What do you do when your favourite songs are "all played out"?
When you are a music lover, and get to my age (hello, pension!) you tend to have a few dozen go-to songs that you play over and again, a staple diet of "comfort listening" that you know will put your mind back on track, get you feeling good, help you overcome a small bump in the road of life.
You feel that these songs will always be with you, will always inspire, will always deliver. But what happens when you listen to one and it feels flat? There is no joy, there are no surprises?
It's been happening to me recently. Two examples are Firth Of Fifth by Genesis, and Baba O'Riley by The Who. Obviously, being released in the early 1970's, I have had around fifty years to hear them, over and again, as often as I wish. I must have heard them many hundred's of times, but lately I have felt hardly anything when I play them.
It's often been said that it would be a neat trick if you could somehow wipe your memory of a certain film that you enjoyed, it would be worth the effort so you could have the experience of watching it anew. Clearly the same could be said for music.
The problem is with such songs, I know every chord, every note of every solo, every vocal inflection, it becomes way too familiar.
Once you get to my age I don't think there's a complete solution. I think the best advice is to give your brain a rest from these songs for a while, maybe a year or so, then dive back in and who knows, they may sound fresh and exciting again.
Also, try and force yourself to hear bands and artists you have never heard before, broaden your horizons, so that when you are seeking to have a listening session, your choices are that much more diverse.
One thing is for certain, there's enough stunning music out there (and a lot that isn't!) to keep your ears busy for as long as you want.
