Rising Gas Prices Affect My Music Consumption

Er...actually the title mostly says it all.

I've been thinking about the different ways in which I consume music. These days, it's at two points during my day: first, on my iPod while I'm walking to work, and second, while I'm on the computer at work.

Rising gas prices have affected my favorite place to listen to music, that is, in the car. Driving around, preferably on an empty highway somewhere. My favorite music is best in the car, turned up load, with the windows rolled down, and me singing along at the top of my lungs and going fast enough with few enough people on the road so no one can hear how bad my singing is.

The last time I took a long road trip anywhere was at the end of May, when I drove down to New Orleans to meet up with my dad. Which was great; I rediscovered some old mix CDs I made a couple of years ago and sang along. Loudly. Rising gas prices mean that I don't get to take as many of those trips. And walking to work means that I don't get to hear that one song of the day nearly as much, or that it becomes a song for walking (and sweating), rather than driving.

Long car trips=albums, or mix tapes. Driving around town=singles. And I miss them both. Walking to work, half-listening to something and trying to pretend I'm not talking to myself just in case anyone's watching is just not the same.

This is brought on by my thoughts on The Hold Steady, who I listened to a little today, mostly through whatever I could find for free on npr.com. NPR is a great source for free music, though I sometimes distrust their selection (a little too indie, a little too twee, a little too sweet, a little too soccer-mom-that's-kinda-liberal.) Sitting at the computer, THS comes across as contrived and pretentious, but I feel that, in a car, the sheer joy present in the music might take over the overly-wordy lyrics and render the band something I might be briefly obsessed with, for, say, a couple of days.

Sigh. Loving rock and roll doesn't make you a revolutionary, it just makes you a good consumer.

I hate the fact that we, as a society (particularly as Americans) are consuming way past the point of sustainability. I understand that public transportation should be more important, and more available, to Americans- not just because it reduces our need for fossil fuels, but also because it provides transport for those not privileged enough to own a car. Our addiction to individual transport is killing us.

Nevertheless, I love my car. Well, maybe not my specific car, as it is caught up in a lot of family issues. But I love driving, I love the road, I love and am fascinated by the way that cars are used to express so much social information, and I think it's a shame that the era of cheap fuel and correspondingly cheap travel seems to be coming to an end. And the era of car songs.