Twenty-One Questions About Music

A few days ago I found this fun list of music related questions on The Only Deadhead In The Hameau so I decided to give it a go myself. If anyone wants to play along I traced it back to the original creator here: A Guy Called Bloke

1. How important is music in your life?

It was a lot more important when I was younger and was still playing guitar and bass regularly. But like a lot of things in life, as we get older our priorities change and we shift to other interests. Music is still an important accessory in my life, it’s just not omnipresent the way it used to be.

2. What is your most favourite type of music and what is your least favourite?

I like to think that I have varied tastes, but I’m still an urban middle-aged white guy, so classic rock is my go-to favourite. It’s what I listened to and played the most in my younger years along with a lot blues and some R&B.

My least favourite type? It’s a tie between Techno and Rap. Yeah I know, I’m a walking white bread cliché… 😉

Oh, and I was traumatized by too much old-school Country & Western by my parents when I was a kid. Really, there’s no recovering from countless hours of being subjected to Conway Twitty, Loretta Lynn, Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard. In fact I think it explains a lot about what’s wrong with me today 😀

3. Do you own a music collection or do you simply listen to whatever on whatever?

Yes, I have a huge stack of old vinyl albums, about 400 cds and even a few hundred cassette tapes that I’ve never been able to allow myself to get rid of. Now, what I listen to usually comes in some form of digital, mostly Spotify.

4. Are you a singer, a hummer or a whistler?

All of the above – and proud of it! Also, I’m a dang good air guitar player, even if I do say so myself.

5. Show through links your five best songs?

Being a classic rock fan you might guess there’d be Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Beatles, Rolling Stones and the like on my shortlist. But aside from the fact that it’s totally impossible for me to narrow it down to only five, if I have to try, well these are some of the songs I keep coming back to:

Dire Straits – Sultans of Swing. The drummer doesn’t get enough credit on this one and of course the lead guitar is legendary.

Gordon Lightfoot – If You Could Read My Mind. Canada’s troubadour. This one has been covered by dozens of artists over the years and for good reason – it’s beautiful.

Blue Rodeo – Bad Timing. A Canadian band that didn’t get nearly as famous as they should have. Thanks to them I’m able listen to SOME country music again 🙂

Carole King – I Feel the Earth Move. R&B done right.

Stevie-Ray Vaughan – Scuttle Buttin’. Because wow. Just wow.

6. Have you ever been to an outdoor concert?

Yes, many times.

7. Do you ever go out to listen to music live? When was the last time you went to a concert/gig?

Not much anymore. Concerts end well past my bedtime and we usually end up having a long drive back home from the city. The last time was about a year ago.

8. Do you sometimes feel like dancing when you hear music? Under what circumstances do you dance?

See question #2. Helloo-ooo??? Middle-aged white guy here: two left feet, bad back, bad knees, dancing is rarely on the menu.

If I really have to, I can; but like many men of ‘my tribe’, I subscribe to the Rock ’em Sock’em Robots school of dancing: it’s all in the arms.

Of course I can do the Macarena and the Chicken Dance, but only at weddings 😉

9. When do you listen to music?

Mostly at home. Weekends, evening, during meals, when reading, and of course in the car on long drives. Music and driving just go together don’t they?

10. If you answered yes to Questions 6 & 7 – who did you go and see?

An old music buddy who plays phenomenal blues guitar. He plays the club circuit around here and we try to go see him once in a while.

The last outdoor concert was quite some time ago: Elton John maybe…in the late 1980’s I think.

11. Is there a song that makes you emotional?

Nessun Dorma from the Puccini opera Turandot puts a lump in my throat…

Every. Single. Time.

There are lots of examples from popular music too. At least half of Jim Croce’s songs. It depends on my mood though.

12. Do you feel that you have a special connection with some types of music? Which types?

The blues registers with me the most. I can’t put my finger on why, it just does.

13. Have you ever tried singing in a karaoke bar? What was the experience like?

In public? No. But I am always the clown prince at any family karaoke event 🙂

14. Do you listen to music when writing? If so which?

If I’m writing or working I find that music can pull me away and distract me from the task at hand, so no, I generally prefer to work/write in silence.

15. Have you ever gone to see a musical? What was it, provide link please.

Yes. We see musicals about once a year. The last one was Come From Away based on the true story about the small town of Gander, Newfoundland, that had to provide food and shelter for several days to almost 7000 stranded travelers from 38 grounded planes after the U.S. closed its airspace from the attacks of September 11th.

16. Do you know the lyrics to all the songs you like?

Pretty much. If you like a song, then you listen to it more often, so it’s kinda normal that the words just sink in. Even more so for any songs I play on guitar myself.

And that whole memory thing; isn’t that one of the amazing things about how music affects the brain?

I can barely remember what I had for breakfast two days ago yet I know all the words to the Beatles’ Eleanor Rigby…go figure.

17. When you are listening to music – are you listening just to the music itself or the lyrics too?

It depends on the song. Often it can be both. And in others it might even just be one specific instrument. Joe Jackson’s Fools in Love, or Elvis Costello’s Watching the Detectives? I’m focusing on the killer bass.

18. Do you listen to music when you go cycling/jogging or when you’re working out at the gym? [or any other physical activity]

Working out indoors yes. Music is especially good on the stationary bike or treadmill.

Never when I’m cycling outdoors though. The way some people drive I want to be totally alert to my surroundings.

19. Many operas are in French, Italian or German. If you listen to opera, do you understand the libretto (text) or are you happy to get the gist (main idea)?

I speak fluent French and can understand enough Italian and German to follow along. Here, like most modern opera companies L’Opera de Montréal uses supertitles, and because Montreal is almost a bilingual city they translate into both English and French.

20. Are you deleting any questions, if so which ones?

No.

21. Do you enjoy watching music videos? What sort of music videos do you enjoy most?

Not really a fan of videos. In fact never understood the need for music videos. To me music and video are two totally separate art forms that don’t always marry well. It has helped advance creativity in film and video production, no question. But I can’t think of a single example where a music video enhanced the artistic value of a song.