Listening to music today can be a bit like drinking from a firehose. When I was growing up, it was more like finding an oasis in the desert. You really had to look for it, and when you did it was the ultimate nourishment. It saved you in your time of need.
I’m not sure how else to describe it, other than that these albums are my life through music. They provided a soundtrack for me growing up, shaped the way my musical mind worked, and developed my taste. It must be very different for kids now, with the ubiquity of streaming, where anything you might want to listen to is accessible at any time. You’re constantly fed a drip of fresh recommendations that the algorithm determines you might like. We used to have friends that did that for us. Or we’d have to go treasure hunting.
Getting a mixtape from a friend. Someone handing you a CD or cassette and saying, “you have to listen to this”. Staying up late to listen to weird radio shows that played the kinds of music that didn’t get played during the day. Or trolling through the used music bins at record stores, hoping to stumble across the full album of a band that you heard on a compilation CD that randomly showed up in the mail one time (oddly specific, I know).
The point is, I feel different about music now. I still love it, and some of it still moves me. But I’m having a harder and harder time finding music that resonates with me. So I’m taking a trip back in time to dissect my musical past to look at what got me where I am now, see how those songs make me feel, and hopefully gain some insights about myself along the way.
I’m not going to get all snooty and up my own ass about describing the music. The goal here is to listen and reflect on the albums that moulded and supported me over the years. To talk about how they came into my life, what memories they invoke, and what I hear when I listen to them now.
I hope you join me for the ride and share your own experiences with any of these albums. After all, one of music’s great qualities is its ability to connect us.