hopefully i one day look back on this stuff

...and think, "you knew nothing."

I like to listen to a wide variety of music, and I am a packrat.

Recently, when swapping files onto my external, I undertook the task of organizing my music collection. A little part of me died that weekend.

Nowadays at 25K+ songs and counting, I've come to find that I hardly know the catalog of music that I've hoarded. Both my eclectic tastes and short attention span are to blame for this mess.

I realize I haven't really listened to music in a while; my preferred listening environment is sat in the driver's seat of a car, 80MPH in 3rd on the freeway, windows slightly lowered with 2000 or so watts screaming at me, me physically exulting with every pulse and dip in the music. The car's been sidelined for a while (for sure, I shed a single tear every time I go home and see subwoofers sitting on bedstands) and I'm thinking that as a direct result, I've skimmed countless tracks like they were chapters in college textbooks. That's no good.

I miss developing that connection to whatever music moves you best; we can all sit and listen to the radio together, but no two people will ever react to a piece of music in the exactly same way. We each take our own personal possession of these little three-minute time slots (set to syncopation and melody). We apply our own dis/likes and biases. For me, tons of things come to mind within seconds of a familiar song's start: I used to sing Thrice's "Illusion of Safety" album to myself, from first track to last to keep from falling asleep in church, and Tech N9ne's "Let's Go" will always be rolling shoulders and messing with kid sister in Kaua'i.

Open your ears and quit worrying about which song's coming up next, Raymond.

Off the back of my neck, the new Red Jumpsuit Apparatus and Hoobastank releases were entirely forgettable. I was introduced to Dallas Green (who I'd known previously as the frontman of Alexisonfire) who, incidentally sings like an angel when not metalcore-backed. Kill the autotune, K, and make another record.

(2009) Naturally 7 - first saw them performing "In the Air Tonight" in the subway (two thumbs way down for the guy who kept his back turned and pretended not to notice) a couple years back, this year they've released "Wall of Sound" and do a decent job at picking up where BoyzIIMen left off. Their "Broken Wings" is a refreshing rendition of the Mr. Mister original.

(2008) Unearth - known and loved 'em since 2004's "Oncoming Storm," their latest effort "The March" still features the dueling lead guitars and razor-sharp riffs that fans have come to expect. The track "Truth or Consequence" has a breakdown so low and severe it demands immediate bowel surrender, and "Cutman" is full of arpeggiated goodness.

Will see if anything else catches my attention. I'm listening.