music vs. love

If you had to choose between music or love, which would you choose? I know this seems like a no brainer, because love parts oceans and all that sentimental stuff, but really think about it...A world without music...

Fuck that.

Music enhances our lives. I couldn't imagine a day without music, let alone a lifetime, and some people go a lifetime without experiencing real love. Ho-hum.

There are two kinds of people: people who enjoy music and people who are obsessed with music.  Those obsessed go well above and beyond enjoying music, because anyone can enjoy music. If you don't at least enjoy music, get checked yourself out, something's wrong.

People that live for music need it, they're the kind of people who refuse to get in their car and drive to the corner grocery store if they don't bring their tunes with them. While driving alone (or not), sing-alongs ensue, sometimes executed at the top of their lungs. These people refuse to listen to music on the radio for extended periods of time, because the radio is for laymen.  They cherish their music collection, and love to watch it grow, drawn to those sharing their obsession and readily able to sniff them from afar, eager to pick their brains. They thirst for more music, research new talents, and can't wait to get their eager hands on the latest good review. Concert tickets willingly purchased and well seasoned in having withstood the sweatiest, most miserable of mosh pits just to get a closer look. They're well versed in various genres of music and can appreciate them. To them no mood can be better set than by music and they know how to set it. They've dabbled in playing an instrument, they constantly have a tune trapped in their head and insist on sharing it with the world.  Their appetite for music is insatiable!

If you adhere to any of the above, you're a music junkie. Don't feel self conscious.  It could be much worse.

So, back to my question: music or love? Well that may be an impossible question to answer, but I know that love won't last, while music transcends all time and space. Music withstands the test of time, because great bands of past decades are still great bands, they might even still be on tour today if they're lucky. No one can take away their greatness, talent or credibility; extraordinary music is set in stone. On the other hand, feelings of love are not set in stone, in fact they are very subject to change. Not that I'm a big expert, I've only experienced love once and that came and went like the wind. I will say, however, that my short lived encounter with cupids bow had an astronomical impact on my outlook on life and even more so on my musical perspective. Dramatic, yes, but aside from having my heart broken into a million pieces I gained more than ever imagined from that relationship, which overrides any surmountable amount of heartache. I gained three cd's.

These are not just any cd's. A lover scorned often holds on to objects or memories from their lost love, secretly cherishing them. Some may keep pictures or love letters, others dried roses, or keepsake boxes, smelling of sweet and fragrant sandalwood. I have my three cd's. I guess love and music always went hand in hand for me. That or my obsession with music was so great that it parlayed its way into my love life. Perhaps seeking out this particular person might have been a subconscious effort, because he was a musician, which was appealing and a bad idea at the same time. Nevertheless, as a musician, he had an extensive knowledge of music in various genres. This was especially significant because I thought I so damn music savvy, but boy was I wrong.

He made me three mixes of music, "Get Schooled on Music" Vol's 1, 2 and 3. Cynthia's albums of radical music, he called them. School was in session.  Most of the bands on those cd's I had never even heard of.  It was music so obscure, I was forced to come to terms with how I didn't know shit. Sure it was embarrassing, but more importantly, it was humbling. A huge door was open, and my interest in mainstream rock music virtually dissipated. Until that point, I'd been listening to rubbish by the likes of Incubus, STP and Limpbizshit, thinking life was sweet. Damn that was hard to admit. The first two bands aren't that atrocious, but Limpbizkit.  Hell.  That was definitely a skeleton in my closet. The good news is now I know better. As a result of those three cd's, I was exposed to a new world of underground music, a plethora of sounds and a lot of hidden talent. All the obscure bands I would have never even guessed existed are now in heavy rotation in my ipod. And ironically my feelings for him are equivalent to those of my ipod: fuck you I love you.

Short winded romance or three cd's of radical music? I'll take the three cd's. At least they can withstand the test of time.