Navigating the dry spells

[Big Al]

What do you do when you're just not in the mood for anything, jazz or otherwise? Lately, probably going on two years now, there have been more dry spells in terms of what I'm in the mood to listen to, to the point where my wish-list is damn-near bone-dry! Even the stuff at home isn't holding that much interest for me.

I realize there's more important things in life, but I gotta tellya, it's been pretty quiet around my stereos (home, car, work) lately.

[Jim R]

Al, I know exactly what you're talking about. Sometimes I find myself not knowing what to play, or indeed not knowing if music will do anything for me that particular day. Sometimes I even feel like I should listen to something, like a musician should practice, but that usually doesn't work very well. Don't sweat it, I say. Don't force it. Occasionally I'll get inspiration from letting somebody else determine what I'm hearing (turning on the radio), and there are times when I'm more in the mood to play my guitar than listen to the stereo. But there are also times when I get more out of just having it quiet. Just trust your moods, and don't worry about it. Your music collection will remain a vital resource for your soul's enrichment... when the time is right.

Oh yeah... the other thing you can always do is write me a a funny e-mail. After I've responded with my usual lame attempts at humor, you'll NEED some music to put you in a better mood.

[Jazzmoose]

This has been happening to me a bit lately; those who post on the "now listening" thread may have noticed that I haven't been there too much as of late. It bothers me a bit, but if silence is what I'm in the mood for, what the hell...

[wesbed]

Try listening to some popular FM radio music as you drive around in your car. It will bring, to you, a renewed appreciation of just how fantastic jazz is.

I hit a dry spell last February. I felt comfort in knowing I wasn't spending as much money on jazz. On the other hand, I felt 'lost' in realizing that my enjoyment of jazz was on the low end of the jazz enjoyment scale.

I decided to purchase a 'history of jazz' book. I was reading and thought, to myself, "hey, I didn't know this and didn't know that." I purchased a couple of the recordings listed in the book and gained a new appreciation for the likes of Louis Armstrong and Bix Beiderbecke. The next thing I knew I was purchasing the New Orleans Jazz Mosaic box, then the Vee Jay Mosaics, some RVGs I didn't have, and oh my, I'm spending all my money on jazz again.

Recently, I purchased a new pair of headphones to be able to listen to jazz from a different perspective. I always listen to the music via loudspeakers, which is still my preferred way to listen. The headphones, however, can show detail, some good and some bad, that you simply can't hear through loudspeakers alone.

My interest in jazz fluctuates between higher and lower levels but NEVER goes away. The music is always there when I need it. Always.

An evening of good jazz, good booze (sometimes good coffee instead), good food, and the world seems a much more inhabitable place. B)

Edited June 16, 2004 by wesbed

[Shawn]

Well I can sympathize with you. I get in moods sometimes where it seems like I don't want to do anything. I'll put on a CD, then change it, then change it again...then decide to watch TV and I can't concentrate..then I'll put in a movie, get distracted, put in a different movie, get distracted..turn off the TV, try to read a book, can't concentrate...then go back to the stereo, repeat...

As far as just music goes though, I hit a jazz dry spell a couple months ago. At first I just realized that I wasn't really in the mood for music that often, so I found myself either watching the tube...or going out for walks and stuff. When I did turn on the stereo it was usually something other than jazz, went back and started re-listening to some old classic rock stuff that I hadn't heard in years, also was spinning a fair amount of folk, blues, etc.

Then I discovered a jazz radio station on the way to work one morning, just flipping through the channels and all of a sudden heard Pharoah Sanders! So I started listening and then found myself grabbing for jazz CDs when I got home (car CD player died). Dry spell over. I'm sure it will come back, it always does...but it always goes away...

[JSngry]

Oh. we're talking MUSIC...

[jazzbo]

I have to confess, I haven't had this problem with enough frequency to even have wanted to develop a strategy, let alone come up with a solution for dealing with it.

