Revisiting my music-listening habits and asking some questions.

I've been revisiting my music listening habits, trying to figure out if they are even healthy. After over 30 years of music criticism, I still listen to just about every album sent my way for consideration, on top of listening to major releases I'm not sent to keep abreast of the mainstream tastes, and picking up anything and everything from bands I'm already a fan of—which is a large number of musical groups, by this point. Heck, I still save standout songs from each year in a folder for DJing ... despite my largely "retiring" from DJing well over a decade ago.

Which is to say I spend the vast majority of my time listening to new music, and feel I have to crunch revisits to past faves into the brief periods where I've caught up with the recent stuff. And I feel slightly guilty if I'm listening to an older album just because I love it.

On the plus side, I'm still completely plugged into what's going on ... but on the downside I've found myself finally questioning "why." I haven't had a daily beat to worry about since 2017, and these days I am lucky enough to have the freedom to only write about the music I want to, with no deadlines at all.

I've also been reading a number of fellow critics who are revisiting their own habits as they enter their early 30s, noting the difficulties of staying on top of everything as they begin to feel both physically and mentally older. And while it's taken me roughly twenty years longer than them to ask myself the same questions, there they are.

But I often feel I can't in good conscience just "quit" music criticism and giving lesser-known bands a broader platform. I personally feel there are far too few writers out there covering bands that could actually use championing. Instead, writers are being forced to cover music that will deliver dependable clicks. And as outlets continue to focus on only stuff that draws the most traffic, there are fewer and fewer writers with my combination of experience and true openness. And I do feel a responsibility to keep sharing that experience ... but should I? Does it even matter any more? And if not, can I even listen to music in a "normal" manner by this point?!

And hey, if you got this far—thanks so much for reading! Even if you have no reaction, or think I'm just being a weirdo, it feels good to say this "out loud."