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“The man that hath no music in himself,<\/h2>\n

Nor is not moved\u00a0with concord of sweet sounds,<\/h2>\n

Is fit for treasons, stratagems,\u00a0and spoils;<\/h2>\n

The motions of his\u00a0spirit are dull as night,<\/h2>\n

And his\u00a0affections dark as Erebus.<\/h2>\n

Let no such man be\u00a0trusted. Mark\u00a0the music.”<\/h2>\n

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-Shakespeare (Merchant of Venice)<\/h2>\n

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I hate people who quote Shakespeare, but I always liked that one and it’s my blog, so go fuck yourself. \u00a0I have talked to a lot of people who say they love music, and it’s always a funny thing because a lot of the time they mean one or two genres. I think most genres have something that’s good (except show tunes, there are no good show tunes so just shut up), and I don’t mean to cover all of them here because I don’t need to prove it– especially to you– but music is a very polarizing topic. I know that if someone likes certain things, I will probably get along with them pretty well, and I’m usually right. Also, liking everything or most things in a certain genre means you’re boring and have no perspective. \u00a0No genre is wholly great, unless you are referring to before 1975. \u00a0All popular music was pretty good before then or at least listenable (So what happened? \u00a0Cocaine? An existential malaise born out of the futility of Vietnam? \u00a0The demoralization of a public realizing that it’s government lies to them? \u00a0These are questions that are loftier than the scope of this blog but it is interesting to think about).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Some people make the mistake of thinking that because they like something, it must mean that it’s “good”. \u00a0 I like a lot of things that are not considered “good”, I just like them and I don’t give a shit if that means that my taste is questionable, because you know what? \u00a0Anyone who only listens to THE BEST kind of music usually takes themselves too seriously and by default, sucks. \u00a0Meaning, there is plenty of so-called “bad” music that is enjoyable. \u00a0I am not going to list it on my OKCupid profile (ha! \u00a0as if) but who doesn’t like a little Hall and Oates? (admit it!) \u00a0Or Rapper’s Delight? \u00a0Sure, we’ve all heard it a million times, but it is catchy as HELL, and if you can sit straight during it then you should check your pulse. \u00a0And I KNOW that you middle-aged white men have a secret place for Journey. \u00a0Or Rush! \u00a0Not good bands. \u00a0Technically, maybe Rush is superior to Journey, but they are trash. \u00a0Oh, here’s a good one– Pearl Jam! \u00a0They suck, they have one song that they’ve milked into like ten albums. \u00a0All their songs are the same. \u00a0Listen again.<\/p>\n

POLARIZING!<\/p>\n

Anyway, there are way too many things I like to just write one blog about, hence this is the Vintage Edition of Hidden Gems… \u00a0Stay tuned for a hip hop edition, a movie soundtrack edition, a ladie’s (fuck yeah) edition, and probably more as I think of them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I know that most of you probably love The Stones and know a lot about them. \u00a0I actually got in a debate with a dude in my coffee shop (who’s in “a band”) who admitted he didn’t like them. \u00a0He was like, “If I have to listen to Under My Thumb one more time, I’ll go nuts,” \u00a0and I was like, if you are basing your opinion on the songs that got strong radio play, then you can’t really make that statement. Exile on Main Street is one of the best crafted albums ever, but Metamorphosis is also really terrific. This is my favorite song from the album, not surprisingly, written by Stevie Wonder:<\/p>\n

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https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?t=10&v=x46cBLgtaTs<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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(Here is the Stevie version which I actually think is better. Stevie transitioning out of being Little Stevie.)<\/p>\n

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