Interesting post Grizzly.

I have often wondered the very same thing. For me, the most emotive type of music has always been blues, jazz, rock and blues/rock based music because, to me, it seems to have the most reach. There's some rather connective aural tissue in those riffs... But to be fair, I think that all music is a way of conveying emotion. I listen to the great players, the ones that can rip it up at 200 + BPM and I am awed by what they can do. And like you, I have to wonder what it is that they are conveying or trying to convey. But it's like all human emotion, it rolls out of us in different ways. When some people grieve, they cry. Others go silent and stoic. Others actually laugh. (I have a good friend like that. You can't go to a funeral with him. He giggles and snorts the entire night and not out of malice or spite, that's just how he deals with grief. Wierd but that's him...)When some people talk and try to express love, they cry. Others laugh. Some grin from ear to ear and others have that same look you see in the eyes of a deer caught in the headlights.

You're right - it's in the eye and ear of the beholder. Some find beauty in technical proficiency and there's nothing wrong with that. Others find it in the mood of the song. Some of us are lyric freaks. But if it touches your soul in some way or another, it's good music.

As far as the drugs and booze, congrats on your revelation. I had something similar happen to me years ago. One day I woke up and said "Okay, that's enough of that." I still take a drink or two every now and again but it doesn't mean anything to me at all. I managed to break that false 'drunk/high creative connection.' It doesn't exist. But no one can tell you that. That's just something we all have to figure out for ourselves.

And most of us do.

Pleased to see your new goal! To quote and horribly over-used marketing phrase: "Just do it!!!"