Why did I stop listening to music?

I remember driving in the early noughties. The first thing I did after I got my driver’s license was to install a nice car stereo and a 12” subwoofer in the trunk. I always listened to music. I could figure out excuses to go for a drive just so that I could listen to more music. And I listened to music constantly when I was not driving too. Nowadays my music consumption isn’t even close, and it has to a large degree been replaced by audiobooks and podcasts. Why is this?

Two things come to the top of my head: 1) Availability and 2) Political awakening. Back in the days, podcasts and audiobooks were not a thing. I personally have found listening to interesting ideas to be fantastic while driving. If the conversation or book is captivating, I can stay sharp and drive safely for much longer. Whereas when listening to music I often get tired. The second aspect is my political awakening. I used to be completely indifferent to politics, but it is probably impossible to grow up without recognizing the gray scale of life and values and deciding where you reside on that scale. Every coin has three sides, heads, tails, and the edge. The optimal position is the edge, where you can see both sides. Life however, is not a double sided coin with a binary choice, but the comparison is still relevant, hence my above mention of the gray scale and not a black and white dichotomy.

During my awakening, podcasts and audiobooks were the key drivers and that is where I was primarily exposed to new ideas and ways of thinking. Some of my previous conceptions were crushed into dust when I started to listen to thinkers that I used to believe were antithetical to my own values. And sometimes the argument was so strong that I could only accept that I was completely wrong and “switch sides”. This ties it back to the issue of music. The primary reason that music has been moved down on my list of priorities, is that I discovered that I have so much to learn from listening to ideas. Also, music often has a political message, if it has lyrics at least. And some of the stuff I used to like, come out in a completely different light when I examined the lyrics in detail and my older self understood what the message was. The gray scale comes to mind again. A solid argument or value is not a problem in itself, as long as it is formulated from the edge of the coin. But a one-sided argument from someone who only can see heads or tails, that is a problem.

When I was young, I was simply too immature to understand what they were singing, and consequently I only cared about the music and melodies. But after an awakening, that is simply not an option anymore. When you have seen the trap doors and wires that the magician uses on stage, you can never un-see them again. That’s also why I am extremely fed up with todays culture. I want to attend a concert, I want to play a video game, I want to watch a movie… WITHOUT being force fed a bunch of hollow political messages by people who are obviously not integrated persons. There are some instant red flags; for example, when someone is unable to articulate a single good thing of their opponent, or unable to point out a single negative thing with their own stance. If that is the case, my bullshit alarm goes off instantly. If you think about it, maybe you have also encountered certain topics that you are not allowed to criticize in any way, shape, or form? Political activism that has been raised to a dogmatic and religious status. Sometimes I just want to have fun for a while, and that is indeed something rare today. I pray that some of my bellowed artists stay away from the political activism so that I can keep enjoying their songs. With activism, I am here referring to the conscious (or unconscious) choice of staying away from the edge of the coin with the best overview in favor of a binary choice in black and white.

I have recently started a new hobby with restoring old retro PCs with the purpose of firing up a couple of old classic games. One reason is obviously nostalgia, but I now realize that old games were better in the same way as old movies were better. Modern cinema is pure awful, and the same patterns are visible in the gaming industry (with some exceptions of course). Firing up Quake however, on a period correct 1990’s PC, with fans loud as a hairdryer and mechanical hard disks that sounds like the lovechild of a dentist drill and a broken Geiger counter, that my friends… is pure fun. No activism or other bullshit. Just pure fun, accompanied by an even better soundtrack with kick-ass music.