Loading ...Of sound mind
Posted by RaJ on October 5th, 2006
What is the sound of one mind snapping? I know the answer to this variation on the famous Zen koan; in simplest terms, the sound of one mind snapping is The Veronicas.
I don’t care for “pop” music. For the most part, “if it’s on MTV - it ain’t for me.” This has been true for as long as I can remember, and boys and girls let me tell you, I remember life before MTV. There’s nothing wrong with pop music; it just doesn’t do anything for me, or satisfy my quirky and eclectic* musical tastes.
Readers might recall that fateful day a couple months ago when I wrote about becoming a MySpace thrall and buying The Veronicas’ the secret life of… CD. My thralldom began in early August; since then I’ve listened to the CD approximately… erm, *cough* eighty *cough* times. And counting. Which is approximately fifty more times than any CD I’ve ever played, in. My. Life.
This has created a bit of a problem in my head viz. Doesn’t Like Pop. I *do* like The Veronicas; I’m not a masochist. But I can’t “meld” these two opposing mental states, and that’s not good.
cognitive dissonance, part deux
I don’t care for “country” music. Aside: clever readers might already see where this is heading; please bear with me as I try and deal with the rift growing in my mind, thanks. Okay let’s move along; doesn’t like country, bla bla bla,† - Sandra McCracken.
During the last few weeks I’ve bought two of her CDs. First came Best Laid Plans, then Gravity|Love (autographed! Woohoo!). I’ve listened to both. A lot. And like them both. A lot. And this listening is not instead of, but in addition to my daily‡ Veronicas fix. Granted Sandra McCracken isn’t your stereotypical country twangmeister (-meistress? -meistrix?) so, there is that. She’s got a sweet voice; reminds me of Leigh Nash, vocalist for Sixpence None The Richer. Her songs are thoughtful, intelligent, accessible and likeable. She also has a MySpace page; I recommend you visit and share my addiction listen to what’s been going into my head.
Thus the fissure in my mind continues to widen. For the most part I’m okay I guess, though the mental tension sometimes gets a little… well, tense. Losing musical prejudices developed over a lifetime - it’s not so easy. I’m sure I’ll survive and who knows, I might even “thrive.” As a thrall. But there is one thing I’m still worried about…
I really, really don’t care for “hip-hop” music.
* Whatever that means.
† Or as Seinfeldians would say, yadda yadda yadda.
‡ Not always ‘daily,’ not exactly. Some days I go for two. 
October 5th, 2006 at 5:22 pm
Being sensible for a moment (wha? More cognitive dissonance…?), this is one of the really great things about the net, and (I shudder to add, but let’s face it) MySpace. The great Egalitarian Paradigm that we all hope for in the internet is slowly making itself felt.
For a musician such as myself who works outside the predictable (and much-loved-by-record-companies) pigeonholes of the five or six main music ‘categories’, stories like the one you tell in this post are encouraging and timely.
In time RaJ, you may well be listening to Hip Hop…
October 5th, 2006 at 5:31 pm
I’m getting very worried about you, RaJ.
October 5th, 2006 at 5:48 pm
i don’t think Tribe Called Quest has a myspace page, because they’re no longer together, but they’re what i call real hip hop, not what you hear on the radio.
and though they’re not hip hop, i really love Gnarls Barkley.
just a thought.
October 5th, 2006 at 9:31 pm
Whoah man, this is getting serious. I have to say, their one single is pretty addictive, but… eighty times? Okay, just for personal testimony, I’ll look into my iTunes right now and find my “most played” song…
…it’s “Je Cours” by Kyo. Listen count of 162. Close runner-ups are “Le Chemin”, “Dernier Danse” and “Tout Envoyer en l’air” by the same band, with 128, 114 and 102, respectively. So I guess eighty times is legit, because this means I’ve spun Kyo’s album right along the same amount.
Sam’s Town just came out though, so I’ve been listening to that nonstop for two days. If you’ll remember, I was a Killers fan BEFORE the bandwagon was even built.
But good job breaking out of the mold!
October 5th, 2006 at 10:03 pm
Anaglyph - I hope the teeming masses join you outside the pigeonholes in ever-increasing numbers. As for listening to hip-hop, no interest so far but I’m mindful of bible-person Job’s remark: “That which I greatly feared…”
Lia - I understand. I meant to use ‘feiend’ in this post but forgot; next time I’ll do better.
Cadiz - at the risk of liking what I hear, I’ll try to find and check out some Tribe Called Quest. I definitely have a “soft spot” for defunct bands. Or maybe… bands go belly-up because I like them? Gaah! Somebody warn The Veronicas!
Demosthenes - I expect an 80 spin count is a trifling, “weekly” number for some people *cough*Syar!*cough* but for me it’s off the charts. So to speak. In my B.V. life I’d play a new favorite CD like, ten or fifteen times during the first couple months (just a guess, I’ve never really counted). As the novelty wore off the play frequency would drop to every now and then. It’s thralldom, I tell you. There’s just no other explanation.
October 6th, 2006 at 10:51 am
This is to notify you that you are a WINNER of a 2006 Blog God Award. Please visit http://1gloriousconundrum.blogspot.com/ at 8:05 a.m. PDT Friday, October 6th to view your category and award. You may use the image attached to this email to post on your blog, because, after all, you are a WINNER and a BLOGGER and you want to tell the world.
Congratulations,
The 2006 Blog God Award Committee
October 6th, 2006 at 3:10 pm
All this begs the question: What are the usual Radioactive music choices?
October 6th, 2006 at 6:01 pm
My dad sees Hip-Hop the same way. He hates it. With a passion. I personally don’t mind it though I’d rather listen to something else.
How do you listen to The Veronicas these eighty times a day?
My dad rocks out to Creed and Twelve Stones in his glider rocking chair with a Walkman that I bought him for Christmas, so it’s not as annoying as before when he would play the CD’s on a stereo we had.
October 6th, 2006 at 10:09 pm
Cate - I remember so little from my B.V. life…
Screaming Buffalo - I don’t really *hate* hip-hop; it just doesn’t appeal to me. I do “hate” some types of so-called music; anything with obscene, degrading lyrics for example. And I think maybe you misunderstood my Veronicas number; the ~80 spins played over six or seven weeks, not per day. Does that make more sense?
October 8th, 2006 at 5:50 pm
Hip Hop should be reserved for play only once a year…………by the Easter Bunny.
October 9th, 2006 at 3:45 am
He-ey! I caught that, Jam. Now I’m no longer going to comment about how I have to listen to “When It All Falls Apart” at least once intentionally, then unintentionally as I turn on the radio.
I have to say this though, if only because you don’t flaunt your WMO membership as fiercely as Dem, your music taste is gettin’ kinda girly.
October 10th, 2006 at 4:40 am
I don’t like hip-hop, or RnB, or that headbanger music that masquerades as rock music, or depressing gothic stuff like Evanescence. But I like a lot of other things. As someone whose tastes tend towards Fleetwood Mac, Deep Purple and other musicians of that erea, it astounds me whenever I find myself liking something like “Barbie Girl.” I always feel as though in some indefinable way i am letting others down…
October 10th, 2006 at 2:19 pm
Elasticwaistbandlady - wouldn’t it be great?
SRaD - He-ey!
*decides against writing post about receiving more mail from Victoria’s Secret*
Purple Dragon - I know the feeling. But I’m curious - any idea how/why you developed such “classic” musical tastes?