I Can Hear Music

Y'all knew this one was coming. 

Where do I even begin? Everyone who knows me knows that I love the music of the past. I often say that I live in the past and that the music from back then was better.

Well, it was. 

Let's do a few comparisons: 

"If every word I said, could make you laugh I'd talk forever" vs. "Pussy put his ass to sleep, now he calling me NyQuil." 

"You can check out any time you like but you can never leave" vs. "I'll be sleeping on the left side of the bed (hey), open doors for me and you might get some kisses." 

"And when the night is cloudy, there is still a light that shines on me, shine until tomorrow, let it be" vs. "That's so ratchet, this girl is such a fake model." 

"Dear lady, can you hear the wind blow, and did you know, your stairway lies on the whispering wind?" vs. "Do you need me? Do you think I'm pretty? Do I make you feel like cheating?"

It hurt me physically to put those together. I think I may barf. 

All right, I admit, I purposely looked for the most amazing old lyrics and compared them to shitty modern songs. And I'm obviously bias. But this isn't journalism, it's a blog. It was to illustrate my point. Sorry for offending whoever may be offended And okay, not all songs back then were like that. There were songs about surfing and cars and love and going on dates but it was the simplicity that was beautiful. 

Music to me is extremely special. To me, it's not something that you just listen to. It's oxygen, it's lifeblood. It's something you can't survive without. If you took away my ability to listen to music, I'd die. And I know I'm not making this up, there's a shit-ton of studies on it. Music is supposed to make you feel. It's supposed to touch your soul. To me, there's nothing better than listening to something and getting chills all over because it's that good. When you listen to something and you feel like you're feeding off it, like it's giving you something--man, there's nothing better. 

Also, I like the respect that comes with liking old music. As selfish or obnoxious as that sounds, it's true. I was at a gas station with my sister once. I, being heavy into my Jersey Boys obsession, was blasting "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" while my sister was filling up. This older man, probably in his late '50s or early '60s heard it and told me to roll the window down and turn it up. When the song was over, he was all happy and said that he loved that song. He offered to pay for our gas or buy us an ice cream just because we made his day by playing that song. He also gave me his card and asked if I could e-mail him some old music, which I did. Right then I realized how amazing it felt to like the music that I do. So many people from the older generation look down on my generation and it's nice to surprise them and gain that look of respect. I feel like I've always gotten along well with older people anyways. I can talk music with them, which is cool. (I totally need a man my age who I can do the same with so umm, future husband, where are you?) 

I don't know why I like the old music so much. I grew up with 1050 CHUM or Oldies 1150 always playing on the radio. My sister has always been into the oldies music since she was a kid. It's always been in my life. But it took me a while to fully immerse myself in it. I grew up with boy bands and musical soundtracks (Newsies heeeey!!!!) but also Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Guns N' Roses, Queen, etc, because of my brother. In high school I was all into rock and I liked a whackload of modern day rock bands. Then around grade 12, the oldies really started to filter in. Then came the great Beatles apocalypse and that was that. Oldies became my life. And after that I felt like I found what I really loved. My soul connected with the music and that was it. I love all different types of music from many different eras but my heart lies with the oldies. 

The funny thing? All old music was modern music at one point. And not everyone loved it. I'm sure in '20s when jazz hit the scene, there were people complaining that classical was better. And when rock n roll hit in the '50s, some people stuck with jazz. And so on and so forth. I guess I like that early rock n roll was so different and impactful and how it changed the history of music. Even though the lyrics and chords may have been simple, I like that. It has something today's music lacks. I love how the mid-sixties and seventies were all about pushing the envelope and developing a real sound. But there was still a mystery about it all. Not today where everything hangs out. I'd rather hear about the mystical stairway to Heaven instead of how this guy wants to see this girl's tits or something. Back then, The Beatles sang a song about blowjobs and there's a Beach Boys song with sex noises in the background. (I know, right?!) They flirted with the taboo subjects but didn't outright say it. That's wicked. And also hilarious. 

Now, don't get me wrong here. I grew up in the '90s and was a teenager in the early '00s. I liked and still like plenty of modern music. I love '80s, '90s and '00s as well. I have a lot of songs on my iPod that can attest to that. I like Bruno Mars and Katy Perry and some Taylor Swift and Maroon 5 and whatever else. I like some music that will truly surprise you. 

And don't think I'm telling you what you have to like. My God, you can like whatever the hell you want. My opinion is not yours and yours is not mine. Whatever music makes you feel good, listen to it. Music, like art, is subjective. As long as it makes you feel something, then that's all that matters. If Pitbull does it for you, great. Miley Cyrus? Awesome. Taylor Swift? Amazing. That's all you. I have no right to tell you what to like. I'm only telling you what I like. 

And okay, not every piece of music has to be a spiritual experience. Sometimes you want to let loose and have fun and listen to extremely obnoxious pop music. Don't think I don't. I'm talking about music as a whole when I geek out over its spiritualism.  

Of course, I'm never going to change my opinion. I will always maintain that old music is better. And that's totally fine. Because it's what I think and what I chose to listen to. Everyone is different. I'm not better than anyone, there's no right or wrong here. It's a to each their own situation. Respect everyone's opinion.

Yeah, I rag on people and make fun of my friends for liking modern music but I'm only kidding. The only time I'll ever get mad is if you tell me that I shouldn't be listening to old music. Then I will tell you where, when and how many ways you can fuck off. It's happened before. And it majorly pisses me off. Once you start getting judge-y and tell me what I should be listening to because of when I was born, I will flip on you. In the end, everyone listens to whatever the hell they want to. 

But, I mean, you all know that modern music sucks, right? ;) 

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the songs mentioned, rights belong to the respective artists. Also, thank you to Melissa and Maddalena for helping me out!!