It's not that easy being green...Now we are being told that it is better for the environment to download music rather than buy CDs. That may be true, but for some of us, it just does not work. In the first place, I have lost track of the number of tracks I own which are not available on iTunes Music Store. And when I purchase a track on iTunes, it comes with a limit, x-number of computers and x-number of iPods on which it can be played. But I can play my CD on as many different CD players as I want: home, car, friends' houses, wherever there is a CD player. So for about the same price, I can get much more use out of the CD than the download.And subscription music services are worse. Subscribe to a paper magazine, and you can keep each issue as long as you want. If you let your subscription expire, you cannot get any new issues, but the ones you already got do not disappear out of your magazine rack. I still have every issue of National Geographic from the 1980s, even though I have not been a suscriber in over 20 years. Unless your music subscription gives you the same result, I would say don't waste your money. So, until these problems are worked out, buying CDs is still the only viable option. Therefore, in celebration of the beauty of CDs you can hold, I offer up these, all of which have two things in common: 1- At the time I purchased them, they were not available from iTunes; some still are not. 2- I enjoy listening to these albums in their entirety, not just one or two tracks.
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Calm in the Chaos by Someone's Sister
How many fans get to say they see their favorite band around town, stopping to talk in the driveway, or coming up to my booth at the Umbrella Market? How many fans are recognized by their favorite band? I lived this dream while a graduate student in Greenville, North Carolina. Someone's Sister performed at my favorite venue there several times -- and not always as a band. The lead singer, Georgia, has also emceed at charity fundraisers, and performed in an improvisational comedy troupe. These four talented women are active in their community. Not only that, their music is really good; their lyrics come from the deep well of life experience, and a deep concern for survivors of child abuse. Ultimately, they want to use the revenues from their music to help abused children. I don't know the music business, but I do believe this bunch deserves to be discovered. |
Nonchalant by Matt Alber
Matt Alber explores the depths of a human heart that desires, above all else, to be loved; and isn't that every human heart? Although Alber is gay, he expresses himself in terms that can resonate with anyone, gay or straight. Most of these songs examine the ambivalence of relationships with a longtime lover or a soon-to-be-ex-lover, but he does not neglect the longing of a gay son for a closer walk with his father. If we are wise, we sooner or later have done with the excesses of "gay culture" and settle into the lifelong journey of being human; Matt Alber is well on his way in that journey. |
No Problem by Fann Wong
This album goes to show that music videos are a viable marketing option for artists; I purchased it after seeing the title track on MTV Chinese. She carried that surfboard through the whole video, in the desert, in weedy vacant lots, in the city -- never anywhere near an ocean. I know, I know, to be sophisticated, I am supposed to disdain pop music in all its forms. Well, so I'm not sophisticated. I like her Mandopop sound, even though I cannot understand the words. Only when I went looking for additional albums did I find out that Fann Wong is actually an actress first, a songstress second. And even in her home country of Singapore, her music seems less popular than that of Faye Wong of Hong Kong. Well, I have some of Faye's music, too; but Fann must still hold first place with me, since she was my gateway to the world of Chinese pop. |
And the Story Goes... by Agnes Monica
Hmm, first Fann, then Agnes... guess I have a thing for Asian divas. In the inside cover, in her mixture of English and Bahasa, Agnes Monica gave thanks to "Jesus Christ, Allah Bapa," whom she referred to as her manager. Which just goes to show that, although Indonesia is the world's largest Muslim country, not everyone from there is Muslim. A careful look at the song credits reveals that she does not write her own lyrics, so the content of her songs may or may not reflect her true thoughts. But then there is one section of spoken word, in English, which the credits reveal Monica did write herself; and it could just as well have been written by any Western Christian who has held on to God through the trials of life. |
Evergreen Alumni Compilation 2006 by Various Artists
This one is an exception in that it was not a purchase: it came with the 2006 issue of the alumni magazine of my alma mater, The Evergreen State College. I do not know if it is available any other way; in fact I doubt it. Which is a shame, because in this eclectic mix are a number of tracks well worth hearing. "Consumer Sex," by Coraxio, would be worth having by itself -- it is a hilarious commentary on consumer culture. Add to this tracks by such diverse artists as Fields of Mars, the Mirah Yom Tov Zeitlyn Band, Kreikkatz, One Eyed Spectacle, and the only rap song I ever liked, "Easier Pretending" by Big Organic. Although I never met any of these folks while a student (they graduated in many different years), it still brought back pleasant memories of the old alma mater, and the cast of colorful characters there. |
