"Then He Giggled In French, That's What He Did"
 
Work on the thesis proceeds well.  I'm not really able to do a whole lot on it while I'm here at work, because the books I brought with me aren't what I needed.  But I didn't completely waste my time--I looked up some other sources that I'll grab from the library before I head home.  I just hope they're actually there.
 
Whenever I go to work or out and about, I usually carry a small, six-CD carrying case.  It came with the Jimmy, apparently, and just sat there for the three years my mom drove the car.  It's nice and compact, and thus ideal for sliding into my schoolbag.  Anyway, it's current contents are:
 
Mutual Admiration Society - Mutual Admiration Society
Wilco - Summer Teeth
Flaming Lips - The Soft Bulletin
Counting Crows - Across a Wire (Live in NYC)
Elliot Smith - Either/Or
 
What's striking about that list is the complete and total lack of anything Classic Rock.  Admittedly, bands like the Counting Crows are roots rock, and thus rely heavily on classic rock styles and themes.  The Crows owe a lot to the music of Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, and the Byrds.  The Wilco album is almost a blatant homage to the Velvet Underground.  The Flaming Lips owe a lot to bands like Pink Floyd and Sgt. Pepper's era Beatles.  MAS has a folky, acoustic feel that you just can't help but love.  Elliot Smith falls somewhere between Wilco and Glen Phillips's solo work, only much darker than either.
 
But all of these albums were released within the past decade (1997 for Either/Or, 1998 for Across a Wire, 1999 for both The Soft Bulletin and Summer Teeth, and this past Tuesday for Mutual Admiration Society).  I've noticed that the older I get, the more my musical tastes evolve.  I still love the music I grew up listening to--nothing will ever be better than the Beatles, and albums like A Hard Day's Night and Help! and Rubber Soul are infinitely superior to 99% of the stuff that's released today, and at least as good as the other 1%.  It's not that I've abandoned the music of my youth, simply that I've added to it.  I've built upon the foundation that music laid.  The bands I've added have many elements in common with the bands I've loved for years--great lyrics, catchy melodies, and especially a willingness to explore music as not just a pleasant noise, but a method of personal expression.  Keep in mind that as I've started listening to more contemporary bands (or bands which are more contemporary, however you want to interpret it), I've also started listening to more classic rock.  I've developed my obsession with Dylan in only the past few years, and I've started listening to Van Morrison, and the Band and the Allman Brothers and various others.
 
Like I said, nothing's been abandoned, just added to.
 
~chaos cricket
 
Song of the Moment: Counting Crows, "Catapult (Live)"