Warehouse in Dallas, to buy 2 or 3 new music CD’s. We gobbled up new releases, as well as replacing some of our favorite record albums in the “new” format. It was during this time period that Ron and I really built up our music libraries, merging them when we combined households in 1988. Some of our favorite artists back then, like George Strait, Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt, James Taylor, Bob Dylan, are still cranking out great music. We also have old favorites like Nat King Cole, Dean Martin, B.B. King, Ella Fitzgerald, and more. But some artists have disappeared or gone very stale. Remember Sheena Easton? I won’t go on – it’s just too embarrassing.

The point is that we have fallen out of the habit of buying a lot of new music. I’m terrified of slipping into old fart-dom in my musical entertainment choices. I don’t want to be stuck in the 80’s and 90’s. Why does this so often happen to people as they get older?

I have a theory about how we lost our way. Where do you hear new music? On the radio – which we don’t listen to anymore, because we are hardly ever in the car. In clubs – and, yeah, we don’t go clubbing anymore. On MTV or VH1 – which we do not watch. So… What are the alternatives? We watched the Grammy’s on Sunday and picked up a few new leads. We cruise iTunes for what’s new. Amazon provides some recommendations. You see my dilemma.

We are not close-minded about musical choices (OK, except about rap and most hip-hop). Our iTunes Library includes newer artists such as Jason Mraz, Colbie Caillat, John Mayer, Feist, Pink, Paulo Nutini, Adele, Pink Martini, India Aire, East Village Opera Company, and a few more. But we need to continue to expand our horizons.

So…please send your recommendations for current artists or CD’s that you enjoy or think we might embrace. Help us in our desperate attempt to stay musically relevant as we age. God bless you.


P.S. BTW, we are at least iPod-enabled.

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