Walking to the beat of a different drummer

I walk a lot. Not ever having owned or driven a car I don’t really have a lot of choice in the matter. Actually I like walking. You get to see a lot more of the world at walking pace. Recently I’ve started wearing my MP3 player again. Normally I only listen to my music at weekends or on my days off – like today. But lately, because of all the shit that’s going on at work and the complications in other parts of my life, I’ve felt the need to listen to music more often. So each morning as I leave the house I slip on my headphones and crank up the volume to one notch below ear-bleeding level and walk to my bus stop. Forty minutes (or so depending on traffic) later I stop the music just before I walk into my office, relaxed and ready for the day. Eight hours later, after solving problems and attempting to keep things on track, I reverse the process by listening to music loud enough to (almost) stop me thinking.

I seem to have hit upon a handful of CD’s that have the right tempo and the right sound to lift my sprits no matter what occurred during the day. I find myself walking in time with the music – striding even – and feeling better about myself and the world with every song. I’ve also replaced Snow Patrol as my present favourite band. My new favourite is a band called 30 Seconds to Mars, headed up by Jarred Leto (who you may remember played an aspiring rock musician in the teen angst series My So Called Life). Recently I ‘discovered’ that 30 Seconds is an Emo band. This caused quite a laugh at work when I announced that I was an Emo. I mean, I’m hardly a Lost Boy! I don’t even wear that much black….. After my brother introduced me to the band last year I bought their latest CD (This is War) which rocks. I then, inevitably, bought their previous two CDs which I have also grown to love. Added to this are two Paramore CDs – Riot! and their latest Brand New Eyes. I have fallen in love with Hayley Williams (pictured above) who has a voice to die for. Another band that my brother introduced me to was Flyleaf who also feature on the MP3 player. Apparently all of the members including the lead singer Lacey Mosley are apparently Christian but say that they are not strictly a Christian band. From their lyrics you really could have fooled me. Anyway, they rock. Finally there are two CDs one of the guys at work lent to me. Tsunami Bomb – who sound like a more punky version of the Go-Go’s – and Don’t Look Down, who I haven’t really made my mind up about yet.

One of the weird, and unplanned things, about the music is that it isn’t in CD order. I think that it might be alphabetical, which means that I get a nice mix and even after 4-5 weeks am still unsure exactly what’s coming next. I have my favourite tracks of course but I’m finding that I can listen to the 9 or so CDs over and over and over again without getting bored by them. At the moment I think that my rather dated MP3 player is doing its part in keeping me sane. I have found music that I love and I’m playing it to death right now. I shall have to let my brother know that he’s got very good taste.