| Blog Entry - Wednesday, February 13th, 2008 | Add / Read (1) |
As my friend Cindy will tell you, I'm not a particularly sophisticated music listener. I like what I like... 80s music, top 40 (sometimes), and CW that I can dance to. I also like "old" favorites like Billy Joel, Elton John, Johnny Mathis, the BeeGees, and Barbara Streisand. And then I like even older favorites like Bobby Darrin, Ella Fitzgerald, and Frank Sinatra, courtesy of my grandfather. I guess my tastes are somewhere between opportunistic (if I happen to hear it, I'll probably like it if it's good) and eclectic (after all, my iTunes shows recent play for everything from They Might Be Giants to The Frames to Linda Ronstadt, Erasure, and Jim Croce). On the other hand, someone might describe this as indiscriminate. Either way...
Today is the first day since I've been home sick that I could bear to listen to much, either television or music (the headache has been too painful), so I watched a movie called Once. The movie was okay, but the song, Falling Slowly, is now permanently embedded in my brain. It reminds me very much of Split Enz (maybe think about "Charlie" or "Stuff and Nonsense") in the melody, and even a little in the words.
Anyway, combine my search for the song with a couple of timely Neil Gaiman posts (one of the few blogs I read all the time - I feel like I know the guy, I read about him so often), and I'm now a member of Last.FM, social music networking. It's got no business value to me, that I can see, and I may be the last one of you on board here (although a quick search through my Google contact list implies not), but it's COOL. Want to hear a song before you go buy it? Want to hear songs in the same genre or tag cloud? Want to hear similar artists to a favorite artist? Want to make (or listen to a friend's) radio station of favorite songs? As Gaiman describes it:
"I'm playing with Last FM whenever I'm in front of the computer. I love having Radio Me -- the idea of a radio station that magically plays only stuff I like when I'm away from home or away from the iPod. And I was surprised to discover there are people out there with musical tastes so scarily close to mine (which is, in my head, so all-over-the-place as to be uncategorisable) that I've started checking out things they like too. Gave in on the friending people thing, because, as someone pointed out, it made it easier for people than just bookmarking my page".
So, I'm not suddenly an expert at amazing music, but I'd love to hear what you're listening to and get to know some more cool music, and you, through your music. Looks like some features are free - joining, listening, etc., but if you want to have your own personal radio station, made of songs you've "loved," you have to shell out US$3 for a month. Haven't yet decided if I'm up for that, but we'll see... (By the way, if you know Cindy, ask her nicely to share her playlist for Radio Free Cinzia - I've got the songs on my iTunes now and on a CD and they're some of my favorites.)
Right. Off now for more cough syrup and couch snuggling. I'm so tired of this damn fever!
Author: Libby Ingrassia
Posted at: 12:41:25 PM
