What are you listening to?

This is something new that I would like to introduce to this blog. A couple of friends of mine and I used to ask each other this question, usually over dinner, and usually after we had not seen each other for a few weeks. These discussions often lead to the introduction of new artists and some times the broadening of my musical horizon- not to mention an insight into my friends. We don't see each other often anymore and I miss the opportunity to talk about music. Music, as I have mentioned on this blog, is an integral part of my life. I grew up in a household that had the radio on from the time the first person woke up, until the last one went to bed. While in the last 15 years or so, the predominant station at my parent's house has been the CBC, when I was younger, it was tuned to a music station with the latest hits.

A couple of months ago, I bought some books from amazon for father's day. I also included a copy of Gordon Lightfoot's latest CD for my mom with the amazon purchase. For my non-Canadian readers, Mr.Lightfoot is one of Canada's great folk singers, an icon really. I have lots of childhood memories of Gordon's records playing through the speakers downstairs on many snow bound Quebec winter weekends. Mom had a couple of his records and was a pretty keen fan; my brother particularly liked the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald (not sure why this resonated with him) while I preferred the easy lyrics and the haunting melodies of the songs like Did She Mention my Name, Black Day in July, and Pussywillows Cattails.

While on a recent short road trip back to the Okanagan from the coast, we placed the cd in the radio and launched Gordon through the speakers. My first thoughts were about how time has not been very kind to his voice; the quintessential clear Gordon sound has been replaced with a gruff and fuzzy sound. And so I did a quick mental recoil. After listening closely for a few minutes, I decided that although it was not the same, it wasn't bad either. His voice is a reflection of the trials he has personally been through in the last couple of decades. I then had to think about other artists and the natural changes of voice over time and how this affects how I might feel about their music- and whether it was the music or the change I was actually resisting. After a couple of songs, I began to rethink my original reaction. Nothing ever stays the same and although I will always prefer the young Gordon, there is a certain charm to the "new voice."

I did truly like two of his songs. The lyrics for Inspiration Lady are very touching, and probably true of an artist that has worked for a few decades; the melody and guitar playing are very reminiscent of his songs from three decades ago. Harmony, is a catchy tune that is hard to get out of your head. It is simple, and is perfect for his "new" voice. I can't say that I liked the overall album. Part of the reason is that I am not a big fan of folk music; some of the tunes (all written by him) are a little hokey. I suspect however, that my resistance to this album is that it suffers by comparison to his old material; I think his old voice and songs are so much better. I think for me the nostalgia is too strong, and doesn't leave any room for anything else from him for me.

While I would really love to hear what you are listening to, this is admittedly a shameless opportunity to tell you what I am listening to. I don't know how often I will do this, but I already have the next post made up in my mind.