Postby BrownBagger » Tue May 05, 2015 2:06 pm
I was reminded, this morning while getting chemo, what a great thing portable music devices are. When someone turns on the TV or starts talking about their operations, I dig out the headphones, whip out my phone, and climb into a different sonic world. If you'd told me 30 years ago that I could carry my entire record collection in my pocket, I would have had no choice but to confiscate your drugs.
This, in turn, reminded me that I have an interesting approach to musical enjoyment, aided and abetted mightily by the technology.
What I do is pick a musician and a period in that musician's career, then listen to nothing else for weeks or months (usually longer than a month). I learn all the lyrics, read up on the musician, the style, history of the records, etc. Anything connected to those particular recordings is fair game. Meanwhile, I listen to it over and over again, in the car on my long commutes and trips, as well as at home. At some point, I move on to a new artist (or genre) and immerse myself in it for awhile before moving on again.
I have no musical training or inclination, and probably not a very sophisticated appreciation of what's going on instrumentally and musically, but I do sometimes decide to focus on an instrument (say the bass) and try to appreciate the role it's playing in the performance. I guess I'm fascinated by musical arrangements, since I wouldn't know where to start. Some musicians probably wouldn't know where to start writing a magazine article or book, so I guess we all have our talents.
So, anyway, over the past two years I've gone from Wes Montgomery (whole career) to Miles Davis (Bitches Brew only) to the Allman Bros. (first 4 albums) and now getting into Johnny Winter, (career period TBT), but I'm starting with the first album and a live performance I lifted off of Youtube. You get into someone like Charlie Parker, and it's a pretty rich vein to tap, especially these days, when you can get all sorts of obscure stuff on the Internet.
I don't know anyone else who enjoys their music this way, but I find it pretty satisfying. My wife, by the way, likes to play the album Aquarius all the time, which I tolerate since she tolerates my music-listening habits.
Eric, 58
Dx: 3/09, Stage 4 RC
Recurrences: (ongoing, lung, bronchial cavity, ribs)
Major Ops: 6/ RFA: 3 /bronchoscopies: 8
Pelvic radiation: 5 wks. Bronchial radiation—brachytheray: 3 treatments
Chemo Rounds (career):136
Current Chemo Cocktail: Xeloda & Erbitux & Irinotecan biweekly
Current Cocktail; On the Wagon (mostly)
Bicycle miles post-dx 10,477
Motto: Live your life like it's going to be a long one, because it just might, and then you'll be glad you did.