Modern music has a larger amount of new albums, songs, and artists appearing almost every day than there were in an entire year a 70 years ago. With a constant influx of new art and artists, it can be exhausting to try and listen to every new release. Many music fans feel behind the times if they do not have a download of the latest big name records or songs. We are always swimming against an ever-growing stream, trying to soak up as much as possible.

I argue that we should quit.

In attempting to consume as much music as humanly possible, we miss out on the best parts about music. When we try to hear it all, we are missing the point.

The music we love is music that we invest time in. It is words and melodies and sounds that creates instant memories and good thoughts. The music we love is special because of what we do when we listen, and the people we are around, and the stories we carry. It is also formed by the initial reactions we have- first impressions are important in all areas of life, but possibly most important in regards to music.

The music we love is also special because of absence- that is, the absence of other music. We have to choose to listen to one thing over the possibility of something else, and at a time when virtually all of history's recorded music is so easily available, the possibilities of something else are almost endless.

In following the quick whims of blogs, websites, and music aggregators, we go off on a fruitless journey for the new best thing. So often we ignore the music we love in order to consume the latest mixtapes of rappers who will be half-forgotten by tomorrow, or to skim through the new hot indie record that rips from the same sources as everyone else. There is so much in front of us, it can be easy for the gems to slip through the cracks.

This is not to say that modern music is somehow all bad, or that major releases are devoid of any meaning. I don't mean it as a sign of moral superiority when I say that I haven't listened to or cared much for recent marquee releases by artists such as Frank Ocean, Beyonce, Chance the Rapper, James Blake, or Radiohead. I am sure that some people out there have felt very real emotions for the music contained in those releases and others. However, for every person who feels connected to those songs, there will be five more who view music as a social currency, or who simply ride the wave of what is popular for fear that their own opinions might be looked down upon.

There will always be Deadheads, and people like them- content to follow a single band around the country for months at a time, always ready to rattle off five different versions of the same song played at different live shows. Thankfully, with more music being created now than ever before, it means there is just as much new beauty to get lost in.