Get Older

I can’t decide which bothers me more—the fact that I was in Bed Bath & Beyond for more than 5 minutes this morning, or the fact the in-store music system was playing Feist’s song “1,2,3,4” (recently made famous by an iPod Nano commercial). I doubt anyone would ever consider Feist edgy or controversial, but the realization that music I would pay for and download is now apparently acceptable for older ladies doing their Saturday morning shopping is a little sobering.

For a lot of years now, I’ve felt like I’ve been pretty plugged in to current pop culture trends, but as I prepare to enter my final year in the coveted (by advertisers, anyway) 18-34 age demographic, I’ve realized that my need to be on the cutting edge is starting to fade away. At this point, I’d usually rather listen to music by artists I know I enjoy than someone I feel like I should listen to because everybody’s buzzing about them. That’s certainly not to say that I’m giving up on new music—just that I’m a lot less concerned about being the first one to discover it. That’s why I let some of those music blogs in that list over on the right do the legwork for me. I mean, it’s totally possible that Animal Collective and The Besnard Lakes are the dopest shit to happen to music since LL Cool J’s momma told him to knock us out, and maybe by this time next year, I’ll even believe that. But in the meantime, I’ll be just fine with the latest Neil Young, thanks. Speaking of getting older...

I guess what it comes down to is that I’ve passed the point of needing to constantly search for new and better music. I finished shaping my tastes. I know what I like, and I’m OK sticking with it. Even if that means I end up humming along with a bunch of grandmothers to the Feist song in Bed Bath & Beyond.