Spanish Eric Clapton

I must admit, I was a little surprised earlier when, as ITunes is shuffling through my pretty sizeable musical collection delivering nuggets of tunery into my lugging holes, on came a song from Eric Clapton with a decidedly Spanish twang to it. Observe:

El Clapton - Get Lost

Now despite being a fan of the Clapton - and this song, incidentally - I'm not about to spend a whole post talking about him. No, my point is about when music leaps up, grabs you by the jugular and surprises you.

Fact is, in the last year, my music taste has undergone a true Renaissance the Borgia's would have been proud of. I used to be one of these people who, when asked what music they were into, replied with 'I like a bit of everything - depends on my mood' which translated means they haven't yet found their sound. They haven't yet reached that point of realisation where you go 'YES! THAT'S what makes my ears orgasm' (or something like that). I spent a long time in that wildnerness, accepting the Lighthouse Family were a half-decent part of my musical collection, until roughly 12 months ago.

It's largely thanks to two of my mates - Lee and Paul - who bludgeoned me with literally THOUSANDS of songs from their respective oeuvres, once they knew I already had a penchant for rock - they just didn't know what. I was fed a lot of classic 70's/80's rock, bluesy southern rock, industrial rock, grunge, a touch of metal. And it was probably when I listened to this that my sound hit me - when I fell to my knees and just KNEW. Senses arrested, I was a changed man and I could never go back to the days where I could dance in Oceana without irony or like certain Eminem songs. I transcended.

This probably sounds awfully pretentious but I can't overestimate the impact this discovery had on me. I now can't stomach certain bars/pubs/clubs I once could. I can't hold down a conversation fully with people who openly appreciate Britney Spears (not that I ever liked her music, mind). I now wear rock t-shirts and can't get enough of them. If a day goes by I don't listen to something like this, I begin to suffer symptoms of withdrawal. It's wonderful and I wouldn't change it for the world.

So when I hear Eric Clapton twanging that Spanish guitar, it reminds me again that I know where I belong musically. And forever shall.