poignant

 Now I believe this isn't true for everyone, but I also believe it applies to the majority of us. We find our music and pretty much stay with that for the rest of our lives. What I'm thinking about is not so much a genre, as a soundtrack. My soundtrack has music from several genres including rock, blues, mo-town, country and western, and yes, the latter are different things. But I'm aware at some point I quit adding to that soundtrack. At first it was disco music that just left me flat. I didn't like it then, don't like it now, and have none in my collection. Then there were the hair bands with their power ballads and costumes. No interest in them or their screaming and pounding. The fact is it seems like I haven't found much music past 1970's that interests me. Today it is mostly traditional/classic country music. I've discovered that the sad songs always make me happy. The songs with deep emotions appeal to me, the dramatic ones especially. Songs like Hello Darlin' and He Stopped Loving Her Today. That music plays in the background of my life. The other songs in my catalogue are played when I'm really paying attention. That is to say, for their entertainment value. Those songs get the party started. 

 Each song represents a period in time. With each song I remember where and when. With the majority it is just a general thing, a decade or so, a time in my life. I will still listen to the songs from my teenage years but more for the amusement, the memory, than the music itself. But I've never been what you could call a groupie. I never collected every single release from any group or artist. I got stuck on a group or two for a while but moved on. I don't have a single favorite singer. Whatever the popular music today is, I couldn't say. I really have no idea what the kids are listening to. I hear about a lot of black artists on the television. Strange I don't hear about many white ones, or I'm just not paying attention. For a while I would hear about the boy groups, Backstreet Boys or some such thing. One granddaughter was listening to K-Pop! When she mentioned that at first, I thought she was talking about a breakfast cereal. 

 I don't listen to the radio very much anymore. I'm thinking radio as a medium for popular music is fading. I suppose streaming is the same thing in a way though, and how the kids get their music. Social media platforms certainly play a major role I would think. I've tried listening to what they are calling country music these days and it I don't know what to call it, it isn't country that much is certain. All the "cowboys" are cool these days, they claim to be country but embrace the urban attitudes! I guess it is what sells but I'm not buying it. The Bellamy brothers expressed it best with their song, Old Hippie. I understand the sentiment in that song completely. Today I just listen to the music that makes me comfortable. Like your favorite pair of jeans or bedroom slippers, worn and comfortable. Familiar. The familiar is reassuring, that's my feeling. Those songs are like time machines to take you back for a few minutes. Somewhere around three minutes was determined to be the ideal length, give or take thirty seconds. The story should be told in that length of time to hold the interest of the listener. Now, in my golden years I find I'm reliving my youth three minutes at a time. It's about as much youth as I can handle these days. Sure was fun, but tiring. " 'Cause him and his kind get more endangered everyday

And pretty soon the species will just up and fade away " (The Bellamy Bros) What a poignant statement of truth.