This is not another post waxing poetically about the “good ol’ days”, to the contrary this new series seeks to highlight music that exists outside of a particular era. The inspiration for this series was culled from a personal experience last week, whereby I happened to be driving and cycling through the local radio offerings when this song was spun.
I happened to remark to my traveling companion that even though I know the precise moment in time when I first heard this song and the era of its popularity, “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” lives outside of those confines. I know without a shadow of a doubt what 1987 sounds like and hearing this tune the other day I didn’t get the feeling of when the expiration date has passed. No, this music sounded as fresh and alive as when I first heard it.
Artists are often forced to chase trends and while a trend may be popular for the moment, the result can be the musical equivalent of wearing bellbottoms. Some trends are for and can be easily identified with a moment in time while others… timeless.
Ivan Orr is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, performer, and writer. A native of Charlottesville, Virginia Ivan was involved with the forming and nascent days of The Music Resource Center as its first Program Director. A graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Department of Music, Ivan currently resides in Richmond, VA where he maintains an active performance and production schedule while serving as the Music Editor for Grown Folks Music, a position he has held since 2010.
