Liner Notes

Soundscape #57: Just Because Noone’s Heard Of It Does Not Mean That It’s Good

When I was (much) younger, I used to listen to this radio program—whose name escapes me at the moment—religiously. It had a very strong influence on the kind of music I learnt to like. It was a program on alternative music only and it was my first exposure to stuff like Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Suede etc. Granted they are not *very* alternative but they were a welcome change to the Mariah Careys and Celine Dions at that time. I’ve never really understood the mainstream and why people would plonk down money for Mariah Careys and all that but I suppose to each his own, eh?

Diesel Sweeties. Elitism.

I’m no expert at this but I read in The Long Tail once that hits are usually designed to appeal to the biggest spectrum, largest possible number of people. Therefore, hits are usually the anomaly rather than the norm, as they spread themselves really thin to be able to reach more people. As you go down the long tail however, the types of music go deeper into nuances that cater to many, many specific groups of people.

What’s interesting to me however is the patterns of demographics that emerge when you examine the kind of music people like. What kinds of people listen to Mariah Careys and Celine Dions? Why is it that just because I wear all black I listen to emo music? Is it a happy coincidence? Will I be listening to the mainstream if I never stumbled across that alternative radio station? So my question becomes do we become a certain sort of people if we listen to a certain type of music or do we listen to a certain type of music because we are a certain sort of people?

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Playlist:
1. (0:00) The Broken West - Down In The Valley (I Can’t Go On I’ll Go On)
2. (3:50) Robbers On High Street - Love Underground (Tree City)
3. (6:22) Scotland Yard Gospel Choir - Then And Not A Moment Before (Jennie That Cries EP)
4. (9:55) Sufjan Stevens - Dear Mr Supercomputer (The Avalanche: Outtakes And Extras From The Illinois Album)
5. (14:16) Lucky Soul - Add Your Light To Mine, Baby (Add Your Light To Mine, Baby)
6. (16:41) Neutral Milk Hotel - Two-Headed Boy (In The Aeroplane Over The Sea)
7. (21:09) Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - Me And Mia (Shake The Sheets)
8. (24:41) Pavement - Range Life (Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain)
9. (29:36) The Clientele - Here Comes The Phantom (God Save The Clientele)
10. (32:48) Nina Nastasia & Jim White - I Come After You (You Follow Me)
11. (36:05) Luna - Lost In Space (Best Of)
12. (39:47) Margot & The Nuclear So And Sos - Skeleton Key (The Dust Of Retreat)
13. (43:16) The National - Slow Show (Boxer)