September 20, 2005 by A.S. Van Dorston

retreat-asthetes-bangs When I saw the first installment of Stylus’ new weekly column, “Soulseeking,” I expected a forum to geek out about latest obsessions, triggered by downloaded discoveries. The problem is, if writer Nick Southall hasn’t actually downloaded anything for over a year, what’s he going to write about? Maybe the title is just metaphorical, despite Stylus copping their logo, and the rest will simply wax philosophical about general things. I could fill a few columns about recent longtime searches finally hitting the jackpot, like Haruomi Hosono’s fascinating mid-70s forays into music of Polynesia and New Orleans.

Instead, this is just another all-too common case of the burned-out critic. While even mighty icons like Lester Bangs have fallen under this malaise, I have little sympathy. It looks to me like a case of a small child allowed to devour anything he wants in a candy store, only to be found hours later huddled in the corner, covered in vomit, crying and vowing he’ll never eat candy again. That old cliche “too much of a good thing” really does apply, be it exercise, sun, ice cream, music or tequila (it’s amazing how many people have had a “bad experience in college” with tequila and can’t bear to touch it again).

So whatever happened to self control? You know, pacing yourself so you don’t ruin your enjoyment? It seems pretty simple, but it looks like there needs to be some sort of group therapy sessions for burned out critics…

Feeling inadequate that you can’t hear every good album? Can’t get excited about your favorite band’s new albums? Has mixing too many genres in one day turned everything to a gray blur? Come to Dr. Fester’s Retreats for Aesthetes and wash that ennui away within our revolutionary patented aqueous bulbs. For the first day or two, they serve as traditional isolation tanks where you are cut off from all visual and aural stimulation. Thereafter, the bulbs can be transported to environments where people can be seen enjoying music, such as shows and festivals. But you won’t be able to hear anything. Alternatively, select patients will be subjected to repeated listens to albums by the Dave Matthews Band or Hoobastank. Either way, after several days we guarantee you will be eager to be free to enjoy music of your choice once again.

I’ve listened to a lot of music. When I start to feel burned out on absorbing new stuff, I take a break. But rather than make an ass of myself and blabber in public that there’s no good new music anymore (to be fair, this is not what Southall said, but I see this all the time), I just spend some time enjoying old favorites. Simon Reynolds responded in his blog that the problem isn’t a glut of self-produced crap, but rather the massive amount of “pretty-good-to-almost-excellent” to wade through. It’s true there’s more of everything — shit to almost great. Who cares? That only means that if you simply go with the flow and follow your “muse,” e.g. dig deep into a current obsession with a certain band or sound or subgenre, you’re more likely than ever to stumble upon pleasant surprises.

Recently I wrote an installment of “What Were Your Most Anticipated Albums?” (Part One, Part Two), an exercise to remember what it was about certain bands and albums that made me so excited and passionate about them. Perhaps another series should be pleasant surprises.

Posted in: Rants