I find that the fact that I have been exploring almost all the forks in the jazz road since 1917 means I have plenty of things beckoning me to listen, and I have a collection too large to manage with always something to hear thats new or to listen to again . . . .

I guess I'll continue to count my blessings. B)

[Joe G]

I find that the fact that I have been exploring almost all the forks in the jazz road since 1917

Didn't realize you were that old!

[John B]

I will either change genre completely and listen to some reggae or eai or punk, etc... or just give in for a bit and listen to nothing. Every once in a while I find it nice to "clear the cobwebs" from my head and come back to my collection with fresh ears.

[jazzbo]

Hey every Monday I'm even older that that!

[Dan Gould]

I'm with Lon. Can't imagine a dry spell ever happening.

[JSngry]

I just don't listen to anything. No big deal.

Seriously.

[JSngry]

It's like Miles telling Trane to take the horn out of his mouth. You don't feel like hearing anything, then don't play anything. It's not like there's a Music God who will swoop down in wrath and take it all away if you don't listen to it for a while.

[couw]

there isn't?

[J.A.W.]

there isn't?

[Dave James]

My collection is heavily skewed towards hard bop. Whenever I "hit the wall" I get past it by going in a completely different direction. More often that not, this involves the avant garde. By concentrating for a period of time on something that's completely different, a sort of aural palate cleansing seems to occur.

Up over and out.

[take5]

No matter how much you love a woman, you need space and time apart. The most successful relationships involve a lot of alone time. Distance makes the heart grow fonder.

Same with music for me.

[Jazzmoose]

It's not like there's a Music God who will swoop down in wrath and take it all away if you don't listen to it for a while.

Well, not personified anyway, but I think my problem with the "dry spell" bit is that I know my time on this Earth is limited, and somewhere deep down inside, I still have this naive notion that if I really try, I can hear it all. Figures. Mortality I can deal with; the fact that there's more recorded jazz than anyone could possibly listen to is beyond my grasp...

[Jim R]

Reading Lon's post reminded me of one other thing- if my heart and soul hadn't been ambushed about 8 years ago by Jobim, Gilberto, and eventually, dozens more brazilian artists, there's no telling how many more musical dry spells I would have experienced since then, and would probably still be experiencing. So Al, since I know you've had (and presumably enjoyed) a significant taste of that stuff, maybe you should consider doing what I did- put your credit card number on file at Dusty Groove; put your daughter's college tuition fund in serious jeapordy; and start stacking up Bossa Nova and Brazilian Jazz CD's in places where your wife won't object to it if you do it gradually. Just a thought.

You can go here for more "help" (don't do it, Al. ): Hard Bossa?

[7/4]

other kinds of music and silence. worked for years.

[BruceH]

I say don't sweat it.

[Jazzmoose]

So Al, since I know you've had (and presumably enjoyed) a significant taste of that stuff, maybe you should consider doing what I did- put your credit card number on file at Dusty Groove; put your daughter's college tuition fund in serious jeapordy; and start stacking up Bossa Nova and Brazilian Jazz CD's in places where your wife won't object to it if you do it gradually. Just a thought.

Wow...Jesus had to wander through the desert for over a month before you showed up!

[sal]

Try listening to some popular FM radio music as you drive around in your car. It will bring, to you, a renewed appreciation of just how fantastic jazz is.

This ALWAYS works for me.

[chris olivarez]

I'm kind of in that mode right now. I've been watching more TV recently. Don't worry about it. Just let things flow however they're supposed to for you.

[Big Al]

Never fails: I hit a dry spell, undergroundagent has another sale!

I've discovered that NOT listening to music at work has actually been something of a blessing. That usually gives me all day to get in the mood for something, and then that usually lasts a while.

So yeah, it comes and goes. But right now, I need to send something funny to Jim R. Now if I could just come up with something...... (can y'imagine that guy? Sending me to the "hard bossa" thread and then to Dusty Groove? The bathturd!)