Wednesday, May 23, 2012

One Hell Of A Play list

*Not one of my actual tapes
When I was a kid in the 80s my Dad used to go to Chicago, Rochester and Minnesota on business.  He used to go to a music store called Sam Goody on these trips as he's a music nerd at heart.  He found they had a unique offering in that they had jukebox style kiosks where you could select single tracks and compile your very own compilation cassette.

I remember my brother and I giving him a few artist names like LL Cool J and Beastie Boys and he'd come back with a few of their tracks along with 12 other tracks hand picked from top 40 lists posted in those kiosks.  It was years beyond its time and unique to this one retailer.

It seems so long ago when you look how readily available music is today.  From Napster, LimeWire, BearShare, The Pirate Bay and more - music was unleashed in the early 90s and is only now seeing legit services that are fair for all (IMHO) parties.  Or at least as fair as it can be seeing where it's just come from.  I have to state that I'm all for the artists and the people behind the music getting paid as I see first hand each day how much work needs to go in to allow listeners the joy it brings.  I welcome any model that does just that.

Play lists have always been a big part of my life.  From mixed tapes for girls to CD burns for the car and running play lists on my iPods - they've always been carefully planned and built.  In today's version you can change it on the fly whereas when you made a cassette or CD compilation it was set in stone.  They're also a lot more disposable so when you make one you had better think it through in order to make it count.

Naming them is another story - but it's the front door to the music so go BIG.  Here's my latest masterpiece (IMHO).


Enjoy!

Gregg





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