The Evo of Music

I get the idea I've been turning more materialistic over the last few months. I remember wanting all the cool European Addidas shoes at the department stores in Sweden and Finland. Now I find myself sitting infront of the computer cruising eBay on a Friday night, looking at silly and rediculously priced things such as digital SLR cameras (I bought an SLR less than one year ago), fancy iPod nano systems (I already have an iPod, why another?), Tottenham Hotspur jerseys, camelback packs and Hoodies just to list off a few. The problem here is that it is wanting for the sake of having. Not to say... use it.

Anyways, I digress as usual from the main topic. While perusing the iPods I was reminded of a conversation I had with this German dude in Tallinn while we watched his team obliterate Portugal to take 3rd place. On the subject of today's culture he brought up a pretty good point about how listening to music has changed with the advent of portable electronics. Think about having to wait weeks and weeks to go see an orchestra or ensemble play together - and that is most likely if one was wealthy. For the common punter it was likely not until the next festival one got to see live music. And by see live music, I mean hear any music at all, bar the exception of the person who was learnt in the musical arts. I'm sure that population was a bit small during the dark ages though. I can only imagine that there was a passion and level of excitement to see and hear music not found elsewhere in the land/kingdom/city-state/whathaveyou. Not only that but it must have been associated with postive things - celebrations, festivals, holidays - things that would add to the enjoyment of music. Beer. I think technology may have killed a lot of that passion. With the click of a button on a device the size of a few fingers one can instantaneously access anything from Apex Theory to Zebulon Pike, from Slayer to New Kids on the Block. We now fly through what's hot in a few weeks time and then turn to the next big thing, which really just sounds exactly the same as what we turned our back on. The radio kills music by method of overplay. We've almost killed our passion for music by means of turning it into something that fills the silence while we ride the train or drive our car, surf the web or clean the house. It has become everyday and common. Very rarely do I find myself remembering that music is truly an amazing experience, even just to listen to. The last time it happened for me is when I saw Dave Grohl walk out into a crowd of 80,000 in Hyde Park, London and give an amazing performance of Everlong. When was the last time the music was the moment for you and not just the background filler?

My Tottenham jersey should be here in a few weeks, and I placed a bid on a digital camera.