That’s Going in the Quote Book #63

I rather like Kid Rock’s Devil Without a Cause album.

I rather dislike Kid Rock.

This quote from Kid Rock comes from the Devil Without a Cause era, before his music went to self-parodying shit, and before I learned he’s a total Right Wing Nutjob.

If it looks good, you’ll see it.

If it sounds good, you’ll hear it.

If it’s marketed right, you’ll buy it.

But … if it’s real, you’ll feel it.

I get this idea. I’m very into music, and there are certain songs that I feel in a way that most don’t hit – what many people would refer to as feeling it in their soul. While I appreciate the sentiment, I’ve never been a fan of woo, so I tend to say I feel these songs in my torso. My chest and upper back get tight, radiating out from a point somewhere behind my heart, and often I forget to breathe. It’s a very visceral reaction, and when it happens, I want to (and usually do) turn the music way up. One of the words I’ve always used to describe music that affects me this way is real.

Which brings us back to the quote. It’s actually a pretty decent analysis of my relationship with Kid Rock’s Devil Without a Cause.

I saw it because it looked good. Not the cover art, which is just a photo of Kid Rock’s greasy self, but the actual disc, which features a one-finger salute, one of my favourite hand gestures.

And I heard it because it sounds good. The single Bawitdaba has a unique, engaging sound at its core which both stood out from the rest of the stuff being played on the radio when it was released, and has withstood the test of time. I still perk up whenever it comes up in the music shuffle.

And it was marketed well enough that I bought it. I bought it used, mind. But I did buy it. I bought it mostly on the strength of Bawitdaba, but I quite enjoy several other tracks, as well.

But I’ve never felt any of it in my torso. That tightness doesn’t come, and the volume generally stays put. That doesn’t mean I don’t like it. It just means it doesn’t speak to something at my core that some other music does.

It isn’t real.

To see previous posts in my Quotes series, click here.