“Yes,” was my immediate reply, followed by a pause. “The others are not.”
“What are you listening to?” is my go-to icebreaker (“What do you do for a living?” and “What are you up to these days?” are average questions that fetch average answers). But when I was asked the question on Sunday, I found myself at a loss for words.
I am listening to a lot of blues these days, albums from the '60s that inspired the bands that once inspired me — “The Three Kings”: Albert King, B.B. King, Freddie King. It amounts to aspirational listening — I'm hoping to graduate from dog-paddling in the kiddie pool to doing the front crawl in the deep end. The listening isn't without pleasure, but the focus of attention on technique tends to keep me cool where once I was prone to fevers of passion.
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| "Michael rowed the boat ashore, ah-lay...[repositions fingers]...LOOO-yah!" |
But mostly I'm listening to podcasts — lots and lots of podcasts. About which, more later...
4 comments:
Bill is always on my platter. Sundays are reserved for him (for obvious discographical reasons, among others).
Sundays -- yes. It's a rare weekend when he isn't enlisted to put things in proper alignment.
I was gonna compile a list of songs I've procured lately, but since they're mostly older songs of the jangly, major key, uptempo sort, it seems gratuitous. However, my song scythe these days consists of:
1. Songs my eldest daughter finds, because our tastes align about 80%. (Internal cheering, playing music during her childhood had the affect I'd hoped!)
2. When playing (free) Pandora on the main system, I'll take a picture of the screen when a song rolls by that I like and don't already have. Since we all have our phones nearby, this is the least amount of effort way to accomplish what used to require a pen and paper.
3. I've found a new genre I really like called "Lo-fi Hip Hop." It's essentially hip hop drum loops, samples played cleverly around that frame, and mostly references to older songs, like torch songs and anything with a short, dramatic vocal. It's relaxing and groovy. To experience it yourself, go to youtube and search for the string above; look for the "live" label and turn it up a bit. It has a lot of bass, which I love.
Cool lead -- thanks! Reminds me of the 'Mushroom Jazz' I was listening to, back in the Aughts.
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