My New Thing

Any time I develop an interest in something new I tend to be pretty shy about it. Especially in areas where there are a lot of self proclaimed experts, who are not always welcoming to newbies. I feel like a lot of people try to defend their turf instead of welcoming people into the fandom.

"How dare you be in to this on a whim. This is my thing, and I'll shame you with the depth of my knowledge, you who only have this as a 'cute hobby'."

I feel like you encounter this a lot in things like collecting records, or high end alcohol, or really realms that tend to be affluent white-guy interests. And so when I develop a new hobby I keep it to myself for fear of exposing my ignorance and feeling embarrassed.

Which is a long introduction to say, recently I've been listening to jazz and I'm really liking it. I'm not sure why I suddenly felt inspired, but I googled a song (a piece? I don't really know what you call it in jazz music) that was referenced in a manga I loved, Sakamichi no Appollon (another hobby I don't discuss out of embarrassment. I should make a list!) and have been listening non-stop for days.

I don't have anything informed or intelligent to say about jazz yet, but so far, nothing beats a lazy Sunday with John Coltrane playing.