All Music is New Music
To somebody somewhere sometime
This is a companion article to Steven Hale’s piece, All Music is Old Music, which I loved.
I too have been moved by the Riff Challenge to remember an album that I loved upon its release, and which left a mark. I can think of only a few that hit me that way, but hit me they did. I wrote about Yes’ 90125. I was there for the release of Rush’s Moving Pictures and Genesis’ Abacab and Van Halen’s 1984. Your psyche readily quickens around music when you’re 16. Not so much later. These days the only artist whose releases make me feel that kind of frisson is Tom Waits, who, if he were to put on a concert anywhere in the world, I would get on a plane to be at.
This may sound sad to you. Not the Tom Waits part, but the not being excited by new releases part. Where’s that sense of discovery? Where’s the love of new music? I don’t know. I don’t know where the new music is because I’ve been discovering all the music. And it’s all new to me.
In college, like a lot of music majors, I was falling down the two great rabbit holes of jazz and classical music. I would walk around amazed. “Have you heard this Coltrane guy?” And they would say one of two things, “That’s old news, man,” or “John who the fuck are you talking about?” I would shout, “You have to listen to this Bach cantata with me!” No…
