My friend Lawrence came to visit me a while back and having searched through my iTunes had found series after series of Lectures and speeches with peppered Hillsong albums (For the Unaware Click here for a sample) which admittedly (and evident from the most played counts) I hadn’t really listened to. I was somewhat embarrassed to admit that my fancy for hip-hop had faded and couldn’t find a valid reason as to why they hadn’t quite made it into my collection. Instead there were a few tracks from Keane, a Snow Patrol album (which I am in no way embarrassed for enjoying from time to time), Jahaziel, and the Truth.
It was sad to conclude then that my liking for popular music had diminished. I think in the middle of assignments, working, and trying to navigate my way into a secure state (Freedom from Facebook), I had lost the thirst for the next best gig. Dying beside that was the hunger for T.V which was stabbed in the heart by an endless stream of keep-you-glued-to-the-screen-so-we-can-advertise programs. Even the great love, football, was weeping in the snow of the harsh winter of neglect alongside the acoustic guitar I hadn’t touched for a quarter.
(I have this image of a boat, like the Elves have in Lord of The Rings, packed with all my favourite characters sailing away. With Pingu having an argument with Fabio Capello about tactics as Wayne Rooney translates, and Jack Bauer and Daniel Craig (as James Bond of course) having an old western stand-off, and Simon Cowell busily laughing as Dr Who and his assistant struggle to get their Phone booth on board. I have a thriving imagination. Anyway back we go)
Over the years, I think, I had somehow developed into quite the bore. It was somewhat troubling that my wife had 98% more music (of which 80% is hip-hop) more than me. Lawrence left me with the thought that I had to somehow rectify that glitch in the Matrix so I tuned in. It was both enlightening as well as disappointing. I found, contrary to how it all was when I stopped; everything sounded the same (it all sounded like Dizzy Rascal – whom I still hadn’t forgiven for the Newsnight Fiasco). Music had changed and I was no longer down with it. There was no Tupac, no Common, no Lauren Hill on MTV. What was constant on kiss was the kind of music you’d dance to but wouldn’t listen to while you travelled. It was all much faster and noisier than I remembered, and to add to my frustration, the first show I found that was worth watching (Luther) was cancelled due to poor ratings.
(I have to take an aside for this one! People really amaze me. How can such a brilliant piece of art be silenced while Britain’s Got Talent survives? I can only accredit it to mass ignorance. I’ll stop here to avoid a libel case…)
So here I am, having trawled through iPlayer, surfing Youtube for oldies to possibly purchase on iTunes. The best I’ve found so far are below…
It's Complicated 