An Update On Bloody Good Music

At the start of the year, I didn't do a 'State Of Bloody Good Music' post, because it felt like we were continuing the status quo, and the big existential question had already come and gone a couple of months before. Reiterating that nothing was going to change didn't feel necessary, and there wasn't a bigger project waiting in the wings to at least tease.

With the year approaching the midpoint, I've started reflecting on what these last few months have entailed, and there is one overriding sense I can't shake, nor ignore:

My relationship with music has changed.

I've been talking in my year-end recaps for several years now that each one has been more disappointing than the last, and the number of releases I listen to in a given year has been declining steadily, but I feel like a tipping point has been reached. The amount of new music that has caught my attention at all, let alone stirred something in me, has slowed to a mere trickle. Fewer albums cross my inbox now, and my daily exploration of what is out there to hear has been an exercise in diminishing returns.

I would like to blame all of this on the industry, and changing trends. There is certainly a degree to which this is true, as the amount of music that comes with the labels 'death metal', 'black metal', 'deathcore', 'electronic', and a host of other adjectives that hold absolutely zero interest to me has grown. To sort through the list of new releases is to wear out the red pen for grading, my eyes glazing over as I try to find anything that offers up what I'm looking for out of music. Even in those areas that feel safe, more records feature poorly utilized screaming than ever before. It becomes exhausting.

That is not the full explanation, of course. The trends do not help, but the real answer lies within me. My existential ennui has metastasized, leaving my mind a monochrome expanse that most music is not colorful enough to enliven. Perhaps this is because of the psychological reality that most minds lose interest and ability to absorb new music as we get older, but I think it goes beyond that. When existential crises began to become a regular thing, music moved from being a diversion to an essential part of controlling my feelings. When that happened, meaningless rock songs that had a riff and melody with nothing to say stopped being as enjoyable as they once were. If a song couldn't connect to life, it sloughed off more easily than ever.

That brings us to today, where I am looking at what music has had to offer over these first few months of the year. The truth of the matter is that there is one album that has genuinely affected me, with a few others I enjoy for more shallow reasons. I find myself listening to samples and singles on a daily basis, and almost nothing connects with me, nor moves me the way pulling an old CD off the shelf is able to. It isn't impossible, because NMB's album and Sailor Hunter's single have managed the feat, but they feel more like exceptions now than a rule.

I'm saying all of that to get to this point; I don't know how much new music I'm going to be covering during the rest of this year. I would love to have an abundance of riches and go back to the days of writing three reviews a week, but I know that isn't going to happen. I don't want to write for the sake of writing, and I don't think you want to read me going through the motions to talk about music that means nothing to me.

Please don't misinterpret; this is not an ending. I'm going to continue writing, and trying to figure out life through the prism of music, but the music used to do that might look backward even more than it already does. My current trajectory of writing retrospective essays will continue, mixed with some lists and rankings I have planned. Perhaps, if circumstances allow, I will even return to commenting on developments in the music news. New music coverage will be focused on the albums that give me something of note to say, whether for good or bad. That means we will probably spend more time on our singles roundup columns, which is an easier way for me to stay invested in the scene without wearing out my limited patience.

Time will tell if things will ever get back to 'normal'.