Utopia

As I get older, and slightly less interested in the music scene of now, and more introspective of what I grew up with (which is only natural I suppose?), I really can't figure out whether it's still as precious to me or not. Have I acquired, if I didn't have it already, a critical distance about all the bands I love?

The answer is fairly straight-forward - it's not that important. Because the great thing about music is it ebbs and flows. What floats your boat one week won't necessarily do the same the next......

"Sgt.Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" is a great example.

Lauded as the best rock album of all time, it gains its' admirers and detractors in equal measure, but not at the same times. For every reviewer who names it as their favourite love-in, the next will lambaste it as the very worst indulgence the 60s had to offer.

The truth is a little in between. It's a flawed masterpiece - the influence of drugs, Hippiedom, the Beach Boys, etc all contribute in measure to its' greatness and awfulness. Take your pick what makes it and what doesn't.

I really don't get people who can't see the shite some of their favourite artists come up with. I love the Beatles - but they made some shocking stuff. No names mentioned, but some of it is pretty obvious. Check "The Beatles" (Apple PMC7067-68).

There is something wrong when a fan can't distinguish, I repeat myself now, critical distance of an artists output. 

For me, I'm still looking for Utopia (the destination, not the band!). I want to spend a lifetime looking for that perfect chord, that quintessential listening experience where all the vibrations and frequencies explode my head.

It's not much to ask is it?