Compulsive Obsession

I get obsessed with things very easily. I can’t help it (well, maybe I can, but even so, I don’t really wanna). It’s almost like I enter into a relationship with the object of my obsession. Some are fleeting and last for only a few weeks, others are “serious relationships” and last years. When I say I get obsessed with “things,” by “things” I mean artists, albums, songs, movies, books, ideas, and other such objects. I’ve had a fling with Bob Dylan, a quickie with his song “Boots of Spanish Leather” and a lovers’ spat with Highway 61 Revisited.

 My very first meaningful long-term relationship was with The Beatles (Yup. All four of ‘em! Muahahahaha!). Let me explain how this “obsession” thing works. In this case, I grew up listening to The Beatles and always had a place in my heart for them. But, early in high school (after making it through my Spice Girls/Destiny’s Child phase- come on, admit it: You had one of those Dark Ages too), I heard the Beatles 1 CD they came out with. All of a sudden, I was hearing these songs differently. To me, nothing else even came close to comparing to them. Enter: obsession. I consumed any and every thing I could find even remotely related to The Beatles. I read books, interviews, and liner notes. I listened to every track they ever recorded hundreds of times, and I memorized every word. I learned which Beatle wrote and sang which songs. I memorized every useless piece of trivia related to the band that I could find. I picked my dad’s brain. I probably watched the movie A Hard Day’s Night 50 times. I even decided to learn to play guitar because I was so into them. I got a Beatles chord book and used it to teach myself to play. I was convinced that I should have been born earlier so I could have seen The Beatles live.

After probably three years of complete and total obsession (during the later part of which I started branching out a very little bit- Bob Dylan, etc) I went to college and started being exposed to all sorts of music. And somehow, in the background of my life, my Beatles relationship faded into a loving friendship full of understanding and private jokes.

Other obsessions I have experienced (most of these are music-related):

-Joni Mitchell has been my other big long-term relationship-type obsession. She is a goddess.

-Patty Griffin’s A Kiss in Time (I am currently experiencing a renaissance of obsession with this album. My re-obsessions occur frequently too!)

-The Last Waltz by The Band (I still maintain that I would give up years of my life to have been at this concert)

-The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley (The only book I’ve read more than twice)

-The Once soundtrack

-Aretha Franklin in general

-Harry Potter series


Man, I’m a big slut.

What are your obsessions?

I'm gonna go ahead and say that RYAN'S RECOMMENDATIONS on this post are the things above that I have been/am obsessed with!