Growing up is interesting. All people do it. Even individual aspects of our lives grow at different rates and in different ways. I know that my tastes in music evolved much faster when I was a teenager and through my twenties as I discovered new things and “old” things sort of fell to the side. Now, I’m not as fickle as many people who consume music, so I still did love the stuff that I was sort of letting go for a while for the shiny new things, but often I just never listened to it again. And there were plenty of things got heard and cast aside because they didn’t hook me.

I find it a nice experiment sometimes to go back and listen to things that were lost or hated for whatever reason and see if the current version of me, removed from whatever cultural prejudice (it was/wasn’t cool to like it) existed at the time.

I’ve actually gotten a lot of joy finding things I missed over the years, and it’s almost more fun to rediscover something that used to be on my radar when I was younger. There’s a lot of stuff I just didn’t “get” that I now understand. Even three of my favorite bands didn’t hook me when I first heard them. Rush, Led Zeppelin, and Muse – all three I kind of either hated or was sort of “meh” on until years after I first heard their music, and now all three are constant musical companions and teachers.

Going back and listening to the albums I wore out as a kid has been almost universally fun. The recent death of Producer/Writer/Rapper/Piano Man Gregory Jacobs (aka “Shock G” and “Humpty Hump”) reminded me how amazing his group Digital Underground’s album “Sex Packets” is – truly one of the greatest concept albums not by a prog- or art-rock band, and one of the best I’ve ever heard in Hip Hop. It ain’t just “The Humpty Dance” – although that’s definitely there for you to enjoy.

Another great example I hadn’t really heard since I was about 14 but now pops back into the regular rotation is INXS’ album “Kick”. It doesn’t have a bad song on it. De La Soul’s “3 Feet High and Rising” is another landmark that I listened to OVER AND OVER and that I appreciate even more as my musical tastes and experience have grown over the years. There are a few albums that I remember listening to a lot that I can’t really get through these days (Starship’s “Knee Deep In The Hoopla” is an EXCELLENT example – that thing is dreadful), but the adventure of listening to stuff that was sort of ubiquitous at one time in my life, long before my “musician ears” kicked in, allows me to appreciate them on a different level, which is mostly good.

In the age of Spotify, I’ve had a lot of fun creating playlists that include the radio songs of my childhood – some of which I hadn’t really heard since then. Stuff like “Heart Attack” by Olivia Newton-John. Or “You Should Hear How She Talks About You” by Melissa Manchester. “You Are” by Lionel Richie. “Self Control” by Laura Branigan. These are often “other hit” songs that people forgot that really have no home except on the weird “Jack” or “Bob” or other single-name, catch-all playlist radio stations, and even still, they don’t always show up there. There are a lot of songs that had similar chart positions to stuff that has endured like “Jessie’s Girl” or “867-5309/Jenny” but never really made it past 1984 in terms of being something people talk about or listen to. And a lot of them were pretty big hits! Sure, fans know the stuff, but in terms of the general population, most of it is lost to time. And I don’t know that it’s a good thing. But it doesn’t matter – because the journey to rediscovering stuff is a pleasure.

I’m generally not super open to a lot of current music, for a variety of reasons – many of them tied to the production styles (trap hats, autotune) and what I see as a general lack of excellence in writing and performing. The people who do impress me generally are special talents as singers or MCs, write their own stuff, and have a broader appreciation of music. Or sometimes it’s just an excellent song. But all of these feel rare to me right now, so it doesn’t encourage the searching. It is entirely possible that I’ll revisit this stuff in a few years and go, “damn, I like this – why did I think it sucked?” and that’s cool. That’s the beauty of having access to basically everything.

Think about stuff you liked as a kid – think about the last time you heard it. Maybe grab a few of those old albums that meant something to you that you stopped listening to for whatever reason, or stuff you hated and never really gave a chance, and and go back and give them a try. Hate them, love them, or “meh” them, it’s worth it for the nostalgia kick. I mean, even fucking Gerardo was fun to go back and check out for me. Color Me Badd, even. I still kind of hate them, but it was fun hearing them again, especially with my current ears.

Have a great rest of your week – go get your jab if you haven’t (it’s time – plenty of availability in most areas now), and take care of yourself.

Peace be the journey!
TMS