08 May 2005

BECAUSE I'M 500 YEARS BEHIND THE CURVE

I like both of these albums. I like them very, very much.



I also like the fact that I like both of these very much. I'm always the last one to get on the bandwagon when it comes to good music. Really. We're talking about a girl that even avoiding buying or listening to Youth & Young Manhood until the end of last year because she wasn't ready. Do you know what I mean? I remember sitting in a Virgin Megastore listening to it and thinking, "wow, this is good, but I'm definitely not ready for this yet." I don't know if it's a product of where someone is in his/her life or if it's just a "not ready for the change" type of thing, but I find it really interesting how sometimes music is just beyond the comprehension of the general public. I hope that doesn't sound pretentious, but it's true. I knew even less about music then than I do now, so I think it's safe to say I used to settle with the masses in most of my musical tastes. Also, it's interesting how musical interests can change so quickly. I'm sure that someone has had a similar experience. What do you think it is?

Well, whatever the reason, when Make Up the Breakdown rolled around (what was it... almost 4 years ago?) I definitely did not jump on it. The radiostation at home played "Bandages" and "Talk to Me, Dance with Me" enough, but for some reason I never really caught Hot Hot Heat fever. (please pretend that wasn't unbelievably cheesy.) But I have to say, I love Elevator. I love it. I think it's a great, fun album that will translate well to the stage. While I was listening to it this morning, I was wondering why it's not a hit. The music is so listener-friendly and seemingly marketable that it surprises me that it's not all over the radio.

And Feist? Well, I'm not exactly sure how you would market Feist - but that doesn't mean she shouldn't be heard. I am a little bit behind the curve on this one, but her record is new enough that before I actually laid down the dough for Let It Die I still couldn't hear any of her music. Her website has mini-mini clips, but other than that, the songs are a complete mystery. The only Feist I heard was on the Kings of Convenience record, so I went with my gut and bought it, but what about the people that don't?

It's pretty much because of situations like this one that I like file-sharing. As evil as people think it is, radio is pretty much a let-down nowadays and no one can deny that the ability to download has helped artists reach entirely different and wider audiences. I played a bunch of Feist on my show today (yes, sadly the last one of the year), and a guy imed me and told me he liked it and had never been able to hear it. Well, following inspiration from that event I've decided that I am going to try to do this with a bunch of different music. I don't always have access to a radio station, but if I have something that you'd like to hear and can't really get other places, or are scared to download with a program, just im me and I will give it to you. I'll try not to send whole albums of course because chances are if you can't hear them anywhere else, they need the little money they'll get from CD sales. Other than that, I'll be more than happy to spread the musicial love - and the RIAA? They can shove it.

No comments:

can't stop... won't stop