Weblog
06/15/06 07:41 AM: Music Obsession
on music obsession;
as we all know there are (at least) two different kinds of good music. there is objectively good music, music that most “reviews” will say has merit and offers something of value to the music community. being someone who is obsessed with music, i generally appreciate those artists that are considered to be objectively good. examples would be the arcade fire, which was the “omgz so amazing” band of 2004, and wolf parade who carried that torch in 2005. they were pitchforked, and recieved critical acclaim elsewhere on the internets and even in print media (omgz!). overhyped perhaps, but generally thought of as good music.
then there is the second type of music, which is often more listened to and carries more meaning. that’s the music that has some sort of important relevence to you. this music may not be objectively good, and could very well be considered bad by critics. but that’s of no matter to you. in my case, there are certain albums that were dismissed by critics yet i enjoy more than most objectively good albums. there are some albums that fall into both types—for me, yo la tengo’s and then nothing turned itself inside-out would be one. i think the critics liked this one. but that album would never have had the personal relevence to me, had i not spent 2 hours listening to it on repeat in the middle of nowhere in upstate new york in the summer of 2004. arguably something about airplanes is death cab for cutie’s best album, but had i not listened to it while driving to iowa on numerous occasions, i doubt it would occupy such an important part of my music collection.
no one except me really likes belle & sebastian’s fold your hands child, you walk like a peasant, for example. but, i’ll always remember listening to “women’s realm” while going to evanston to buy my turntable. or how i would listen to “the model” while going to elmhurst in summer 2003. these memories make songs more meaningful to me, but that is also a double-edged sword. it makes some songs nearly unlistenable. for a while the yo la tengo fell into that category. the first few bars of “it’s a hit” by rilo kiley serve as a time machine back to 2004.
now i would have all of my hipster credentials revoked if i said that rilo kiley and death cab for cutie were objectively in the top 10 greatest bands. however, to me, those two groups along with belle & sebastian are subjectively the best music i’ve ever experienced. and when it comes down to it, isn’t that why we listen to music in the first place?
