"Y'all", sweet tea, and all the South has to offer

Well howdy there folks. It's been too long since I've written on here. I was so excited about starting this experiment and then life started to pick up and I couldn't find time to actually focus on this thing. I think I was looking at it as this huge undertaking that I was starting, and it is because it's a really cool thing I've wanted to do for a long time. But honestly it's not going to take as much as effort as I was imagining. So instead of scurrying behind the couch and ducking for cover when I think about this experiment, I'm going to think of it in weekly increments and hopefully that will get me more excited to start it and do it consistently.

If you couldn't guess from the title, the first genre I'm going to begin with is *drum roll* COUNTRY! A car drove by me with their windows down today blasting some good ol' country music and it floated into my ears, hit my ear drums, and it pierced straight to my heart. Something about country music just brings out emotions no other genre of music is able to. I grew up listening to country music. The little town I grew up in Pennsylvania was in the boonies. All of my family on my dad's side and my dad listen to country music all the time, so when I listen to country music it gives me a feeling of home, family, and love. I don't listen to it regularly because it really does bring up strong emotions inside of me.

BUT for the good of my experiment I am going to eat, breathe, and sleep country music all this week. I'm also giving myself more lee-way on timing with this so some genres I may end up listening to for more than a week if I feel like exploring more.

Thank you to all my loyal readers. I hope you keep reading and that this experiment inspires you to broaden your musical horizons.

Start of the Journey

"Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music." -Sergei Rachmaninov




You're probably wondering "Keels,


What is this blog all about, anyway?"


For those who know me pretty well, you know that I love music. I have over 4000 songs, which adds up to about 12 days worth of music, on my iTunes. The genres in my music collection stretch from classic 90's hits (my personal fav) from Backstreet Boys to some good ol' country to Christian and worship music to acoustic and classical to hard rock like Aerosmith and Van Halen to some smooth jams from John Mayer to rap gods like Jay-Z and 2Pac... you get the point. I pride myself in having a wide variety of music. Yet, I feel that I have kept myself sheltered from the whole realm of the world of music. That's what this experiment is all about. I want to stretch my music knowledge and experience music my ear buds have never tasted before.

Here's the plan...
Every week I am going to listen to a new genre of music until I feel like stopping this experiment. For the whole week I am only going to listen to that type of music, whether I'm sitting in my room listening to tunes on my laptop or in my car driving. I will start off the week by listening to that type of music in my own collection of music and artists I'm already familiar with. Then I will branch out and look up artists from that genre that I haven't heard of and experience what that genre has to offer.

I will post during the week the artists I listen to, the emotions the particular type of music envokes in me, if I enjoy the genre or not, and the way the music affects me.

The next question that might have crossed your mind is...
"Why are you doing this"?
Well I have a few reasons for you, the most compelling being that I have a deep love and admiration, probably more closer to an obsession, with music. I could not stand to live in a world without the soothing strums on the guitar or the tempo of the drum that makes your foot tap. I never go a day without listening to some type of music. It's in my veins, and I can't get enough of it. I want to experience all the world of music has to offer. I want to stretch myself and learn about different genres I don't listen to often and even ones I've never heard of.

The second reason is that I want to be REALLY passionate about something for once in my life. I've always been a quitter. I quit competitive sports in high school when it got too tough. I don't put as much effort into my school work as I should. But music has always been a passion of mine. I want to take it to the next level and LEARN more. I want to gain knowledge about many genres and not stay in my own bubble of just listening to what's popular.

You are my third reason for doing this. Not only do I want to share with others what I learn and help others expand their view of music as well, but you will keep me on track. If I set out to do this on my own I would probably keep at it for about a month then let it fall to the wayside, but if I have people to read my blog consistently then I will have to post and keep up with my experiment.

Thank you for your interest in my experiment. I'm excited to see what comes out of this. I'll try not to let you down.