Lifelong Affair With Music Ends at 35

[zero]

The Thrill Is Gone

CLEVELAND, OH—Sam Powers' lifelong passion for music ended this past weekend, when the 35-year-old camera-store assistant manager realized that he no longer derives pleasure from listening to and acquiring new music.

"It's always sad when something you thought would last forever ends, but I simply don't have the energy to put into it anymore," Powers said Monday. "I'll always love music, but it's not going to be at the center of my life anymore. My priorities have changed, I guess."

Powers said he realized the love affair, which began in 1979 when his brother introduced him to the first Van Halen album, was over Saturday. While preparing spaghetti at his home, Powers chose silence over a TV On The Radio album his friend had burned him.

"Last week, my buddy went to see this band, but I just didn't feel like going out that night," Powers said. "I started to listen to their album, and even though it really seemed like my type of music—well, I didn't know any of the songs. I was just about to put Beck on when I realized that I'd rather be alone with my thoughts.'"

"Look," Powers added, holding the fingers of his right hand aloft. "My nails used to be worn to the quick from peeling off CD seals. Look at them now. I'm gonna have to use clippers."

While he said he will miss the deep bonds forged during a lengthy relationship based on respect and admiration, Powers declared the painful decision final.

"Things were running on autopilot for the past few years," Powers said, pulling a copy of the 1982 X album Under The Big Black Sun from his shelf and staring at it. "I went through the motions for a while—buying a few CDs off the critics' year-end lists and making it out to a show here and there. But really, that rush I used to feel was gone."

....

[Booche]

Are you Sam Powers as well?

[zero]

Not quite- I am hoping this never ever happens otherwise I will be one of the tools I have pilloried for so long. It'll be soft ball games and half price appetizers at East Side Mario's til death.

[bradm]

Hmmm...I feel sorry for this guy, but I might have an explanation. I know that, back even before I turned 35 but more and more as I get further and further past that age, my appetite for music has kept increasing. Maybe there's a conservation of love of music, so that for someone's love of music to go up a certain amount, there has to be a loss of love of music that equals that amount (though perhaps distributed across multiple persons).

This might helpe explain why concert attendance and radio listenership (not to mention CD sales) are dropping: there's a fixed amount of love of music, but an increasing (world) population*.

I hope this isn't true (because for me to increase my love of music and the joy I get from it means that someone else will have decreased joy ), but it might be something we have to live with in our universe, like the Second Law of Thermodynamics or the lightspeed limit.

Aloha,

Brad

* As someone said, "There's a fixed amount of intelligence in the universe, but the population keeps increasing..."

[Booche]

[guigsy]

haha... thank you booche.