Play on.

Had a discussion on Friday with a young man who knows far more about music history than I do, and we got to talking about pop music over french fries, comparing it to what was playing at the time. Ever seen those guitarists on the internet who play about fifty different contemporary pop songs using only four chords? Kudos to those guitarists, but I have to wonder about the songwriters who come up with these get-it-out-of-my-head-already songs, not to mention the people who make them popular.

When the entertainers who make news are the ones who get the most sales, and the songs they put out have this kind of cookie-cutter base across genres, it becomes difficult to see that there's more to music than what gets retweeted a million times. I'm glad to have made the acquaintance of a young man who has a passion for and in-depth knowledge of classical music, and a young lady who got me curious about a pianist from outside the States. It's wonderful, the discovery that I've just been looking in the wrong places to find other people with preferences and opinions that differ from what gets force-fed to the masses. Serene music that nevertheless keeps one focused through work; exciting music that depends on passion and technical skill rather than dubious lyrics, digitized voices and social media battles; music that has a point as well as a beat. Through these people, I've found music that makes me go wow as well as music that makes me go oh, so that's where it's from.

Huh. Surprised to find how much I like this.