Perspective: Delving into my music collection

As editor of The Muse, I’ve implemented a new feature in this semester’s content: columns. You can do so much more with a column than you can with a hard news story, meaning you can be objective. There’s nothing I like more than being an objective journalist, which is probably why I enjoyed fronting The Muse for these two semesters.

So, since this is a mini column in itself, I’m going to be objective. Prank phone calls during long nights can really mess with your mind. Yellow curry, however, will never mess with your mind. It’s delicious. But these things pale in comparison to what I really want to write about: my music.

I enjoy music thoroughly. I’m usually wearing my headphones as I walk down Commonwealth Avenue – by the way, no iPod for me, I’m a rebel. My computer playlist features thousands of songs, ranging from hard hip-hop (Wu Tang Clan) to soft tween-pop (Britney Spears … and I don’t care). I pride myself on my extensive CD collection, because nothing’s better than owning a small circular piece of music; okay, nothing’s better than owning a record, because a record is a beautiful piece of wax.

Needless to say, I love my music. And I’d like to reserve this space to talk about what I like about music. The little things. The big things. The everything.

Getting it out of the way, everyone should listen to The Beatles. You don’t have to love every song; you don’t have to know every song. But here are some gems I recommend: “Every Little Thing,” “Tell Me Why,” “And Your Bird Can Sing,” “I Will” and “Dig a Pony.” Yes, it’s clichéd to call The Beatles the greatest recording artists of all-time, but honestly, no band has packed so much melody into traditional rock-and-roll since, and no band likely will in the future.

That said, you have to enjoy 1970s power pop. I’m talking about The Raspberries – listen to “Go All the Way” once and you’ll love it too. I’m talking about Big Star and their Beatles-eque bipolar mannerisms. I’m talking about Todd Rundgren and his absolutely infectious “Couldn’t I Just Tell You.” And while I’m at it, listen to The Byrds. No band has personified the term “jingle” quite like them.

Pop music has taken a long and winding course since the 1960s. The Beatles broke the boundaries of pop wide open, and countless artists and bands pushed it further and further. The Beach Boys drenched it in Los Angeles-style harmonies during the 1970s, Queen added bombast, T-Rex added style and U2 added substance. In the 1980s pop music came in way too many forms, from the intellectual groans of David Byrne’s Talking Heads to the Vegas flash of Simon Le Bon’s Duran Duran. There was even room for Bruce Springsteen to rear his head with arena-rock stomp. For an 80s primer, check out The Police, and go from there. A little Blondie. A little REM. A lot of Elvis Costello.

Costello, while possibly the greatest rock-and-roll songwriter not named Dylan, Young or Lennon/McCartney, is also quite possibly the most unheralded voice in the past fifty years of pop music. Witness his genius in “Everyday I Write the Book” or “Allison,” but really get to know his maniacal computer programmer pop in “Lipstick Vogue” or “Oliver’s Army.” The man has covered almost all grounds, and unabashedly.

Pop has become stale in the past decade. You can thank Nirvana, or Green Day, or Pearl Jam, or Coldplay or whoever spawned a ridiculous number of copycats. But copycats come in every generation. The “hair bands” of the ’80s came from such things as Robert Plant’s party-line after-concert stories and Black Sabbath. This garage/new wave/alternative/three-chord revival of the last five years is coming from everything from The Kinks to Television. But the key to this regurgitation is, if it’s good, listen to it.

That’s what music is all about … well, obviously. Music is about talent and being able to appreciate said talent. Music is about enjoying a song. Whether your band of choice is Slipknot or Huey Lewis and the News (another fantastic band from the ’80s), if you enjoy what they can produce, it’s worth the time. Some music may be for deep thought – ever listen to Steely Dan? – but if you enjoy deep thought, then Rikki, don’t lose that number. Some music may be for that last call feeling – how about some Journey? – and if you enjoy last call, well, hold onto that feeling.

But don’t let me tell you how to listen to music. I’m just hoping to open a few more ears. If you download “Every Little Thing” (or buy Beatles For Sale on CD), you’ll understand why I love music. For me, music is about smiling, singing the words – even if I can’t sing well – but most of all, music is about appreciation. Anyone who can make me smile gets my appreciation, and if you can do it from a thin disc, then man, you know how to hit straight to the heart.