this is exactly what it's like : an introduction

for the past almost eighteen months i have been posting a series of songs via my personal facebook page, vaguely-esoterically titled 'this is exactly what it's like', slowly gathering a numbered list of tracks, decided upon by whim of the moment to build up an ongoing collection of some of my favourite music.

for some time i have been thinking about the best way to present them in a more satisfying form, collected together and with some annotation and explanation on my part as to exactly why they are exactly what it's like, and now that i am approaching the 200 song mark, i thought it might be high-time to take action.

still, it would be only right to mention that, as with a number of my projects, a final spur of impetus was provided by my dearest brother james p honey, in his quizzing me for the whole list and requesting that i might somehow make them available in a more cohesive state. and how fitting this would be too, for the title of the series is indeed inspired by one of our own lyrics.

i have long been a passionate fan of so many forms of music, purely driven by the feeling that each song, each album, each band, each live show would give me, sensing this overwhelming feeling in the moment that it is indeed exactly what it's like, to be here, to be alive, now, in the moment; some intangible magnificent sensation.

but how there is such a weight attached too, such a gravitas, as with everything in life, when studied close enough. so often the music is sad, as is the nature of this life; the weight and sadness of the music and words reflecting our own feelings, allowing us to mine deep trenches of troubled emotions in an attempt to understand, to truly feel.

in the case of 'the price of grey' which the lyric is taken from, honey and i were exploring very dark themes indeed; the world as viewed through the lens of the television, the way the world is presented to us, the way it is twisted and altered to manipulate our emotions, our needs. a dark exploration of the troubles of our times.

moreover, in my own personal work, and that of so many others, the act of creating is in itself trying to describe exactly what it is like, and how there is a cathartic release in being able to externalise these feelings and sensations and this great sense of communion that follows in being able to share these works with other souls.

in the very same way, selecting the perfect song is an artistic gesture in itself; being able to sustain a mood, a sensation, to bring the listener through an emotive journey with a selection of compositions finely-tuned to a certain feeling, to a certain mood. the skills employed by bedroom dj's and mixtape creators, the art of describing exactly what it's like.

still further though, how 'real life', how it really is exactly like, is not a straight-forward linear narrative, in any context. our world flits around us, our senses take snapshots at intervals, we filter the material, subconsciously or otherwise, our moods cab alter with such rapidity, our thoughts taking us into so many places, and how the music can describe this for us.

'this is exactly what it's like' is a series aiming to be as true to my own personal path through this ongoing shared experience, knowing that the materials i am gathering together are all very much in the public domain and therefore relevant and personal in different degrees to different listeners at different times, creating a widely-disparate, but hopefully cohesive whole.

it would of course be churlish not to accept that this collection is based purely on my own musical tastes and can therefore only be seen as a narrow glimpse of a greater whole. but still, i like to imagine that, in my long years of listening, my taste has diversified enough for anyone listening to perhaps be able to find some new and interesting threads for their own musical voyage.

so gladly, might i begin to present 'this is exactly what it's like', the complete archives

jamesreindeer
mulheim-an-der-ruhr
deutschland

14th november 2013