Music for Grownups: Who Moved My Music?
Never before has so much music been available to so many people at such reasonable prices--you just need to use the Internet to get it.
By: Richard Gehr | Source: AARP.org | 2008-06-26
Richard Gehr is a veteran music critic based in New York City. His reviews for AARP.org appear every Tuesday; his columns on Thursdays.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: Thanks to the Internet, never before has so much music been available to so many people at such reasonable prices. It's exciting, mind boggling—and a little overwhelming.
A reporter asked me recently where I'd send AARP readers to discover new music as opposed to the repackaged stuff we're already familiar with. Most record labels, unfortunately, seem to be of the opinion that older listeners will happily keep buying enhanced versions of albums they already own (just wait until the Beatles finally get around to remastering their catalog). Record companies think we will continue to buy expensive tickets to reconstituted blue-chippers, such as the Police, Van Halen, Rush, Journey, and the Eagles. (As one musician has noted, bands no longer break up; they just take longer breaks between tours.)
The golden age of music may be long gone, but that's no reason to live in the past.
The Internet's all about connection. Thus the popularity of social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook (log-in required). Both are awash in thousands of musicians clambering for your attention. Curious about a band you've heard of somewhere? Once you get past its ugly interface, MySpace immediately delivers several samples of the latest by Coldplay, My Morning Jacket, Nellie McKay, or whoever else is simmering up the charts or selling by word of mouth.
Other social-media services, such as iMeem, MeeMix, and Pandora enrich the experience by encouraging users to interact with one another. If you look up Aretha Franklin on iMeem, for example, you'll be able to stream nearly 500 songs by the Queen of Soul. Which makes iMeem about the closest thing to free music-on-demand the World Wide Web has to offer. Click on "Playlists" as you listen to "Say a Little Prayer" and a hundred or so user-generated playlists that include the track will pop up, expanding your listening choices exponentially.
MeeMix, which requires registration, lets you create a personalized radio station based on your rhythmic and atmospheric preferences. You note your likes and dislikes song by song. As with radio, there's an element of surprise to the experience; you never know what you'll be hearing next. Type "Merle Haggard" into the initial search field and you may end up, as I did, with Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man" coming out of your speakers.
Serendipity rules. Pandora’s Music Genome Project, which classifies each track according to some 400 attributes, helps listeners find new music according to styles they already enjoy. Pandora listeners can create multiple radio stations that they can either share with others or mix and match among themselves.
Muxtape offers another wrinkle on the shared-playlist concept by letting registered users upload mp3s of their own music to create playlists anyone can listen to. If you're wondering what the young hipster contingent is into these days, users such as "randomassemblymachine" will clue you in to the likes of Animal Collective and Redman. Other lists, however, are simply devoted to a single artist. Muxtape user "caetano," for instance, devotes him- or herself solely to the music of Brazil's brilliant and entertaining Caetano Veloso.
While all these services offer hours and hours of clicking pleasure, they sometimes feel a little robotic and anonymous. For old-fashioned editorial voices, check out the new Sonic Boomers Web site, which specializes in the sort of classic and neoclassic sounds that used to be covered in music magazines, such as Rolling Stone and Crawdaddy. Sonic Boomers offers reviews, features, interviews, and loads of links to stuff that will seem fresh yet familiar. Sonic Boomers' grown-up writers are fans first and foremost. Lend them your eyes and they'll help fill up your ears.
A reporter asked me recently where I'd send AARP readers to discover new music as opposed to the repackaged stuff we're already familiar with. Most record labels, unfortunately, seem to be of the opinion that older listeners will happily keep buying enhanced versions of albums they already own (just wait until the Beatles finally get around to remastering their catalog). Record companies think we will continue to buy expensive tickets to reconstituted blue-chippers, such as the Police, Van Halen, Rush, Journey, and the Eagles. (As one musician has noted, bands no longer break up; they just take longer breaks between tours.)
The golden age of music may be long gone, but that's no reason to live in the past.
The Internet's all about connection. Thus the popularity of social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook (log-in required). Both are awash in thousands of musicians clambering for your attention. Curious about a band you've heard of somewhere? Once you get past its ugly interface, MySpace immediately delivers several samples of the latest by Coldplay, My Morning Jacket, Nellie McKay, or whoever else is simmering up the charts or selling by word of mouth.
Other social-media services, such as iMeem, MeeMix, and Pandora enrich the experience by encouraging users to interact with one another. If you look up Aretha Franklin on iMeem, for example, you'll be able to stream nearly 500 songs by the Queen of Soul. Which makes iMeem about the closest thing to free music-on-demand the World Wide Web has to offer. Click on "Playlists" as you listen to "Say a Little Prayer" and a hundred or so user-generated playlists that include the track will pop up, expanding your listening choices exponentially.
MeeMix, which requires registration, lets you create a personalized radio station based on your rhythmic and atmospheric preferences. You note your likes and dislikes song by song. As with radio, there's an element of surprise to the experience; you never know what you'll be hearing next. Type "Merle Haggard" into the initial search field and you may end up, as I did, with Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man" coming out of your speakers.
Serendipity rules. Pandora’s Music Genome Project, which classifies each track according to some 400 attributes, helps listeners find new music according to styles they already enjoy. Pandora listeners can create multiple radio stations that they can either share with others or mix and match among themselves.
Muxtape offers another wrinkle on the shared-playlist concept by letting registered users upload mp3s of their own music to create playlists anyone can listen to. If you're wondering what the young hipster contingent is into these days, users such as "randomassemblymachine" will clue you in to the likes of Animal Collective and Redman. Other lists, however, are simply devoted to a single artist. Muxtape user "caetano," for instance, devotes him- or herself solely to the music of Brazil's brilliant and entertaining Caetano Veloso.
While all these services offer hours and hours of clicking pleasure, they sometimes feel a little robotic and anonymous. For old-fashioned editorial voices, check out the new Sonic Boomers Web site, which specializes in the sort of classic and neoclassic sounds that used to be covered in music magazines, such as Rolling Stone and Crawdaddy. Sonic Boomers offers reviews, features, interviews, and loads of links to stuff that will seem fresh yet familiar. Sonic Boomers' grown-up writers are fans first and foremost. Lend them your eyes and they'll help fill up your ears.
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