One Week

I actually managed to forget that it was Sunday and that this experiment of mine has come to an end. It was pretty cool and I’m happy I did it for many reasons which I will explain later. So basically there were two reasons for doing this and the first was because I wanted to broaden my musical horizons and check out new bands and sounds that I’m not used to and second was to see if the music I listened to had an impact on how I felt about myself and the world around me. I recognize that this is a vague concept to measure thus making it really hard but I’ll do my best to explain how I felt.

Here is a list of new artists I checked out:
Eagles of Death Metal
My Bloody Valentine
Queens of the Stone Age
Incubus
Say Anything
Notorious B.I.G.
2pac

And here are bands that I already knew but listened to more:
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Constantines
Attack In Black
Fugazi
The Rolling Stones
Weezer

I must say that on Monday I got a headache. I was listening to the album Death by Sexy by Eagles of Death Metal on repeat for a good long while. This used to be one of the main problems I had with hard rock or hardcore music, it gave me headaches when I listened to it. After a couple days though I was pretty comfortable with listening to it and enjoyed it without feeling like my brain was going to explode. I suspect they want you to feel like that and sure enough, I eventually did, but it was a different kind of brain explosion. It was an explosion of the brain from awesomeness instead of headaches, and that is their goal.

I remember very well being on the subway going northbound at 10:35am on Tuesday. Train empty, feet up on the chair in front of me, and listening to Queens of the Stone Age with my hood on. There is something about their music that made me feel very powerful and full of energy. I really felt like the testosterone levels in my body were rising from just listening to the song You Think I Ain’t Worth a Dollar, but I Feel Like A Millionaire. I just felt tougher listening to Queens of the Stone Age as compared to say, if I were listening to The Beatles. I bet Josh Homme could kick all the Beatles asses. This is generally how I felt most of the time. I felt a spring in my step and more pumped up than usual and I want to hold onto that feeling.

I honestly thought I would have more to say about this endeavor. Here are some things I plan on doing more as a result of this week:

1) Give The Beatles a break. I mean, I love The Beatles but they can only take me so far in as much as they don’t make music anymore and are a part of the past.

2) Start listening to some of the music I used to listen to in high school again. I used to really like that stuff and I just totally cut it out because I thought I’d grown out of it. Eff that!

3) Check out things that are happening now. I can’t stress the importance of this point more. I think if you are truly dedicated to music you’ll never be satisfied with what you have at one moment because you know there is so much more out there to be discovered.

4) Be open to more genres of music. This also links in to number 3.


I really missed listening to Radiohead though, not gonna lie. Yesterday I played Bangers + Mash for the first time in a week and boy was I glad they were back in my life, haha. I also missed listening to them in the mornings when I was taking the bus at 7am; I mean what kind of music is appropriate for that time of day with the restrictions I set?

While I will go back to listening to the bands that I usually listen to the new ones that I started listening to will not be forgotten at all. I actually really dig Eagles of Death Metal. My favourites are Solid Gold, I Gotta Feeling (Just Nineteen) and Don’t Speak (I Came to Make a BANG!), they make me just want to get up and dance.