I’ve been in this peculiar place lately. On the one hand, I’ve been listening to a lot of artists that play, what I consider to be, inspirational music. Not inspirational in the Jesus, church, or religious kind of way; more of hope for a better tomorrow, community, and passion. This probably makes no sense. One of the bands that have been on heavy rotation is The Bouncing Souls.
This band plays the perfect mix of 7 Seconds, Descendents, and Cock Sparrer, with hints of Johnny Cash, Bruce Springsteen, and later on AVAIL and Hot Water Music. No band does anthemic punk rock better than The Bouncing Souls. Period. Also, along with The Replacements, they are the quintessential Gen X band.
I’ve also been revisiting the aforementioned AVAIL and Dropkick Murphys (the first six albums). Both of which I consider to be inspirational. This also goes for Frank Turner, Operation Ivy, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones (ignoring the Qanon thing), and U2 just to name a few.
Here’s where it gets weird and where that other hand comes in (oh, if only I had another hand…)…I feel nothing. Or more accurately, I feel completely disinterested in damn near everything. The things that hold my interest seem to be becoming fewer and fewer. I’ve unfollowed a ton of podcasts that I used to listen to religiously because I just don’t care. Sure there are some that I listen to every episode right when they drop but beyond those half dozen or so shows, I’ve dropped almost everything else. TV shows that I used to love have fallen into two categories: 1) I know that they are good but I just don’t want to watch them, or 2) are now fucking horrendous (The Flash I’m looking at you).
I’m also finding myself falling back on the things that make me feel comfortable and safe. For instance, I recently finished my second rewatch of both seasons of Superman & Lois and will probably rewatch the entire series again after season 3 is over. (Side Note: Superman & Lois is by far, hands down the BEST onscreen adaptation of the Man of Steel. Nothing comes close.)
And in between the new episodes of Star Trek: Picard, I’ve started another rewatch of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Oh, and speaking of Superman, for shits and giggles I’ve decided to go back and reread all of his modern origin stories. Why? Why not. Unfortunately, as I do this, my pile of new comics continues to grow. I’ll get to those someday…
The bottom line, my driving state lately seems to be apathy…if that’s the right word…it’s probably closer to disinterest. Maybe I keep listening to the music and watching the shows that give me hope and inspire me because I don’t have any of my own.
I guess the one good thing to come out of this is my complete lack of interest in social media. At this point, the only things that I post are links to episodes of my podcast and pictures of books that have titles that are also song titles and/or lyrics (I like to post them with a comment of whatever is the next line of the song). Gone is the desire to share my opinions, pictures of what I’m doing, hot takes, or anything else. No one cares, nor should they. In fact, I think the world would be a better place if more people stopped with the incessant posting.
I should probably talk to my therapist about all of this…
Anyway, I leave you with an incredible version of one of The Bouncing Souls’ best songs, “True Believers” recorded live withe the Souls, Hot Water Music, and Dave Hause. Damn, I wish I’d been there.
I hate that you have fallen into this head space. I for one love reading your thoughts and musings on things but I understand the need to step back from social media. If falling back into the comfort familiar things work for you, don’t worry about the other stuff. Between wrestling and hockey I watch absolutely nothing else right now, despite knowing there are tons of great shows out there. I hope you are able to find things that spark excitement in you soon. You are my friend and I love you and want what is best for you.