The Sound of Music
I guess I just love music...period!
As the Great Western Southern Gospel Fan Festival draws near(starting Thursday in Fresno and going through Saturday), things have been rather hectic in my little corner of the world.
I have a colleague at work who knows my tastes in music(being ex-DJs, we both like to discuss music at work), and lately, he has taken to downloading random collections of songs from the internet for me to listen to(recreationally, of course!)...I'm not sure about all the legalities of it, but since I have no intention of selling the CDs he makes for me, I can't imagine there is much of a problem in letting him do that for me.
Ho it usually happens is that he'll ask me what songs I would like to have on CD(most of my music collection is STILL on vinyl), and I submit a "request list" to him, and he takes it from there!
Today he outdid himself...he found 26 songs that I'd been longing to hear again for some time...and he gave me the CD he made me after I recorded our gospel music show for this Sunday.
I don't often hear a lot of my favorite songs on the radio...most stations that play music resort to the research findings of the industry's leading consuiltants...which is one reason why so many music radio stations play the very same songs...over...and over...and over again.
Now I do the very same things with my own recordings...one important difference is, I'm not programming for a target demographic made up of many different people...I'm playing it for me, and me alone! So I can play what I want...so there!:-)
And because I like what I play for myself, I'm not concerned whatsoever with tuneout...that never happens on my record or CD player!
Now, I'll bet some of you are asking, "John, you mean YOU...an unabashed gospel quartet addict, enjoy SECULAR music?"
I confess...yes, I do...some of it, anyway.
Granted, mostly I listen to the gospel music I like most, because it speaks the loudest to my heart and soul, but just as no one can eat the same meal every single time they eat, I HAVE to listen to something else...sometime!:-)
So, what kind of secular music do I like, you'll logically ask?
Well, those who know me reasonably well know that a HUGE portion of my childhood was spent listening to the radio. That's what fueled my desire to be on the radio...which I am today, after nearly 23 years.
That being the case, in so doing, I got a major appetite of the popular music of my childhood years listening to the radio. And since I grew up in the birthplace of the famous Boss Radio Top 40 format of the radio consultant Bill Drake, Boss Radio was as much a part of my growing up as the cottonfields and vineyards of our family farm outside Fresno.
It was the enthusiasm and joy of the Boss jocks that got me started in wanting to be on the radio...what a fun, important job...playing the top records of the day as well as bringing people the news and weather and other things that helped them live their lives better! When I was 6 or 7 years of age, I knew that was the life for me!
And the music on the radio back then helped me enjoy my childhood...from kicking back after school and just having fun listening to fun songs to even accompanying me when I did chores around the house...the radio, and the ballgames it carried, and that music, was the soundtrack of my growing up!
Gospel music came along when I was around 9 or so, when my tastes began to broaden and I learned how to appreciate different kinds of music for what they were. (THERE's something that needs to be a bigger part of our school curricula...but that's another blog entry for another day!)
Thus, everything I heard on the radio in those days became stamped into my consciouness for life! And like many of you now...while sometimes I can't remember what I'm supposed to do that afternoon at 3:30...I can automatically remember the lyrics of the most offbeat songs I heard long ago!
And I remember the songs not just because I liked them...since the radio was almost always on when I did anythign at all back then, I tend to associate certain songs with certain highlights of my life...I have various sub-genres of songs that I organize by experience, e.g., "school" songs, "radio" songs, "work" songs, and even "dating" songs(yes, I've dated...not a lot, but I did! lol)!
And the CDs my colleague makes for me are organized roughly along those lines. They would make fascinating compilations for those interested in categorizing everything musically.
Most of you who read this or know me fairly well know my tastes in gospel music. The entries in my blog reflect those tastes faithfully.
A caveat...I freely admit that my tastes in music are not "mainstream" in the least! While varied in terms of style(I like all styles from classical to early country music, and most everything in between!), I tend to like songs for my own reasons, and NOT because lots of other people like them! In this sense, my secular tastes are not unlike my gospel tastes.
What makes me like a song or a recording? Usually, it's the music...a melody, a hook, or a strong lyric...sometimes it's because of the creative impression it leaves on me! With a gospel song or group, it's my impression of the quality of the material, and the purpose of the artist! And with secular music, it's much the same...although with my relatively idiosyncratic tastes, that can lead to a bewildering variety of the material.
If anyone were to listen to the CD I got today, they would probably scratch their heads in wonderment about how all those songs tied in together...but then, since it's just for me, no one has to know but me!:-)
Needless to say, not all the songs are big hits! Some are...but others are just songs you know and would remember if you heard them anew, and some are delightfully(and yes, deservedly)obscure! But the bottom line is, it brings me joy to listen to them!
And honestly, isn't that what music is supposed to be all about? Not endlessly analyzing or dissecting, but just enjoying...because it brings sunshine and smiles into one's life?:-)
I'll spare you the titles....some of you might not believe I'd like that stuff anyway, and if you'd really like to know, you can guess...or just ask me!
But I got a big smile today from getting that CD!
And no doubt I'll get even more when I'm at the GWSGFF this weekend...I'll tell you all about that in the coming days!
Posted on Apr 19, 2007 - 12:11 AM | [1]
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