Blogcember: Nostalgia

[sabotabby]

firinel asked what I get nostalgic over.

I have an embarrassingly large number of entries on my nostalgia tag, so I guess the answer is a lot. When I look back, there are probably more entries about how I miss being a young, mentally unstable radical anarchist (a period in my life where I was at my absolute lowest emotionally, by the way) than about, say, mixed tapes. (Which I also miss. I make a lot of playlists and force them on people but it’s not the same as making a mixed tape for someone.)

I guess the thing I’m most nostalgic for is discovering something for the first time, having a sense of unlimited potential. I still have new experiences—this summer, for example, was the first time I ever LARPed, and right before I had to stop because tumour, I was starting to get into skateboarding. But the unfortunate reality is that as you get older, the number of new things in your life, be it a new philosophical idea, or a new band that you love, or a new kink, or whatever floats your boat, does become less frequent. And I think that’s why I get nostalgic for things like summit-hopping even though I would never want to go back to that time. Your first really scary demo is a thrill; after twenty demos that are all the fucking same, you start to notice the same old faces and the same boring speeches and the same march route and even some of the same cops.

There are two positive counterpoints to this. First, I have much more of an appreciation for routine as I age. I don’t constantly need new experiences because I’ve figured out what works. This sounds kind of boring, but eh. Doesn’t need to be. Second, when you do discover a new thing that’s exciting, it is by extension more exciting because the thrill of the new happens less often. Probably why I get so excited and drive everyone crazy when I discover some new author or TV show or band that I like.

Weren’t mixed tapes great, though?

Comments

[lokilokust.livejournal.com]

i still make mixtapes on a regular basis!

[misslynx.livejournal.com]

I still have a fairly strong drive to discover and try new things, although these days it's more often music and books. But sometimes other things. I absolutely loved the Bollywood Fitness class I signed up for this past fall, and will really miss that when I move away from this area.

BTW, on the new music front, did you ever get a chance to check out >Speed Caravan or Mano Negra (of the latter, I particularly recommend the album Patchanka)? And in an entirely different musical direction, the new Leaves' Eyes album is pretty awesome.

Here, have a few samples.




(highly ironic cover version)


(kind of cheesy in that particular Scandinavian-metal-band kind of way. But I really want the dress Liv is wearing...)

[karinmollberg.livejournal.com]

Mixed tapes, yes, with our without a lock of hair...http://karinmollberg.livejournal.com/100072.html

[ironed_orchid]

The thing I miss maybe more than mix tapes is when a friend would tape an album for me, and then add some extra songs at the end because there was space left over.

[pofflewomp.livejournal.com]

I find it really, really hard that I seem so jaded when it comes to reading. I find it so hard to get enthusiastic any more. I remember as a teenager being shocked when a friend's mother, an editor and journalist, said that once you're about 30 you lose the excitement/enthusiasm for reading so much. My friend and I swore a pact never to let it happen. Guilt!

[pofflewomp.livejournal.com]

Watching a baby discover new things, lots and lots of them, is quite cool, but then I noticed how quickly a baby becomes nonchalent about things that were so new the other day!