Back in the old days (whoa! I sound like I’m 80), I discover new music mostly through the radio. In gradeschool and early highschool I was mostly into pop music and got my fix from the radio station RX 93. I remember listening a lot to whatever’s on the weekly top 10, and then really liking Debbie Gibson and New Kids On The Block. I even went to their respective concerts…but that’s another story. Anyway, the radio was my friend and our relationship got stronger when I received my first boom box on my 13th birthday. From then on the radio was on most of my waking moments. Towards the end of highschool, I started to outgrow RX 93 and began exploring other stations. I began listening to 99.5 RT and then NU 107. It was around this time that alternative music started to hit the airwaves. Nirvana. Pearl Jam. And in the local scene, Color It Red. But it was the music of Indigo Girls that captivated me. The song “Galileo” was the first song I fell in like with…then I fell in love with the rest. I think their music was constantly on my boom box for a good 4 years (1995-1999). And then I moved on listening to indie pop. You can read more on this on an earlier post titled “music and sadness.”
So after the tapes, the cds, and now the mp3s. Information, especially when sourcing new music, has also evolved from just coming from the radio, or from the reviews on the magazines and newspapers, or on music videos on tv, to the internet. Now, more than ever, it’s easier to discover new music. Heard a song that you liked on an episode of House? Google will churn up various websites containing episode and music information. Want to know more about the artist? Check it out in allmusic.com. Want to listen more songs of the artist? Listen to track samples on iTunes. It can’t get easier than that. There are even websites such as Pandora (now no longer available outside the US - haha) which recommends music based on artists you like (basically, you set up some sort of radio station by choosing an artist, then Pandora custom-makes a playlist for you of songs by similar artists). But honestly, the google-allmusic-iTunes bit works better for me.
So back to Indigo Girls. I only had two of their best records on tape, so when the tape deck of my mini-stereo (I’ve long abandoned the boom box) died on me, I also stopped listening to them. Until recently when I thought about them again and was inspired to download their songs. Now as I type this I listen to “Mystery” and I’m transported back in time. Back when well…never mind.
Debbie Gibson is now a has-been and has even tried to jumpstart her career by posing on Playbloy. Or Penthouse. I forgot which. Plus I don’t even listen to the radio any more. I’m plugged to my iPod almost all day on weekdays. And weekends are spent reading blogs, watching tv shows and movies always on the look out for new music. Time has changed.
I wonder 10 years from now, how will we discover new music? By then will the music player be just the size of a stud earring? Hello future.
music for the future
weekend update
This was a very low-key weekend for me. Saturday and Sunday found me in my room either watching dvd or surfing away on my laptop. I would like to think that despite my hermit-esque behavior I was productive since I was able to:
1) download new episodes of my favorite tv shows (30 rock, prison break, and heroes).
2) discover and download cool widgets (the filter – an iTunes companion which creates a playlist for you based on a song or artist you choose; and iSquint – an avi converter for the aforementioned downloaded tv shows so I can watch them on my ipod)
3) discover a blog about, among other things, shopping for quirky finds in hongkong. I’ll be going there this week with my family by the way.
I’m dreading going back to office tomorrow to spend again the whole day working on a report on damn MSAccess. Last Friday the user I did the report for pointed out to me my error. I know how to do it now but still just the thought of spending hours on it again makes me want to cry.
Anyways, I’m sharing with you the first playlist The Filter created for me, based on the song I chose, Yo La Tengo’s “The Whole of the Law.” I won't say that I would have chosen the same songs on the playlist, but still, it's pretty cool that the widget almost got it right. I have about 3000+ songs on my player so it's, how should i say this, refreshing (?) to be listening to other songs aside from those i listen to everytime. I'm actually looking forward to the other playlists The Filter will create for me.
midweek music
these dreary rainy days had me listening to sad songs. i'm sharing with you a lovely song about a relationship i suppose a lot of people can relate to. it speaks of loving someone too much and then losing your self in the process. what i like about this is that the "loved" one "sings" the song, pleading to his lover to stay as she is. sigh.
before i came
- majestic
I know you love it when I say
How much you mean to me
You don’t hear it very often
It seems like everything I do
It’s the only thing that’s important to you
And all those things I have to say
Why’d you want to be like me?
And why did you, you are so perfect as you are
You need me far too much
Please don’t do this to us
There is so much inside yourself so don’t stop thinking
Please don’t do this to us
You can listen to me but don’t forget your self.
How are you before I came?
You can’t remember
It was too long ago
Where are the thoughts you once had
I think they disappeared the moment I came into your life
And all those things I had to say
of music and sadness
What came first, the music or the misery?
- Rob, from Nick Hornby’s High Fidelity
There are certain periods in my life which I remember best by the songs I listen to at the time. When I first fell in love, I remember listening a lot to the mix tape made for me by an ex-boyfriend. It contained songs by Club 8, Stina Nordenstam, and a slew of other indie pop artists which I instantly loved and continue to love until now. The mix tape was then my most priced possession because it was an extension of my boyfriend. When he couldn’t be with me all I have to do was pop the tape on the player and he is there, chasing away my loneliness. When we broke up I couldn’t bear to listen to the songs again. The songs have lost all meaning and became just sad reminders of a love gone bad. Thankfully the memories attached to those songs have long been erased and I can now listen to them again without feeling anything.
After we broke up I just listened to sad songs by random artists in my mp3 player. There are certain songs though that helped me get through grieving, and the one that stand out most is from one of my fave artists, Beth Orton. From her “Comfort of Strangers”:
I’d rather have no love
Than messing with the wrong stuff
It’s just the comfort of strangers
Always the comfort of strangers...
Right now I’m recovering again from another lost love, a love which I found coincidentally at the time I discovered the music of the band called “A girl called Eddy.” It was probably bad timing since now there’s again a face and memory to link the music to. A girl called Eddy’s music is a lovely mix of tender vocals and poignant lyrics…very addictive stuff. I find myself listening to their album almost everyday now, most of the time while traveling to and from work, and daydreaming of someone who could never be mine. It’s his face I remember when Erin Moran (the vocalist) sings these lines from Tears all over Town:
I see your face in everyone I meet
I'm avoiding the corners
I'm avoiding your name
I know that I loved you but I loved you in vain
Such is my life...music and misery. When another chapter in my life unfolds I’m hoping the soundtrack will be full of happy tunes about driving until sundown and waking up to sunshine.
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