Being spoilt for choice is a good thing...right?

So let me begin with my customary, "I've been such a crappy blogger recently" bit. I don't know, just haven't felt really inspired, but today is the day. And you are in for a treat. I have this theory that Sweet Chilli Sauce is the perfect metaphor for the changes that have been happening over the past few years in the music world.

How ridiculous does that sound? Well, to be honest, it sounds as insane as the damn stuff tastes. I like sweet chilli sauce, however, I prefer a spicier alternative. I like my curry ring-stingingly hot and that is again, similar to the kind of music I enjoy. A little weird, a little stingy but always sincere.

Think of 10 years ago, there was no *insert trendy mainstream indie band name here*, Muse had just become famous and the other 10 million "indie" bands were sitting at home wondering which routes their young lives would take. This is very similar to sweet chilli sauce when you consider that when I was growing up, there were 4 condiments to choose from, mustard, chutney, mayonnaise and of course, All Gold Tomato Sauce. That was it, no frills, no fancy, just the basics.

Nowadays a trip to the supermarket entails standing in the condiments aisle utterly baffled by the sheer amount of things I can choose to drench my food in. Just like going to a record shop and trying to pick out a new band that might blow you away. Granted, the internet has become a fantastic medium for sampling music before investing, but you get the idea.

You have all those choices, but still feel slightly unsure about which one to pick, because you might like it on a sandwich today, but what about tomorrow? Will you actually finish the bottle or will  it become yet another fridge door relic to be disposed of months after the sell-by date? Will you one morning wake up and think "shit, is there any of that garlic-infused-tomato-chutney-with-the-chunky-green-bits-in left?" Or will you not even venture into such crazy territory?

I suggest that you do. There are literally hundreds of bands producing records today, far too many for a music junkie like me to ingest in a lifetime and that leaves me with a slight bitter taste in my mouth. (Not too dissimilar to that time I had that sauce that sucked)

Although, choice is generally a good thing, I don't know, maybe I just miss the good old days when your 5 - 10 favourite bands could keep you entertained because you had no idea about the myriad of other bands out there that might be more to your taste. But our ignorance was bliss, the innocence is over, now the selection is epic. Now take your regular listens, let's call them salty cracks, and venture into the abyss that is the internet, let's call it the supermarket, and find something that suits your palette.

Sweet chilli sauce revolutionised our taste buds over the past 10 years or so, and finding a new band that you truly love could do exactly the same thing to the way you listen to music.

Over.
Rick.