Raison d'être
Despite the formative role that music played in our lives as teenagers and 20-somethings, as we grow older, it becomes easier and easier to stop seeking out new music. As the decades roll by, we tend to play the same old albums over and over again, and if the radio is on, it tends to be tuned to the news ... or worse: to the "Newbies, but Baddies."
So in an effort to keep my musical ears alive, throughout the year, I try to listen for new music and keep track of the tunes I've most enjoyed. (By "new," I don't necessarily mean "new that year." I mean "new to me" -- a category broad enough to incorporate "new that year" and then some.) Then, around the holidays, I compile and distribute to friends what I regard as the best cross-section of these new tunes into a mix-tape that I call the "Year in Review." (And no, I don't mean a cassette tape. Really? Would you even have the technology to play a cassette if I sent one to you?)
It's not clear whether anyone enjoys these compilations as much as I enjoy making them, but that's okay. Indeed, my indifference reflects an important point, viz. that this is a wholly idiosyncratic, even narcissistic undertaking. I'm principally interested in keeping a record of the tunes that I happen to hear for the first time, dig, and think my friends might dig too. In so doing, I repudiate the fraudulent imprimatur of objectivity claimed by critics of the "Siskel & Ebert" stripe with their "Best of" lists. False prophets all. (Except perhaps for the guys on Sound Opinions, who are wicked smart.) Rather, I labor under the conviction that, much like the dietary practices we debate, our individual musical tastes play an integral role in forging alliances and identifying enemies.
To wit:
So in an effort to keep my musical ears alive, throughout the year, I try to listen for new music and keep track of the tunes I've most enjoyed. (By "new," I don't necessarily mean "new that year." I mean "new to me" -- a category broad enough to incorporate "new that year" and then some.) Then, around the holidays, I compile and distribute to friends what I regard as the best cross-section of these new tunes into a mix-tape that I call the "Year in Review." (And no, I don't mean a cassette tape. Really? Would you even have the technology to play a cassette if I sent one to you?)
It's not clear whether anyone enjoys these compilations as much as I enjoy making them, but that's okay. Indeed, my indifference reflects an important point, viz. that this is a wholly idiosyncratic, even narcissistic undertaking. I'm principally interested in keeping a record of the tunes that I happen to hear for the first time, dig, and think my friends might dig too. In so doing, I repudiate the fraudulent imprimatur of objectivity claimed by critics of the "Siskel & Ebert" stripe with their "Best of" lists. False prophets all. (Except perhaps for the guys on Sound Opinions, who are wicked smart.) Rather, I labor under the conviction that, much like the dietary practices we debate, our individual musical tastes play an integral role in forging alliances and identifying enemies.
To wit:
Confession: The foregoing is mostly self-serving bullshit. Mostly, I maintain this website just because friends sometimes ask for track information, and I'm too lazy to print labels on the CDs themselves.