ninanevermore (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ninanevermore) wrote2010-07-23 03:46 pm
ninanevermore) wrote2010-07-23 03:46 pm
Entry tags:
Friday – Finding Diamonds
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I’ve learned a few things trolling the Internet searching for (non-pirated) music I can download for free. I do not, as my husband claims, “abuse the system.” It’s not like I’m taking more than one of any free download. Free is free. And I don’t just download what is free; it’s just one of the means I use to discover new things. In plenty of cases, I have found artists that I went on to purchase music from. I have a playlist on my iPod called “Shopping List” with songs from these artists. I also troll the playlists on iTunes to discover artists to feed my addiction, and on occasion I make a purchase or two. In order to keep within a budget, I buy iTunes gift cards (Gifts! For myself! Fun!) so I always have a few bucks of credit to buy something I just have to have. I limit myself to limiting it to $15 or so to keep myself from going hog wild on a music spree (as much as I would love to).
Trolling the free downloads, I have gleaned some wisdom about music in general. You might assume that going by the adage that you get what you pay for, all free downloads are crap. This is not true. Free downloads are like those sample tables they set out at the grocery store that hand you little snacks on toothpicks or on a paper cocktail napkin as you shop. Most of the time, it’s nothing you would pay money for, but sometimes you discover something that you want to make a staple in your pantry.
Here are a few things I’ve learned:
1) There are quite a few amazing artists out there who have never been signed to a major label and do not get played on any radio station. This is a shame. It is well worth your time to discover what the suites are missing.
2) There are quite a few people who have no talent but who make recordings and promote themselves, anyway. This is also a shame.
3) The people in the second group all think they are in the first group, and there is no way to convince them they are not.
4) A lot of people can play their instruments, but don’t have voices you want to hear singing. They sing anyway, because their friends don’t have the heart to tell them they shouldn’t.
5) There are a lot of people who can sing, but who can’t play their instruments. They play them anyway, because they are delusional.
6) In a perfect world, we could match up the people in group 4 with the people in group 5, and they could create bands that would qualify for group 1. Until then, they will linger with the folks in group 2. I particularly hate those recordings from the can-play-but-not-sing people, when they start off with a nice long instrumental introduction and then ruin it for me by opening their mouths and making my ears bleed.
7) Some artists only have 1 good song in them that you may stumble across. Sometimes it’s a very good song, but nothing else they record is worth a damn. This is why the download-by-the-single system is wonderful.
8) Some artists only record good and great songs, but only a single good song catches the attention of the public. Sometimes, the entire album is just worth it, but I’ve met so many people (people with just a few songs on their MP3 players, mostly) who say, I only buy single songs, I don’t ever get albums. This is why the download-by-the-single system is deeply flawed.
9) Since the dawn of the phonograph, a lot of amazing music has been recorded. If your music collection only contains music from the last 5, 10, 15 or even 40 years, you are missing out on a lot.
10) While you really can be too rich or too thin, despite the conventional wisdom to the contrary (well, too thin, at least), it is impossible to own too many good books or have too much good music in your life. In fact, it is impossible to ever have enough of either. Great books and great music are like joy and love and compassion: the more you have in your life, the better off you will be.
We all have to have our little weaknesses and obsessions. Music is mine. I may not be able to play a note and I’m a mediocre singer, but I’ll have you know I can listen better than just about anyone I know. You have to stick with what you’re good at, I guess.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * # * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
.
.
I’ve learned a few things trolling the Internet searching for (non-pirated) music I can download for free. I do not, as my husband claims, “abuse the system.” It’s not like I’m taking more than one of any free download. Free is free. And I don’t just download what is free; it’s just one of the means I use to discover new things. In plenty of cases, I have found artists that I went on to purchase music from. I have a playlist on my iPod called “Shopping List” with songs from these artists. I also troll the playlists on iTunes to discover artists to feed my addiction, and on occasion I make a purchase or two. In order to keep within a budget, I buy iTunes gift cards (Gifts! For myself! Fun!) so I always have a few bucks of credit to buy something I just have to have. I limit myself to limiting it to $15 or so to keep myself from going hog wild on a music spree (as much as I would love to).
Trolling the free downloads, I have gleaned some wisdom about music in general. You might assume that going by the adage that you get what you pay for, all free downloads are crap. This is not true. Free downloads are like those sample tables they set out at the grocery store that hand you little snacks on toothpicks or on a paper cocktail napkin as you shop. Most of the time, it’s nothing you would pay money for, but sometimes you discover something that you want to make a staple in your pantry.
Here are a few things I’ve learned:
1) There are quite a few amazing artists out there who have never been signed to a major label and do not get played on any radio station. This is a shame. It is well worth your time to discover what the suites are missing.
2) There are quite a few people who have no talent but who make recordings and promote themselves, anyway. This is also a shame.
3) The people in the second group all think they are in the first group, and there is no way to convince them they are not.
4) A lot of people can play their instruments, but don’t have voices you want to hear singing. They sing anyway, because their friends don’t have the heart to tell them they shouldn’t.
5) There are a lot of people who can sing, but who can’t play their instruments. They play them anyway, because they are delusional.
6) In a perfect world, we could match up the people in group 4 with the people in group 5, and they could create bands that would qualify for group 1. Until then, they will linger with the folks in group 2. I particularly hate those recordings from the can-play-but-not-sing people, when they start off with a nice long instrumental introduction and then ruin it for me by opening their mouths and making my ears bleed.
7) Some artists only have 1 good song in them that you may stumble across. Sometimes it’s a very good song, but nothing else they record is worth a damn. This is why the download-by-the-single system is wonderful.
8) Some artists only record good and great songs, but only a single good song catches the attention of the public. Sometimes, the entire album is just worth it, but I’ve met so many people (people with just a few songs on their MP3 players, mostly) who say, I only buy single songs, I don’t ever get albums. This is why the download-by-the-single system is deeply flawed.
9) Since the dawn of the phonograph, a lot of amazing music has been recorded. If your music collection only contains music from the last 5, 10, 15 or even 40 years, you are missing out on a lot.
10) While you really can be too rich or too thin, despite the conventional wisdom to the contrary (well, too thin, at least), it is impossible to own too many good books or have too much good music in your life. In fact, it is impossible to ever have enough of either. Great books and great music are like joy and love and compassion: the more you have in your life, the better off you will be.
We all have to have our little weaknesses and obsessions. Music is mine. I may not be able to play a note and I’m a mediocre singer, but I’ll have you know I can listen better than just about anyone I know. You have to stick with what you’re good at, I guess.
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