isn't anything like loveless?

image: sandra croft

atonal, architonal. you and i listen to more music than
anyone else in the history of civilization. there are so
many records competing for attention, and so many
are potentially appealing on first listen that it is often
tempting to cling to the familiar and instantly likeable.
but it's important not to give up on those more difficult
albums. they serve as barometers, showing the limits
of your taste and understanding: here's where the music
gets too noisy; here's where it gets too atonal; this is the
place where i don't know what the hell is going on. and
while difficult records measure a boundary, they also
measure how your understanding changes between
listens. the way you hear music is continually shifting,
and many of those changes are unconscious. when a
difficult record finally makes sense, you will understand
how you yourself have expanded. in the end, it ultimately
serves as a reminder to listen real hard but harden not
your heart.