(Cover photo by Getty Images)

Sooner or later, it comes back to vintage progressive rock or jazz.

Slowly but surely, I’m making a “living”^ listening to the latest music I find appealing. It can come from any number of places. If it resonates, it resonates. I don’t have time for genres.

It’s new. I’m listening.

I’m learning about new artists. I’m learning about different musical styles. I’m being taken in directions I never fathomed. I love it!

And then there are nights like tonight, where I find myself listening to vintage King Crimson and David Gilmour. There are Donald Byrd and Sonny Clark jazz records awaiting my attention. They’re like slipping into a pair of old, comfortable shoes.

I have friends willing to slip on those comfy musical shoes and never take them off. I don’t understand them. But they’re content with who they are, so who am I to try and change that? Unless, that is, they desire change.

I suppose that’s where I come in. I like to offer options. I suppose I I feel qualified because I already share a starting point with anyone with whom I share musical tastes. I can be their jumping off-point. “Oh, you like Pink Floyd? Well you might really get a kick out of this band.”

There is so much older music I appreciate. I find pleasure in jazz from the fifties and sixties, or soul from the seventies, college rock from the eighties, alternative from the nineties; and hip-hop of the last twenty years. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

At least a couple of times a week you’ll catch me listening to Kind of Blue, Revolver, Innervisions, The Joshua Teee. or OK Computer. Those records are classics for a reason. But all of those records have influenced a modern-day artist. Said artist might even take that classic music to new levels. Who would want to miss out on that?

More than a few people, it would seem. And I don’t understand them.

This is really the case with, ironically enough, progressive rock fans. So many of them are caught in the “Golden Era” of 1969-74. Now, I love that musical period, but my friends are often shocked when I tell them that I’ve never deeply explored Gentle Giant, Hawkwind, Camel, or some other band from that era.

There are two reasons for this. First, I was between the ages of three and eight when this music was originally released. Secondly, even if I was of age, at some point I would have to move on. That’s just the way my brain works.

So, if you want to be a part of what’s going on with today’s music, with the classics being merely an interesting sidebar, feel free to hang with me. Let’s explore these tunes together. Even if you’re not, drop in once in a while. You never know what might happen.

Just don’t expect me to remain focused on the past.

^ That is to say, I get a lot of emails with links and/or physical media for review. One of these days, I’ll be able to monetize some of my work.

#cirdecsongs

If you would like to have your music reviewed, contact me at cirdecsongs@gmail.com