Relationships and Music Streaming in The Kid Used To Dream

Is it just me or is relationships nowadays like streaming music? There was a time when people invested into the entire album. However, that was when the bands actually made records with well planned out albums. They didn’t just throw 10 songs on the record with 2 singles and be done with it. They invested their time, talent and energy to build something. Something that you didn’t mind listening to that lead-off song simply because the title drew you into it. The popular songs may have been cuts #4 and 9 but you were drawn into the music.

Now, we rush to download or stream a song here and a song there. Most of the time it’s so processed, filtered and packaged it’s no different than a weiner.

Relationships have gotten that way. There was a day when people took their time and they invested themselves into getting to know someone. They were like that first song on the album - the title made them want to hear more. What’s the story with them? And the relationship wasn’t about one song. You know, the way it is now. The intro captivates you. The first verse gives the history of the story. The chorus hooks you so that you just want to repeat it over and over without getting tired. The next verse ties it together and then the instrumental allows you to disengage and get lost for a few bars. The ending is perfect or it may just fade. You realize it’s just one song. That’s how some relationships go - one song. A lasting relationship is more like the album - where you do all of that over and over at least 10 times. Some moments exciting and some happy. Then there’s the sadness or the hurt. It’s always followed by the encouragement and how even though it got rough - you’d do it all over and that’s when you flip the record and listen from the beginning again.

I wish it were more that way. I feel like my record is broken sometimes. My album is lacking some sort of quality on my part. I didn’t pick the right songs or I didn’t use the right musicians. Then, sometimes it feels like the record is stuck or skips because it’s been damaged. Maybe, there’s one song on the album that never got played enough and plays better than the rest of the record.

The digital world will never know this. They can point, click or tell their phones to find it and play it. It’s mechanical without blemishes. It’s too perfect. It lacks character but who wants character over perfection. Sometimes, I want to think I do.