We Love What We KNOW.

It's true, in almost every aspect of our lives, familiarity reigns supreme as a universal comfort in our ever expanding lives. We gravitate towards things that make us feel at home, people that makes us feel like family, foods that remind us where we come from, and music serving as the color palate accompanying self-narration. We even recognize that our very souls come from something far greater than us, subscribing to the religion most familiar in nature and logic.

We love what we know.

As a musician, I've always wondered a few things about popular music. We've all had the experience where a song plays on the radio and we immediately say, to ourselves or surrounding familiars, "How did this song hit number one?", or "This song is ridiculous.. how is it so popular and getting spins?", and my personal favorite (absolutely stated as a question), "I guess this is what people like?" (imagine Ron Burgundy).

I've also heard folks say that the radio just plays certain songs over and over again, beating you over the head with tunes that were born with trust funds larger than life and zero chance of failure. There are absolutely people who make sure songs do well, and lots of money that is spent accordingly, assuring the success of a tune. They know the truth of our nature as the massive, consuming public.

"They" know that we love what we're familiar with.

Those first few times you listen to a tune you don't care for right away, especially on the radio, probably won't be the last time you hear it. By the 10th or 12th time listening, completely by default, you start recognizing the song. You may skip it, OR power through because you like the station, excited for the next song to be better than the one you don't care for. This happens all the time for me. However, listening through the disliked tune, you start to hear things you didn't hear before. Maybe the guitar intro really caught you, finally, or you're super into the way the record is mixed, lyrics and performance aside. You see what's happening here?

We start to like little things about the song. Next, you find yourself washing dishes while singing "some song you can't remember what it is", later realizing it's that terrible song you didn't like the first time you heard it. A few weeks later, you finally give in, sometimes saying, "that song ain't that bad", or "I used to hate this one".

Let's fast forward a year and imagine a scenario where you're hanging with friends somewhere with live music. The band starts playing that "terrible tune" because, alas hitting number one regardless your high-and-mighty first impression, it's become a staple for live bands to play to the unassuming masses thriving on the familiar. In the group, let's say you're the only one with a musical background; everyone else is blind to the process. The band starts playing that song, the group rises to the dance floor, party is kicked up a notch by your choice of alcohol, smoke, or sultry date and you find yourself dancing and singing every word to that song you hated the first time you heard it. You HATED that song the first time you heard it, but now you're super familiar with it and even had a good time listening to it.

Now, that song is in your stable, regardless your initial reaction. THIS is what happens to the masses who don't think the way musicians do. Musicians hear songs being played on the radio and analyze them top to bottom, making the judgement from the absolute minority viewpoint. We are the minority, of course. The rest of the world hears a song and either consumes it, passes on it, or unknowingly consumes it over and over.

This is why playing covers works so well. People know the music. Folks don't go to bars to drink and have a good time to have their minds blown by some amazing, often super personal, original music. They go to relax, release, catch up, and more often than not, try to get laid. If the band is playing "Feel like making love" or "Crazy Bitch", the chances of those things increases. Hit 'em with a song about your best friend dying and people will leave. There's a time and place for everything.

Of course, there will always be songs that stop you dead and change your life. That's part of what makes music so beautiful! However, that's personal, and this blog is general.

Now, don't get me wrong, bad music DOES EXIST, but honestly that's completely subjective. Even the artists/musicians with less talent, poor recordings, and terrible subject matter have a fan-base somewhere out there. Who am I to say what good music is? I can only speak of what I like. Some people like Yoko Ono's music, and to be honest it's growing on me, but most of the world can't stand it. I've listened to it more than once. Following me? You see where I'm headed with this yet?

My case study on this subject was the band SunKat. I had only heard of SunKat because I'm friends with Adam Shoenfeld, renowned studio musician and personal hero of mine, and I've seen him post the music on social media. I usually listen to most of my friends' music, so I followed the link, saved the album to my library, and forgot about it. I figured, the next time I drive somewhere, their music will play and I'll get to enjoy my friend's music.

The next long drive, I remembered saving the album to my iTunes, brought it up and played every track. I liked it because Adam is such a great player, but it didn't blow me away. I wasn't clamoring over myself to play the album again. I just enjoyed it and moved on.

Over the next few months, I was having to travel a few hundred miles a week, resulting in their album being played on shuffle every now and then. I started to hear things differently. The first time I heard "I Miss Tom Petty", I dug it, but now I was singing the chorus. The next time "All I Wanna Do" came on, I air-drummed the intro on my steering wheel singing harmony. I had moments with that song where I just felt good and wanted to sing with them. It was growing on me; all of it was.

Now, when "I Miss Tom Petty" comes on, I sing every word. I love that song. Not just LIKE; LOVE. I've fallen in love with their music and the latest album has become one of my favorite albums to listen to, OF ALL TIME. That, and Anthill Cinema's newest release. Complete FIRE.

You see what happened here? It takes TIME. Don't let the world tell you lies about what's good and what isn't. It's you! YOU ARE THE JUDGE, but only when you give something a chance. I became FAMILIAR with the SunKat music, watered the seed, grew the adoration, and now reap the harvest. Some songs just have that fire and you like them right away, but some/most require the care to blossom.

PROVE IT TO YOURSELF. At complete random, find an artist on your streaming platform, somebody you don't know and have never heard of, add the album to your list, and become familiar with it. Just force it if need be. After some time, you'll start to enjoy things about whatever you picked. Guaranteed, if you give it a shot.

We absolutely live in the age of awareness. As a very handsome, semi-wise, all-knowing, bass-playing bus driver once told me, "People don't know what they love... They love what they know".