Every time I go back to the US, about once a year or so, I realize how much further I’m out of the loop. One way is in money; a lot of my old friends are doing well financially. About a year ago, I went to dinner with three friends from high school, two of whom were attorneys and one a fairly well-paid software developer. When the bill came, the per-person amount left me near-speechless while the others said, “Oh, that’s pretty reasonable!”
A second way is in gadgets, a particularly acute issue when you come from the doorstep of Silicon Valley. People can talk for hours about their latest smart phone or little computer toy, and allＩcan do is nod and smile.
Neither of these bother me all that much. But what does get to me is my total ignorance of modern popular music. Recently, my friend Dan posted his Top Ten albums of 2008. I scanned through and identified exactly four of the artists (Billy Bragg, The Roots, Nas, and of course R.E.M). I was aware of none of these albums, and not a single one of these songs.
For some reason, this depresses me. I used to be a huge modern music fan. I remember being able to turn on a local rock radio station and identify every song that came on within the first two or three notes. I once had a subscription to Rolling Stone. I watched MTV. I went to as many concerts as I could afford.
I was even the sort of guy who alphabetized his CDs, something I did painstakingly every time I bought a new one. I completely identified with the John Cusack character in High Fidelity. I became obsessed with musical minutiate, mostly gleaned from reading liner notes of the CDs I bought.
And now I pretty much know nothing about what’s happening now. Someone asked me who my favorite current band was, and all I could think of was The White Stripes, who have been around for at least a decade.
I have an Italian friend in Kunming who sometimes DJs at a bar called Halfway House. One night, he started playing songs from my time. Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam, Garbage, Beck, Red Hot Chili Peppers, etc. I got up and danced around like an idiot; it was fun. At one point, when he played something I didn’t recognize, I shouted, “Dude, play some ’90s!”
Later I realized that I’ve become that guy. You know, the guy who thinks all the music released since he was 21 years old is garbage, and when he goes out all he wants to hear are the classics. The problem is, I’m not really old enough to be that guy. I’m the same age as Dan, who apparently still can speak authoritatively about music released in the past year. Is it possible to be that guy when you’re not even 30?
I’m still current with books and movies. But music…nah. And this, friends, is what living in a place as removed as China will do to you after awhile.
Comments 7
You can stay up-to-date by reading music blogs or sites such as pitchfork and downloading torrents. That’s how I stay up on the latest music trends.
J.
Posted 09 Jan 2009 at 1:32 pm ¶There’s really no shame in not keeping up with the latest music trends. I have a relative who is a musician, who recently told me that he doesn’t listen to new artists until they’ve stuck around for five years. If someone asked me what I’ve been listening to a lot in the past couple years, I would name the Beatles, Bob Dylan, The Clash, Johnny Cash – so stuff that’s 30 or 40 years old. In many ways that’s much more worthwhile than new artists.
Posted 09 Jan 2009 at 7:14 pm ¶No, no, no…. I know that 99% of music released in the west since I was 21 is garbage.
Actually, I have the same problem when I turn on http://www.kiwifm.co.nz- I recognise none of the music and find myself hanging out for the classic stuff of the 80s and 90s (NZ was one of those odd places that actually turned out mostly decent music in the 80s). And the thing is, I actually don’t like most of the new stuff I hear. Maybe that’s partly to do with my inability to relate to it, having been away for so long, but it really doesn’t appeal to me. I actually think China’s doing a better job of music these days.
Posted 10 Jan 2009 at 9:00 am ¶It’s not just being in China, it’s kinda being in Kunming. When I moved to Beijing last spring, I instantly felt closer to the rest of the world–for better and worse.
But don’t worry about it… you can catch right back up whenever you decide to go back. Except, of course, on the money thing. That’s a bit harder.
Posted 10 Jan 2009 at 11:13 am ¶I do listen to a lot of classic rock, actually; and I never get sick of the Beatles, Dylan, Johnny Cash, etc. But even with 20-25 odd gigs of music I’m beginning to get bored of my collection.
Posted 10 Jan 2009 at 3:17 pm ¶the advantage of being cut off like this is that it forces you to go find stuff you really like, rather than getting sucked into what’s “in” or what’s being played to death on the radio.
with access to the internet, and the bounty of ‘free’ music that’s available – and useful website functions like amazon’s “people who bought this also bought”, there has never been a better time to be an inquisitive audiophile.
kunming’s live music scene ain’t going to improve anytime soon though…
Posted 14 Jan 2009 at 11:32 am ¶I’d say in my time in Kunming though that I got a far broader musical repertoire to draw from locally. German or Japanese reggae, Israeli soul, Sri Lankan hip-hop, New Zealand dub and not only is it unique it’s usually a mile or two more talented then what you find on the Billboard top twenty record label promoted stuff. No, Kunming is a great place to learn about music, even if it’s only new to you.
Posted 15 Jan 2009 at 1:56 pm ¶Post a Comment