Musical Fool

It has been brought home to me recently, how little I know about popular music. The fact that I’m am referring to it as ‘popular music’ should give you some indication of my ineptitude around that subject.

The problem is I’ve never been that interested in the people who make music- apart from the early 90s when I knew the name of the people in a couple of bands. Even when I worked on the wireless, I bluffed my way through shows using sleeve notes and often I would listen to other radio stations on the way to work and write notes about the most recent tracks so that I could regurgitate it all later.

I may be peculiar, but I just don’t understand why I would need to know who somebody’s influences are or what bands they played in before they became successful. In my world there are simply songs I like or songs I don’t and no quantity of trivia will change that.

However I do understand why people take an interest in these things, because I’m exactly the same with my favourite authors and comedians. Yes, I know the quality of writing on this blog says otherwise but I love words. Words can take me to places that music can’t reach and that is why I love to read and write badly. Well I don’t write badly because I love to, I do so because I’m an uneducated idiot.

So yes I’m fascinated by  writers and comedy. Why do they write what they do? What prompted them to become an author/comedian? What did they do before they became writers/shouter of jokes?

Sound familiar?

Yes music fans, I’m no different to you. So please don’t deride me for my lack of musical knowledge or make me feel like a halfwit because I don’t know who Billy Wombat is, who died on Thursday. We’re all geeks, so let’s work together. You tell me why Billy Wombat was important and I’ll tell you about the trial of Oscar Wilde, the naughty doings of Lord Byron and who is playing the Frog and Bucket on a Saturday night.

But…

…sometimes there is a confluence and the forces of music and literature merge to produce a musician who I know something about. Do you remember when I said that I knew the names of people in a couple of bands? Well one of these people was a chap called Jim Bob and a few months ago his first novel came out called Storage Stories and it is great. You should get a copy by going here.  So I wish to suggest that all musicians write novels, then my musical knowledge will be unsurpassed.

By Bye.

P.S I know that people can like music, comedy and literature at the same time: I was only using  those as examples of things you know stuff about. Innit.