Let's talk music, no genre boundaries

Much like food and wine, music comes in all sorts of varieties.

Whether it's Tool or Turandot, each different musical genre has something to give to the listener. 

E

@audio-b-dog  You be showing your age.  🤣

I have certain criteria that I love in music. If music does not have most or all of those criteria, I find it uninteresting, emotionally and/or intellectually. And it's not like I made a conscious decision to only like music that meet those criteria, it was an evolution over the years.

Those criteria being (no particular order): very high level of musicianship, deep and broad levels of emotional and/or intellectual content conveyed, fairly high levels of complexity and sophistication, (usually) long form song structure that goes through changes in: mood, intensity, tempo, dynamics, time changes, etc., over its length.

I am bored by songs in standard verse>chorus>bridge>repeat structure, in 4/4 time, 3 chords, with obvious hooks.

As time passes, I become more and more intolerant of music that does not have those criteria. Even music by bands I used to love  (Deep Purple, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Grand Funk, Black Sabbath, The Beatles, etc)  does almost nothing for me anymore. 

The genres that most often meet those criteria for me are:

Jazz - post bop, fusion, avant-garde, chamber-jazz, M-Base

Prog - avant-prog, Canterbury, symph-prog, Zeuhl, prog-metal

Classical - avant-garde, serial, atonal, New Complexity, Spectralism, 12 tone

I am so engulfed in new and amazing music it is hard to listen to relisten to anything. I just add to my library and go on...then find more. 

I loved Jazz, world, classical, rock, and electronic before streaming.  So, often looking at new releases on Qobuz nets a great album just from the cover.

While painting and listening to my headphone system I often listen to 1.fm Chllout Lounge, ON - Chillout Radio and Radio Paradise -Eclectric Mix FLAC. I get lost in these... the innovation of sounds and beats. My headphone system is magical and presents them in a warm natural and incredibly powerful way. I can listen for hours. 

I realized something the other day.  I have always listened to music. I had a system but just no attention to details.

Now I have mostly newer equipment and Qobuz.   I hear things in songs that were a surprise to me.  So many more details and better tone.  I get lost in new stuff.  Most styles I listen to are not new anymore.

The other day I listened to Pat Metheny Bright Sized life.  Him and Jaco, what a pair.i had not listened to that album for 30 years.

Today I listened to Grateful Dead Europe 72. SUgar Magnolia.  Most rocking and fun version I have hears. Just listening to Grateful Dead concerts took me awhile!

I currently have 6000ish songs tagged.  That is a pared down version that is 90% acceptable to most people.  Qobuz helped me finish this up after 6 years. Enjoy the Music