CARLTON FLETCHER: My musical obsession is a fluid thing

Music is what we like to play. All day …

— War

Being passionate about music, it’s always cool to discover other music lovers who share that passion. Certainly tastes differ, but finding someone who is as taken with the works of Eric Church or Kanye West or the Temptations as I am, say, the Beatles or Elton John is a fun thing.

I don’t know about other music lovers, but my passion for the music I really love remains pretty much fluid. One week, The Rolling Stones’ long history of great music impresses me more than the fleeting flame that was Nirvana. And other times I’d rather get deep into my roots with some Johnny Cash or wonder all over again at the majestic lyrics of Bob Dylan.

I’ve been asked by dozens of people over the years about my favorite musical this or that, and those are tough questions to answer. Sometimes my favorites are determined by a mood or what I’ve listened to most recently. But there are a few constants in my musical preferences: My favorite songs all-time have been “Black” by Pearl Jam, “Stairway to Heaven” by Led Zeppelin and “Bridge Over Troubled Water” by Simon & Garfunkel for decades now.

And my favorite albums are “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” by the Beatles and “Led Zeppelin II.”

After that, it’s all wide open.

If someone held a gun to my head and asked me to name my Top 10 artists and their Top, 5 songs, on this date my answer would be:

THE BEATLES: 1. Rain, 2. A Day in the Life, 3. Paperback Writer, 4. Here, There and Everywhere, 5. The Ballad of John and Yoko;

LED ZEPPELIN: 1. Going to California, 2. Kashmir, 3. When the Levee Breaks, 4. No Quarter, 5. The Rover;

PEARL JAM: 1. Black, 2. Yellow Ledbetter, 3. Just Breathe, 4. Jeremy, 5. Given to Fly;

THE EAGLES: 1. Last Resort, 2. Desperado, 3. Take It Easy, 4. Life in the Fast Lane, 5. Dueling Daltons;

ELTON JOHN: 1. High-Flying Bird, 2. Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters, 3. Writing, 4. Candle in the Wind, 5. Harmony;

METALLICA: 1. Ronnie, 2. One, 3. Hero of the Day, 4. Enter Sandman, 5. Ride the Lightning;

STEVIE WONDER: 1. I Believe When I Fall in Love With You (It Will Be Forever), 2. Superstition, 3. Isn’t She Lovely, 4. You Are the Sunshine of My Life, 5. Higher Ground;

THE ROLLING STONES: 1. Sympathy for the Devil, 2. Already Over Me, 3. You Can’t Always Get What You Want, 4. (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction, 5. Never Make a Saint of Me;

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: 1. Thunder Road, 2. Born to Run, 3. The Rising, 4. Darlington County, 5. Jungle Land;

JACKSON BROWNE: 1. The Pretender, 2. Rock Me on the Water, 3. Sky Blue and Black, 4. Running on Empty, 5. The Shape of a Heart.

But, see, that’s what’s so much fun about music. If I were asked the same question tomorrow, not only would some of the songs on that list be different, the artists would probably change as well. Cash and Dylan might be on there, probably Simon and Garfunkel or even Paul Simon’s solo work. And I could do a whole long thing on solo Beatles songs after the band broke up.

Over the years, I’ve been criticized for “being obsessed” with music. I don’t mind. The way I see it, I’m sure most people are a lot less concerned with someone who spends an inordinate amount of time listening to music than they might be with say someone who spends an inordinate amount of time chugging alcoholic beverages in a bar or getting high on illegal — and legal — substances.

No offense to those who engage in such activities — as Eric Burdon and the Animals sang, “It’s my life and I’ll do what I want.” — but I’ll stick with my obsession of choice. At least in my mind, I feel that I get an equal or greater high or buzz that partiers get indulging in their vice of choice by simply listening to one of my favorite albums. It’s just the way I’m wired.

Email Carlton Fletcher at [email protected]. Follow @ABH_Fletcher on Twitter.