Music. What's it all about then?
It's a strange business, music. Why do we do it? And by that I mean us amateurs. Because we are compelled to, that's why. We need to express who we are to the world. It really is an egotistical thing: I've produced this piece of music and introduced it to the word. "Hello World, this is me, this is myself distilled into musical form." We do it because we want to say something to the world, even if it is in a somewhat abstract way. But we also want the world to acknowledge what we say. We want people to say "that's great, here's some cash" or whatever. We want to make a difference. We want to communicate to people our own world-view.
We do this in all our own different musical genres. Some, obviously, are more popular than others. I don't adhere to the notion that one type of music is better than others. Some music is more compently written and played than others, true. But music is music, regardless of it's origin. I'll never undertand hip hop or reggae, or electro or pop or stuff like that. It's not what I grew up listening to. It doesn't mean I don't appreciate the talent and hard work which has gone in to making it. It just means it doen't speak to me - and that's the thing. Music has to communicate to you. For some it's Adele and for other's it's Cabaret Voltaire,
And this is the great thing about music - there's no right or wrong. There's just music and personal preference. I'd rather listen to Stockhausen than the Depeche Mode. But that's just my preference. Neither is better than the other. They both communicate their world-views in ways that make sense to themselves. They are both honest to their world.
The music I listen to engages me on the emotional and the intellectual sides. It delights and baffles me. It makes me see the world differently. I'd love to think that the music I produce does the same. I'm not sure it does and I would never dream of comparing myself to my musical heroes, talent-wise or any other way. I know my limits musically speaking. I know what I can do and what I never will be able to do and his doesn't bother me too much.
And where does this come from? Who know's? In my case it's not from my parents - they grew up with 1940's big band music. It's certainly not from my grandparents - they grew up with music hall stuff - no radio or TV or films when they were young. So the sort of music which attracts my attention will probably always remaing a mystery. And this may not be such a bad thing.
