Wonderful World - James Morrison

Rant Away

ughhh... i can't think of anything. My mind's blank, and it doesn't seem like it's going to be registering anything soon. It doesn't seem like a huge dilemma but if you have 2 essays due in a week, it is a big thing. I've tried a lot of things but nothing's working. I painted, picked up the guitar and tried to play (which only made me feel more incompetent), watched other people play guitar, watched tv, listened to songs (which usually works wonders) and did a myriad of other things to try and jump-start my brain. NOTHING worked. I have no idea, no inspiration, no motivation -- nothing to make working on stuff easier.

See, I used to know what I wanted to do. I was so sure that I was heading that way that I didn't really think of doing anything else. Now, I can't seem to picture what I'd want to do for the next 50 years of my life. Really, really frustrating stuff. I wish we can do anything we wanted and not do something only because of the necessity of earning money. Does that even make sense?

Money sucks. Once you have it, it's gone too fast then you'd have to earn more doing something you don't really want to do.

Musicality

Recently, I've been asked why I listen to the music that I listen to now and how I became intereseted in these artists. I got to thinking -- turns out, who I listen to is a product of the interconnectedness of musicians and popular culture. So, humor me as I take you through my musical journey...

For some people who knew me well (or even vaguely knew me) before 2002, you would say that "There is a person who only listens to sugar-coated pop music". Yes, in a way that is true. It was "all boybands, all the time" as it was in the airwaves back then. Then I moved to a place where I knew no one. I was homesick and sick of what I have been listening to before. I couldn't take anymore sweetness from the pop music that I have been indulging in. I didn't listen to a lot of music for a while. I didn't know what to listen to. One day in 2003, during a long trip while feeling frustrated and annoyed, the radio station played John Mayer's "No Such Thing". Turned things around, that did.

But now, you're thinking, "Well, that's not a big stretch from pop music!" I realized that too, as I realized that this guy who sung the song with that "I'm-gonna-show-you" attitude was the same person who sung that "wonderland" thing shocked me. I kept on listening anyway. From that point on, it became a musical revolution, for me anyway. Started listening to songs again, music became intertwined in my life more than ever. Coldplay and Franz Ferdinand came in, and almost all the whole history of British rock. With that, The Beatles, Queen, The Rolling Stones and The Ramones.

Oh yeah, and by way of Queen, I started listening to David Bowie... Annie Lennox, not so much, Cyndi Lauper (though she's American). Not to forget The Police and Bob Dylan. After that, I decided that the mid 60's to the early 80's is the most fascinating time period

Surprisingly, TV also played a huge bit in this music thing. That little TV show House, it introduced me to Jeff Buckley and Ryan Adams. However, the guitar and Mayer's switch to the blues genre opened a whole new dimension of music. BB King, Buddy Guy, Jimi Hendrix... Hendrix, especially. That guy was amazing. His existing music still is. Yeah, Eric Clapton too. I've got nothing but awe and respect for all these guitarists and musicians.

Needless to say, pop is still in there but I have expanded my musical tastes that I hopefully won't get sick of music anytime soon.