I had a two-hour round-trip car ride yesterday. Normally I would commit that time to a podcast or two. But I am currently mulling over a particular problem — additional mental churn seemed likely to distract, confuse, or worse. Instead I switched to music, set the Infernal Device to “Random Play” and put the car in gear.
Fifteen-thousand, one-hundred tracks — give or take one or two-dozen that are chapters from unfinished audio books. Apple’s randomizer can be a bit lazy — it settled on two tracks from Quincy Jones’ Big Band Bossa Nova in fairly short order. Still, I was mildly impressed with the variety on offer, even if I do say so myself. It wasn’t all just my Grade 9 soundtrack, not by a long shot.
And there is need for culling. I am not adding tracks as vigorously as I used to, but I am still exploring new music. And the Infernal Device is dangerously close to full. Surely not all 15,000 tracks need to be so readily accessible?
It’s not an easy call, however. When Matthew Ryan came up I initially thought, “My Matthew Ryan phase has come and gone.” That rasp — just how much can such a limited vehicle communicate?
Quite a bit, it turns out. By song’s end Ryan’s place in the Device’s Pantheon was solidly re-secured.
“Everything Is Awesome,” on the other hand...
Another matter was troubling me — I was listening critically. This song has potential, that one “remains interesting,” the next is catchy enough to stick around. My 56th spin around Ol’ Sol’ is nearly complete. Was any other listening mode still available? Do I still have the inner sensitivity to respond viscerally to a song? Or am I over-saturated into a state of indifference, like an ancient Roman Senator? Can anything reach across this intellectual-emotional distance?
“Well I never will forget that floating bridge...”
Suddenly the volume was up, and I was trying to ape Gregg Allman’s tenor — an impossibility, as even baritone is too difficult a stretch for these basso cords of mine. I didn’t wake up with the awareness that I needed Allman yesterday — but need him I did.
The song probably won’t hit you the way it does me. But that’s the beauty of being human — we have these distinctives, and it’s more than a little cool to keep exploring them to see what still hits the sweet-spot.
Live performance, with band:
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