you and your musical rut

I was in tenth grade and fixated on The Doors, to the extent that I wrote a term paper for my music class on the band. I was so proud of that paper, which showed off my knowledge not just of Jim Morrison and his band but of the entire genre in which the Doors resided.

That was the year I had befriended a DJ from a local rock station. He was an expert on this particular band and music from that era so I asked him to read my paper. I waited excitedly for his commentary, which I was sure was going to be nothing but high praise for both my writing skills and my expertise on the subject.

What he said, in so many words, was “You need to get out more.”

He said I was stuck in place with my music choices and there would come a time later when I’d regret not branching out more, trying new things, listening to music outside my comfort zone.

So I listened to him. I tried different radio stations. I read Rolling Stone and Creem and bought albums reviewed in recent issues. This was just about the time punk was breaking and discovering the new music out there changed my life.

Why am I telling you this? Well, I’m going to tell you what that DJ told me. I want you to learn the same lesson I learned before it’s too late and all your memories are soundtracked to the same damn song.

See, one day thirty years from now you will be sitting at your desk listening to music and a song will come on. Let’s say it’s “Call Me Maybe.” You’ll chuckle to yourself and think…