Gloomy Hazy Goth Shoegazy
Music has always been an integral part of my DNA. Not literally. But, maybe literally. A major pet peeve of mine is when people use absolutes like “need” or “cannot” or “must” when referring to anything other than basics. “I cannot sleep without the TV on. I NEED it to be on.” No you don’t. You prefer it. You’re used to it. It’s not a need.
Anyhoo, that’s stupid and I shouldn’t sweat the small stuff especially when it has nothing to do with me. “Worry about yourself” as my mom would say. So, onto what I NEED…
I need music. And not just in a way that I want to hear it. I want it to evolve with me. I want my tastes to change and tributaries of subgenres to branch into complex patterns of Venn diagrams that inspire countless pointless conversations about the subtleties of this “core” vs that “post”. Knowledge about session bassist and touring managers and recording stories. These are some of my absolute favorite things. And the unknown is more exciting than the known. Having friends who share these interests (most of mine do) who know things I don’t, trading stories, links, and articles about music we all love.
The title of this post is just because that’s the mode of music I feel like I’ve been in for a long, long time. I hate it when someone is asked what type of music they like and they say “everything”. It’s a generic answer that’s well…often the right answer. I used to always just answer with whatever my current obsession was at the time. “Metal”, “punk rock”, “postpunk”, or whatever. Sometimes it was just “The Beatles” because I’d go through entire months of only listening to them. But, a mixed bag of musical taste is how it should be. No pleasure is guilty. It’s all ok. I mean, some of it is dogshit, but it’s ok.
This being an RPG-centric blog, of course there’s a connection with my love for music and my love for the games we play. I already made a post about Dungeons Synth and I’ll be damned if I go back and read it before I finish writing this, so I’ll likely repeat myself.
So much of what I listen to is tied to people I played with. I cut my teeth on my folks’ music and stuff I saw on MTV (specifically Headbanger’s Ball, 120 Minutes, Alternative Nation and, yes, Beavis and Butthead). When I got into gaming in the early/mid-90s, it was with friends I’d known for a while. We shared the same tastes in music for the most part. Whatever was in the Buzz Bin, we were likely digging. But, as I met new guys around the table, some a few years older than me, conversations always turned to music at some point and I was waylaid with new bands to listen to…back in the day when the only way to get new music was to go somewhere and buy it. Or borrow it from often stingy friends (can you blame them?).
A massive slice of my musical taste today is because of guys I play/played RPGs with around one of our parents’ kitchen tables or in a basement or garage. Rolling dice into the wee hours on a weekend, getting the late night jollies, and getting far off track during the game, wrapping ourselves up in conversation, hilarity, and complete distraction. Music always found its way into those phases of the night. Still does.
So, thanks to everyone from back then (and now) who constantly introduced me to new artists and genres which inspired me to search for similar bands and thus discovering even more genres and music to the point where I’m still obsessing over a new band or two per week.
Thanks to James for The Cure. To Robert for Nine Inch Nails. To Andy for Castle Rat (and Tori…I know it’s been 30 years and I’m still trying). To Matt for forcing my fandom of Rush into an obsession. To Chris for finding a song about a Cloak of Elvenkind on what I thought was going to be a throwaway Marcy Playground album. To Sheridan for the near-infinite hours spent talking about The Beatles and Oasis. To Randall for more industrial music that I didn’t realize existed. To Bryan for niche metal and a love for shreds. To Jeremy for metal and the majority of its myriad subgenres. To Ike for punk rock.
I’ve played a tabletop roleplaying game with all of these people. That’s the thread. Always has been. Always will be.
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