I know some people that are really into local food. And the reasons to eat food grown locally are good:
- You’re saving a ton of fossil fuels, since the food has not been flown from South America or Africa.
- It’s probably fresher.
- You’re supporting local farmers.
Why not apply the same principles to local music? By asking the bands you see to drive all over the country, they are using a lot more fuel than local musicians do in bringing their art to you.
Obviously, this analogy breaks down.If you restrict your diet to only local food, in many parts of the world, you’ll never taste a mango or a papaya. And with music, if you’re an American, you’ll never hear the rich sounds of many British bands.
I do want you to come out to support your local musicians. (The band is The Bell Jar. Local to my town. And good.)
I am challenged when coming up with terms to describe music by the bands I like. The best way I know how to do this is, “They sound like ___ .” (Insert similar band’s name there.) And what if they don’t sound like any other band? I don’t have a good way to describe their music.
(Yes, I know you’re wondering, has Paul gotten into spam? No, I haven’t.)
Unfortunately I have this flaw whereby I can only listen to any recording a limited number of times. Some songs — or even albums — are spent and can never be enjoyed again. The pain comes when my kids start liking those tunes. Then I am forced to listen again.
Why is it that all female Bollywood singers sound the same?
Rolling Stone magazine ran an section at the end of last year called, “50 Best Albums of the Decade”. Though I did not entirely agree with their choices, my tastes ran much closer to the critics who wrote the article than to the tastes of the public. A small evidence of that: I had seen live 18 of the groups or people represented in that list — and none of the top 40 albums for the week at the end of the magazine.
