Time to Move On

It’s official, my career as the music guru is officially over. Last week on a message board I was called out to suggest some new music and for the first time since I was 16, I had nothing to say. I’ve only been to two concerts so far this year, and they were both company sponsored events with bands that I had little to no interest in seeing. I listen to talk radio more than my iPod these days, and when I do play the iPod it’s more “Chicken Dance” and “Itsy Bitsy Spider” than it is “For Those About to Rock We Salute You” and “Mama Kin”. Like Bret Favre, I still want to play, but the time has come to hang it up.

Gone are the days when I’d look forward to new releases like Kate Moss looks forward to her next coke score. Gone are the days when I’d sleep out in the snow at the local mall for concert tickets, waiting for the music store geek to let us in so that I could crash next to the Orange Julius until the tickets went on sale. Gone are the days when I’d spend hours on a Saturday afternoon at the used CD store rummaging through the plethora of Ace of Base and Hootie and the Blowfish discs looking for that elusive Doors import that you couldn’t buy in the US. Gone are the days seeing up and coming bands in old asbestos infested warehouses crammed together with the other 50 who were “in the know”. Gone are the days hanging backstage drinking beers with the band and mingling with the music industry folks. Gone are the days writing reviews for music sites, and pretending that my opinion meant something.

I had a good run. I’ve seen hundreds of great shows and I have enough music to last me a lifetime. I used to manage a record store and I had this guy working for me who was ten times the music lover I will ever be and he would always say with that kid on Christmas morning look in his eye “Dude, you have to listen to this album it will take you to worlds”, and he was usually right.

Now if you’ll excuse me I have to put on my headphones, crank up the Tom Petty and re-organize my concert ticket stubs. After all I’m not dead, just retired.

“It's time to move on, time to get going
What lies ahead, I have no way of knowing
But under my feet, baby, grass is growing
It's time to move on, it's time to get going”