Wake up and smell my music

I have decided that I want to investigate the band 10,000 Maniacs, because I like Natalie Merchant's voice and because I like the songs I've heard by them, particularly the Peace Train and Like the Weather. I'm not as sure about investigating Natalie Merchant's solo albums, but perhaps it would be ok to do, because by "investigating" I mean "listening to," which requires very little effort on my part.

Music is so cool. It just makes everything taste better, like salt. By that I mean, in the same way salt makes everything taste better, so does music, not that music makes salt taste better. Writing songs is something I enjoy doing but am not particularly good at, although I can occasionally eek out a good line or two. I'm not bad at writing words and poems, but coming up with interesting melodies, chords, and rhythms (you know, the music part) is hard for somebody who doesn't really know much about music, who isn't that coordinated, whose ear is pretty dull, and whose voice is fairly monotone. Nevertheless, it is fun to do, and I will keep doing it. My strength is that I think I can recognize a genuine expression of emotion when I hear it in somebody else. That's the part I like about good songwriting. Maybe that helps.