As a habitual loafer, I spend a fair bit of time thinking about how some songwriters can create music that can feel familiar yet unfamiliar and why I’m attracted to music that gives me both of those feelings. I also love finding music that feels very unfamiliar to me and I’m interested in why.
As you might expect I’ve failed to come up with anything concrete, but I did read something which made me think: basically when you are younger, you tend to use music as an identity marker and engage with it to navigate social circles, find your tribe, stuff like that. And the theory goes that as you get older, your personality and social circles become more developed and comfortable, so you tend to listen to music that’s more familiar. I’ve definitely experienced change in identity and social circles over the last, I dunno, 15 years probably, so if that theory holds true, it would explain why I’m listening to much more diverse stuff nowadays - Ugly Kid Joe over Ramones? Ok, let’s not go too far!
Another view, from neuroscientist Daniel Levitin, goes like this:
“when we love a piece of music, it reminds us of other music we have heard, and it activates memory traces of emotional times in our lives.”
Today - 16th February 2024 - sees the release of Middle Kids’ third full LP called Faith Crisis Part I and it’s another beautiful evolution, showing another different side to the band, yet it’s still got that familiarity of journey, evocative melodies, empathy and classic bangers too.
This is a beautifully open and honest conversation with Hannah Joy about adaptability, reflections on quitting drinking, saying “yes” to things, finding the muse, work ethic mindset, formative influences that shape us, on stage versus off stage personas, her relationship with piano and guitar, consensus in songwriting, curiosity…….
#middlekids #hannahjoy
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