Music Memories

I heard The Velvet Underground at a restaurant yesterday, and it reminded me of The Royal Tenenbaums soundtrack. I remember loving that soundtrack. It introduced me to a new world of music -- a world of punk rock, indie rock, and just plain rock. Until that movie and soundtrack were released, for example, I didn't know I could like Bob Dylan. I also didn't know I liked The Clash so much. Perhaps most importantly, I didn't know I liked weird and sometimes gritty non-pop.

Generally speaking, 2001 was a musical awakening for me. With "Oh, Inverted World," and "Is This It," The Shins and The Strokes opened the door to a new sound. I had never connected so much to what was playing on the radio. Sure, I liked grunge, but I was on the young side when it was really big, and I didn't connect much at all with the music of my high school days: boy bands and cloying teen girl music. At that time, I was listening to Led Zeppelin, The Cure, and a LOT of Pink Floyd. "Oh, Inverted World" and "Is This It" made me realize that I liked an . . . unvarnished sound in music. I didn't really know it until then. And then indie rock was everywhere. And then I was open to the kinds of sounds in "The Royal Tenenbaums." And then I realized that the 70s and 80s had some seriously good stuff that I had never heard before.

Hmmm . . . What am I saying here??? I guess I'm saying that there was a lot of great music in the early 2000s, and it set me up to appreciate other music, such as the kind Wes Anderson used for some of his movies. I listened to the soundtrack on my way to work today, and it was as good as I remembered. It was great. Give it a listen sometime.


Thing I'm thankful for: my sister Lexia and her fine musical taste :)