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episode date - December 29, 2006
This year, I almost threw up my hands and surrendered. In the past, I had been overwhelmed by the number of significant recordings released, but this year bordered on the incredible.
There are a number of reasons for this, but the most significant reason is the severe paradigm shift that has taken place in the music industry. The digitalization of music media makes it incredibly easy to access all types of music by all types of artists, and the Internet provides an infinite sea of song. At the same time, radio has grown so narrowly focused that you’re lucky if you hear anything else besides the top 10 singles.
If you judged the year by radio, you might think that Fergie and Gnarls Barkley were the only two people recording in 2006. Since radio provides virtually no support for new artists, it is up to the consumer to search out music that suits his or her individual taste. I, for one, have been overwhelmed and blown away by the variety and the shear quantity of music that crossed my desk, got played on my computer or my stereo system, or got stored in my i-pod. Besides the reliable artists, I have been blindsided by some pretty weird recordings that might have obsessed me, if there was enough time to be obsessed – these days, I’m lucky if I hear a song more than twice before it gets buried under a pile of new recordings demanding my attention.
How can anybody pick their favorite recordings if the list just keeps growing and growing and growing? Any attempt to make a top 10 list for 2006 would be an effort in frustration, because there is simply way too much music that could qualify, and the variety of styles is incredible. For example, my database tells me that I obtained over 650 cd’s this year, and my i-pod tells me that I uploaded over 12,000 songs in 2006. My God, it would take me another year just to review all of it!
For that reason, I’ve decided to dedicate today’s show to some of the stranger things that I’ve stumbled across, and couldn’t ignore. The songs featured today represent music that I probably never would have heard a few years ago, because it wouldn’t have been possible to gain access to all of this music. I’m avoiding the obvious choices (Gnarls Barkley, Dylan…) so I can provide air time for a few obscure gems. For one reason or another, these cd’s stand out in my memory, so perhaps you’ll find them worthwhile as well. Or not. If you’re like me, the last thing you want is more information to crowd into your cranium, but too much of a good thing can’t be a bad thing, can it?
Check out these songs and make up your own mind…if you have any storage capacity left;
1) Drive-By Truckers – Gravity’s Gone (“A Blessing and a Curse”)
2) Solomon Burke – Ain’t Got You (“Nashville”)
3) Osaka Popstar – Insects (“Osaka Popstar & the American Legends of Punk”)
4) Osaka Popstar – Wicked World (“ “)
5) The Gothic Archies – The World Is a Very Scary Place (“The Tragic Treasury”)
6) The Gothic Archies – Freakshow (“ “)
7) UB40 – Things You Say You Love (“Who You Fighting For?”)
8) Def Leppard – 20th Century Boy (“Yeah!”)
9) Hymns – Brother/Sister (“Brother/Sister”)
10) Hymns – Starboat (“ “)
CLICK HERE to listen to the full show!
 
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