Sen's Lens

Just checked out James' review of the Indie music scene. I must say music doesn't hold a whole lot of meaning in my life. Aside from that one-gloved wonder whom I've liked since I was very young, music has never really enraptured me in its folds. If I had list to my ever-evolving favourite list of artists, it'd go something like: Michael Jackson, The Beatles, Chuck Berry, The Temptations,and Led Zeppelin - quite a diverse lot, but all musical legends.

I'm also way too mainstream when it comes to music. When approached by James regarding attending a concert featuring the Constantines I had no idea who the Constantines were, and I once confused Velvet Revolver with the Velvet Underground. My approach to popular music (emphasis on popular) is almost utilitarian, in that all I really want to know are the mainstream oldies "hits" that "everyone" knows and "everyone" enjoys (after all, if so many people like it, it must be good!). This way I'll have just enough requisite knowledge of Western pop culture & music; I don't really care about anything else. So I've devoted much of the past few months getting acquainted with the likes of Beach Boys, Jimi Hendrix, James Brown, The Who, Guns N Roses and all the other giants of music (and music that I quite like!)... I know, using music for a more cohesive understanding of the world what can I say.

On the other hand, James has a real passion for music which I admire. I've never really had a passion or devotion for any one thing like that before - I've always maintained a broad range of interests. I've never had a preoccupation like James has with beer and music, or Tristan with commies and Nazis, or Eddie with workouts and Asian girls (better yet, workouts with Asian girls ;-)). I've gone through phases where I've been interested in a few things in particular, like astrology and UFOs at one point, and computers and baseball and hockey, but at the moment I don't have one prime focused interest like that.

But if there was any singular thing I could say I'm really interested in at the moment, I'd say it would be human biodiversity - why human races are physiologically different, how cultures emerged and adapted, why the West become dominant etc. Essentially I'm seeking to understand why the world is the way it is today. Do I sound like a big nerd? I guess so.