I just learned that April 19, 2008 was Record Store Day, an opportunity to celebrate independent record stores. As record stores slowly vanish across the country, it is revealing that April 19 came and went with little fanfare. Perhaps, like me, the event was invisible to you, too. And I’m sorry I missed it, because I value the place of music stores in our culture. But it got me thinking about how music is accessed and sold these days. Continue reading →
Internet music subsumes record stores: blessing or curse?
I just learned that April 19, 2008 was Record Store Day, an opportunity to celebrate independent record stores. As record stores slowly vanish across the country, it is revealing that April 19 came and went with little fanfare. Perhaps, like me, the event was invisible to you, too. And I’m sorry I missed it, because I value the place of music stores in our culture. But it got me thinking about how music is accessed and sold these days. Continue reading →
If you had only ten albums to take with you to a desert island, what would offer you the greatest pleasure for the rest of your days? These would need to be albums that hold up to repeated listens, obviously—something that doesn’t easily bore you. My own choices are listed below in alphabetical order. Each of these albums is musically rich, covering a variety of styles from pop to jazz to neo-soul to rock to alternative. 
Considering the great number of popular songs that have been written, there are surprisingly few about music or musicians. I’ve compiled a list below, omitting those in which the song is really about something else or music is not the main point of the song (an example would be Led Zeppellin’s “Rock and Roll”). Undoubtedly, I’ve left something off, so I’ll update the list periodically.