Dig Deep...You May Be Surprised
Most people have a favorite style of music.
Some have a different genre for each activity of their day.
Some just snap on the radio (in one of its various guises including hoopla and Freegal through the Mercer County Library) and let it run as a background to their tasks. Whatever your choice of listening material may be it is always worthwhile to stretch your musical boundaries from time to time. Give a different style a chance. Do not worry about what the recommended “flavor of the week” is. Try a few different spices on your aural dish today. You may find something you never knew existed or that the hideous act you hated a while ago is suddenly much better than you gave them credit for.
It is fun to find the artist or band that got you through school or that tedious job you previously had. It is also very cool to find out what THEY were influenced by...musically. Go online and pull up an artist or band site. There will usually be a list of influential albums or singles that made your artist take a particular direction in their music. Now go to the MCL catalog and find one of the acts that sparked the creative juices of your favorites. Check it out and see if you can hear what they heard. Very often the connection seems a bit tenuous but sometimes that is all it takes to make art blossom. You may also get a new insight into the songs you thought you knew so very well. Lennon/McCartney? Try some early Motown, Sun, Chess, Everly Brothers and…Fred Astaire. James Brown? Elvis Presley? Check out some of the early Southern gospel music. You can follow the thread if you listen closely.
Now go back to the cd stacks and wander. Do not be influenced by “I like this. I do not like that.” Maybe just browse and check out random items. Give them an honest chance. You may hate them. You may love them. You may see where a song or piece of a song you love came from. You may hear and feel a rhythm that is completely new to you but seems as if you have been waiting for it to come along.
Music is aural emotion. The right piece at the right time can completely alter your mood so why limit your choices to only “What I Like”? Dig deep… you may be surprised.
Some have a different genre for each activity of their day.
Some just snap on the radio (in one of its various guises including hoopla and Freegal through the Mercer County Library) and let it run as a background to their tasks. Whatever your choice of listening material may be it is always worthwhile to stretch your musical boundaries from time to time. Give a different style a chance. Do not worry about what the recommended “flavor of the week” is. Try a few different spices on your aural dish today. You may find something you never knew existed or that the hideous act you hated a while ago is suddenly much better than you gave them credit for.
It is fun to find the artist or band that got you through school or that tedious job you previously had. It is also very cool to find out what THEY were influenced by...musically. Go online and pull up an artist or band site. There will usually be a list of influential albums or singles that made your artist take a particular direction in their music. Now go to the MCL catalog and find one of the acts that sparked the creative juices of your favorites. Check it out and see if you can hear what they heard. Very often the connection seems a bit tenuous but sometimes that is all it takes to make art blossom. You may also get a new insight into the songs you thought you knew so very well. Lennon/McCartney? Try some early Motown, Sun, Chess, Everly Brothers and…Fred Astaire. James Brown? Elvis Presley? Check out some of the early Southern gospel music. You can follow the thread if you listen closely.
Now go back to the cd stacks and wander. Do not be influenced by “I like this. I do not like that.” Maybe just browse and check out random items. Give them an honest chance. You may hate them. You may love them. You may see where a song or piece of a song you love came from. You may hear and feel a rhythm that is completely new to you but seems as if you have been waiting for it to come along.
Music is aural emotion. The right piece at the right time can completely alter your mood so why limit your choices to only “What I Like”? Dig deep… you may be surprised.
—Jerry
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