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| (September, 2003) |
In a little more than a century, the technology of recording has revolutionized music. Electronic instrumentation and amplification have further transformed one of man's oldest arts. The enormous power of personal computers continues this trend.
I like many types of music but am almost totally "illiterate". I could once pick out a few melodies on a keyboard but have even forgotten those. For me, the ability to store and appreciate a vast music library on my PC is my best (and only) method of participatin. I have over 1700 MP3's organized on my laptop and this is probably dwarfed by what many others have instantly accessible. I can select music by a variety of criteria, create playlists, burn CDs and connect this library to almost any home stereo system. And, through the Internet, I can share my musical interests with any one who is interested (?). So, for what it's worth, here it is.
My main taste in music is folk/country/pop female singer/songwriters. I also have an ancestral affinity for some types of Celtic music, again often folk and female artists. Most of the music on the website reflects these preferences. I also like many other types particularly the music I grew up with in the 60's and 70's such as the Beatles and Motown. One of my open projects is to select through the 100's of LP's we have stored away from that era and record them onto the PC as MP3's.
It is hard to say who my favorite artist is. About ten years ago I "discovered" Nanci Griffith though she had already been recording for 15 years then. She defined for me my "genre" of folk/country/pop female singer/songwriters. Other better known artists that I like in this group are Lucinda Williams and Emmylou Harris. But I also like "discovering" new talent - though that often means somebody I just haven't heard before. Recently, this includes Kasey Chambers, Allison Moorer and Rosanne Cash.
I generally locate new music through listening via CD Now (now part of Amazon.com) or going to Borders and utilizing their listening stations. I find that the type of music I'm interested in rarely gets airtime or widely publicized. Of course most everyone who's interested in music has heard of Nora Jones and I have and like her CD. But how many have heard the Rankins or Iris Dement? Once I find an artist I like I buy the CD and record the tracks that appeal to me onto my PC. I then burn CDs of the tracks I like best. I use MusicMatch JukeBox to record and organoze my MP3s and playlist as well as to burn CDs. MusicMatch also has a good reference and shopping site for CDs, though their collections of samples for listening is not as extensive as CD Now.
My method for sharing this musical interest will be to list these playlists here on my website, beginning with my most recent first. I have also created a number of thematic playlists/CDs ("Dreams", "Celtic Blues" etc.) that I'll also try to add as time permits. I have included some low fidelity samples from these playlists to let you hear if any of this music appeals to you.
A word about copyrights. The sound samples I have include are usually only about 1/3 of a song and are low fidelity, not even AM radio quality. They are not worth downloading and replaying for yourself. If you like an artist, buy the CD. (If you are an artist or their legal representative and object to my promotion of your music in this manner please email me and I will remove the samples of your songs.) I agree that artists and the music industry have every right to protect their intellectual property rights but some of their recent efforts to persue individual downloaders have been downright stupid.
I have purchased and retain the original CDs for all the songs I have recorded in my library. I do not download "bootlegged" MP3 copies from the Internet. I feel I have the right to store and organize this paid for collection as I like and to burn CDs of these songs for my personal use. If you would like a copy of one of these CDs, it's illegal for me to send it. So don't email me and don't send me your address and don't ask for one. |
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