SO MUCH MUSIC, SO LITTLE TIME....

Time. That mysterious force that propels us ever forward into the future, one moment at a time. That seems to be in endless abundance in your youth, but as the years progress runs away from us at what seems like an increasing pace. 

The last 12 months have made me aware of this: the loss of my father, followed swiftly by the Covid-19 epidemic and 3 months of lockdown have flown by, and it's hard to comprehend that we are now in the final months of 2020. The familiar events that bookmark the chapters of a year - holidays, birthdays, festivals, sports competitions to name but a few - all cancelled or rendered meaningless, wiped from the pages as we have all hunker down to try and protect ourselves and our societies. 

My main passion in life is music - cooking, reading, astronomy and travel also, but music first - and the epidemic has wreaked havoc on the industry. Gigs, tours, festivals all cancelled; release dates put back; music publications gone to the wall including long running Q and my personal favourite Long Live Vinyl. Musicians and venues are finding their livelihoods at risk, as is the entertainment industry as a whole, and with - at the time of writing - infection cases on the rise, there is no end in sight yet. 

But in the darkness, chinks of light: music fans have adapted, supporting independent record stores online, donating to local venues, crowd funding to support their favourite bands in increasing numbers. After a long period where time and money was too scarce for me to visit and buy from my local indies i have spent more money ordering cds, vinyl, music books and magazines, and merchandise online than since my late twenties. As i have been discovering more artists, old and new, delving into genres and eras i've previously dismissed (particularly Jazz), and my music collection keeps growing. One downside is the lack of time to listen to it all: whilst my wife has been furloughed since March with no chance of returning to work any time soon, i - after many years working in retail and being spoken to like shit by customers - was suddenly classed as a "key worker", essential to the running of society during the lockdown. Whilst i still take cds into work, time on my own at home was - and is - scarce, although i am left to it occasionally! It's also been a time of reflection, of taking stock, and one album in particular became the soundtrack to a spring and summer largely spent unable to see or socialise with family or friends. On Sunset by Paul Weller, an album written about taking stock of his life, reflections and memories, being content with his lot, realising what is important. Songs like "Village" sum up the lyrical theme of the album: " a lot of things i've never done, i've never won, i don't care much", and the pontless but irresistible pull of consumerism on "More". Relentless advertising, social media, all telling us we need to buy more stuff in order to be happy, to somehow matter in society: this year has exposed this as a lie. Food, roof and family, as The Levellers put it on their new album (their first to go top 10 since 1997, and their first album of new material in eight years), are all we really need. I realise that, as a Mod, the materialistic consumerism of my chosen subculture contradicts everything i've just said: i, and many fellow Mods i've spoken to, try to balance this out by supporting small and local businesses, promoting unknown artists, looking out for one another. I've been good to myself and those i care about, got involved in good causes. It's all about striking a balance, i suppose. 

Take care of yourselves and others.