I've had a realization lately. I like mainstream music.
A co-worker lent me the latest U2 album and I've listened to it twice. What song do I like the most? The one they play on the radio: Magnificent. (As a side note, this album in general doesn't really move me. When you have albums like Achtung, Baby and Joshua Tree, it's hard to have follow-up albums impress.)The same co-worker gives me CDs all the time of various artists (The Decemberists, Andrew Bird, Iron and Wine, for example). I don't have anything against them, and I enjoyed listening to them, but I find myself going back to Coldplay, Keane, The Fray, etc. Boring, radio-friendly music. What's wrong with me?
Okay, having said all that, I do feel a little pride in the fact that I enjoy a very wide range of music, from the classical instrumental (Rhapsody in Blue, Bolero, etc.) to the classical opera (Puccini's Nessun Dorma) to the country (Josh Turner, Garth Brooks, etc.) to the mainstream rock (Coldplay), to the folksy (Alison Krauss), to the sick chick music (Chelsey and Adrianne, remember my fetish with Celine Dion's "Call the Man"?), to harder rock (Audioslave), to gospel (never heard a song better than the combined men's chorus singing "I love the Lord" at Priesthood session a few years ago), to, as Jen calls it, cheesy-lame music (Chris Isaak), to finally, classic rock / folk (Gordon Lightfoot, Jim Croce, Foreigner, Neil Young, etc.).
I've tried to build a habit of doing two things on each business trip I go on: buy a shot glass representing the area I'm visiting, and buy a CD. I never buy CDs while at home, but I always get extra per diem money while I'm on travel, so it's totally justified. I haven't been very good at buying CDs, but some of the ones I've purchased include Alison Krauss: Live, Rascal Flatts: Feels Like Today, The Gabe Dixon Band, Tony Bennett: Duets, and Keane: Under the Iron Sea.
Oh, and one other note, unless you watch King of the Hill faithfully, you have a very good chance of not knowing who Chuck Mangione is. Unless you're a Clark. Then groups like Chuck Mangione, Al Jarreau, The Nylons, Bourgeois Tagg, and The Manhattan Transfer are well known.
Don't you just love music?!?
7 comments:
Why yes, I do love music! In fact, I'm trying to remember the name of a new band that has a new song out now. They're irish and sound like a nice mixture of Sting and U2 together. Anybody know their names? It's a pretty cool song.
At first I thought you were Jason writing - I think almost all of you have a wide variety in your taste of music. That pleases me a great deal. I know almost none of the ones you mentioned until you hit the last paragraph.
I don't want to buy whole CDs unless I know what they sound like and I don't know even where to look for these people. Somebody help me be more musically intelligent!
(Are you watching American Idol this year? They have 3 girls and 7 guys and most of them are pretty good. Country Western was the theme this year - not my favorite but still entertaining.)
The Dropkick Murphy's? How about Flogging Molly? Neither sounds Sting or U2 but they are fun.
It's funny that Jess mentioned Bourgeois Tagg. I just listened to them the other day.
Unlike Jess, I don't have such wide interests. I really don't like Country Music (although Michelle does) and I don't much like top 40 stuff - at least not the Brittney Spears, Jonas Brothers type.
If you like pop classical - Rhapsody in Blue, Bolero, William Tell Overture, all of which are some of my favorites- try Rimsky-Korsakov's Sheherazade. Also, try Carl Orff's Carmina Burana. That is one of my favorite choral works of all time. There are two more CDs you need to check out. They are a mix between classical and folk. Both are the same string trio. Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, and Mark O'Connor. They are called Appalachia Waltz and Appalachian Journey.
Although I really like Classical, I also like good old Rock. Audioslave, AC/DC, Metallica, Rush, and of course Styx. Oh, and Pearl Jam.
Before last night, I hadn't heard Bourgeois Tagg since the late 80's. Literally. I haven't heard that music since we all lived on Wildflower Cir.
I do enjoy a good song. Very nice.
I found the band I was looking for. It's The Script. They have some good songs. I like The Man Who Can't Be Moved and I'm Yours. Good stuff.
I ply my CD's but do not hear much on the radio. I just do not listen to the type of station that plays much new stuff, except jazz. The stations that do play so me rock are strickly classic rock as you call it. I haven't heard Jim Croce for an age. We were living in Salem with only Jason and Adam being born when he was on top.
I get a lot of talk radio, as you can imagine.
I guess I am one of the talking heads as you call them.
Dad Clark
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