Every now and then, I get onto a music jag, where I'll want to listen to a single artist / group or even a single album for quite a while. It doesn't happen very often, but I have noticed something interesting as a result of this. Before getting into the details, I want to talk about the kinds of music I listen to and when I listen.
As I mention on the front page, I run a mailing list for Blue Oyster Cult (BOC) and Hawkwind. I got started with that list (the short version of this story), because I was trying to track down the lyrics for some of BOC's songs. I like having the lyrics for music that I really like. At home, squirreled away on my hard disk, I've got the lyrics for more albums than I care to mention, all of them typed in by me. Of course, you probably guessed this, but I should add it anyway - I've also gone through and made sure that the lyrics are right compared to what the singer actually sings. ["Putting the retentive in anal-retentive!"]
I have mostly (or entirely) complete collections of Blue Oyster Cult, Jethro Tull, Rush, the Tragically Hip and Al Stewart, plus lots more. My CD rack is actually overflowing (onto the spare rack, the floor and the window-sill. I used to listen to music a lot more than I do now, although I'm not quite sure when the change took place. I still occasionally put a CD in in the car or at work, but not like I used to when I had music playing constantly.
I think part of the reason for that is that I need to do more writing these days, so I need to make sure that the words make sense in my head and I can't do that if I'm hearing other words, even if with music. The somewhat interesting twist here, though, is that when I do any serious coding, I definitely like to have lots of music. And it has to be lots of loud music. I used to joke (and still do), that, when I'm programming, I use the music as "sonic overpressure" to make sure that all the thoughts stay in my head until I can get them into the editor.
I've done the "sonic overpressure" thing as long as I can remember and it always works. I've also noticed that, the more intense a coding session is going to be, the more important it is that I keep enough loud music around to keep everything in my head. With that going on, I can almost instantly get into "flow" and stay there.
But, sometimes the music is there just because I want the music. And I want the same music, over and over and over again. I've never understood that part. I'm in a mood / rut like that right now. I'm listening to all of what I call "later Jethro Tull". It's the portion of the Tull discography from Crest of a Knave through J-Tull dot com. It's basically the collection of stuff that they did after Ian Anderson (Tull's vocal and other lead) lost much of his lower range.
I've got the CDs loaded into the stereo at home and I've got some MP3 ripped versions at work. [Yes, I ripped them from my own CDs.] And, for a slight change of pace, I've got Thick As A Brick in the car stereo. This all started when I started listening to A Passion Play in the car... constantly.
So, obviously I'm in some sort of wierd mood where this is the music that's soothing the inner beast. But that brings up an interesting question. In the past, for example, I've had jags where I listened to Al Stewart constantly. And, after a few days of doing that, I found that my mood was starting to be (negatively) influenced by the music. Granted, Al's not necessarily the most cheerful singer, but I was really being dragged down. I then forced myself to listen to something else and was able to pick myself back up.
I don't think I'm feeling particularly down, so that's not it. After all, I just tore through a 600-page paperback and started reading another couple of books; things are good at home; we just put up curtains in the kitchen; etc. All seems to be right with the world (or at least as much as it ever is). But I'm still listening to Tull.
And the question that occurs to me, comparing my experiences, past and present, with music ruts: Does my mood set the music I listen to or does the music I listen to set my mood? I'm sure the answer is "a bit of both", but I think it's an interesting question, nonetheless.
Author: ben@tmk.com