Input vs. output

I haven’t been in much of a writing mood lately, although I’ve had several topics I’d like to discuss. Information just keeps coming. I think I’m starting to shake the inertia now, as I have several projects coming due this month and next.

I’ve been gathering content for a Live365 station. I had been leaning either towards an all-Celtic (with local emphasis on the DC area) or all-Canadian oriented show. I have settled on the latter, and I look forward to having it up in the next few months. Live365 seems to be the way to go, since for the fee you pay, they pay all the royalties for music played.

I’m investing in some technology to set up the operations, plus increasing my CD collection to deliver an interesting mix. It’s going to be mostly folk, but spiced with jazz, blues, bluegrass, country, popular, spoken word, and classical selections to give a big picture of our neighbor to the North. Listening to CBC Two has also given me a lot of ideas. I hope I won’t duplicate them too much, it’s meant for as a Canadian music for residents of the United States. (Mustn’t call ourselves Americans.)

If anyone has a favorite Canadian artist or song, please send your ideas. I’ll be happy to incorporate them. What’s your favorite province? I’ll be getting another blog started for the show too, and I’ll keep all Audio Artifacts readers up-to-date on how the stream progresses.

Search vs. browse, or downloading vs. broadcasting

HERE’S TO RADIO IN THE 21ST CENTURY: A Librarian’s Perspective

I listen to audio all day long. Whether it’s the digital files my library creates or its collection of over 1 million recordings in all sorts of formats; WAV and MP3 files, and my ever expanding collection of CDs and iTunes, both my apartment and my workstation (and computers) are filled with them. I could start with John Adams’s Chamber Symphony, and in a year, never make it all the way through my classical section to James Conlon’s recording of Alexander Zemlinsky’s two-act opera Der Traumgörge. The same is true of a number of other genres as well: folk, jazz, musical theatre, soundtracks…everything, well, except contemporary pop or hip-hop. As a music major, I started to collect classical recordings to build a basic music library, sort of an audio encyclopedia. Why would I do that now that I can subscribe for $20.00 a year to Naxos’s subscription service where I can stream every piece of classical music they own and license from their online? Sure there are pieces they don’t have, and hundreds of unique performances I crave. But as an encyclopedia Naxos does pretty well. (Alexander Street Press has a similar service through their Classical Music Library, Smithsonian Global Sound, and African American Song).

As a librarian and a music cataloger, searching is what I do best. I can write metadata with the best of them; I tag my Gmail with multiple subjects for efficient retrieval; and can devise complex search strings using keyword or Boolean (limiting my searches by date, language, format, etc.) operators. But what do I enjoy most about going into a library, bookstore, or record store? BROWSING. Whether it’s finding a book that I’ve heard of, but have never seen in person before, or impulsively buying the complete set of DVDs from a television series long since canceled, some joys can not be calculated or quantified so easily. Computer searching requires precise logic, but we can let our imaginations wander and take us to unknown lands when we browse. The audio equivalent of browsing is listening to radio.

I no longer think of the standard radio itself as the only (or even the predominant) means to receive programming. Through the web, via satellite radio, and yes, through their AM/FM band on your car’s stereo, one can receive opinions you’ve never thought of, discover music you’ve never heard before (even re-discover a piece you thought you knew), and hear other people’s stories through music and voice. (OK, internet radio is still sort of stuck in search mode, buried beneath the avalanche of Internet content which only a search engine can penetrate). Why do I forsake my own collection to listen to a medium that’s constantly changing? I don’t often know, but I keep doing it, just like my grandfather did. In a way to tune into radio is like throwing open a window, rather than rummaging through your attic. You may know what you have, but without radio (in all its modern forms), you’ll never know what you’re missing.

Is music listening for enjoyment or discovery?

Yes it’s been awhile…

With my busy schedule and preoccupation with folk music this last year, I have been somewhat ignoring my classical music listening. Now by that I don’t mean that I haven’t been listening to radio stations (over the air or online), but I really haven’t been actively seeking out new recordings or keeping up with the latest recordings. (Which was a lot easier when I worked at a classical radio station and had to catalog all of the latest). Well, a chance purchase of Gramophone has sort of revitalized my interest. I have been going through a debate in my mind over how I am going to consume music, in addition to making it actively. Either by recordings or radio. I have been satisfied by the latter, esp. in ther performance aspect; but very few stations give the variety I seek. Sometimes I want plain folk music, sometimes Celtic, sometimes orchestral, sometimes choral, sometimes barbershop, band, etc…you get the picture.

There is also my classical CD collection which has been largely ignored, since I’ve been working again. It is a good reference source, but there are some major holes which I don’t really have the time to plug in. As good as it is, it’s not a source for discovery for new or unheard compositions. So, I bit the bullet yesterday and subscribed to Naxos. I could have gone for Web Radio, with all of its many channels, but I went for the on-demand service for $19.95/yr. Do I get downloads? No, but I get streaming on-demand for any of their recordings (and their subsidiary labels).
That should suffice for work. Plus I think it’ll help at work, when I need to identify works which I think I have an idea what it is, but I don’t have easy access to a recording. On the broadband connection at work, it sounds really good.

Which brings up the issue of compression. Yes, it uses it. iTunes uses it. Everyone does–some better than others. In my everyday life, it doesn’t bother me (except when I notice). But I can live with it. I don’t regularly strive for aural perfection, because it’s a moving target. But I don’t like walking around with personal music devices. I don’t think one should be in public and walk around with them. I like to engage (or ignore) at will, and earbuds are a barrier. I’m also addicted to high quality, comfortable headphones which cushion the ear, rather than buds which stick right into the ear (not comfortable to me). So, I have many issues with Eyedevices of all ilk. But I want access to music when I’m doing other things. If I’m at home that can be my stereo system, but again I’m not home that much these days and it’s a pain to schlep CDs to multiple computers. So now, if I want to listen to Brahms’ 3rd violin sonata, I can punch it up on Naxos, and listen to it whenever and wherever I want (if a web connection is available). For other times, I can download a copy on iTunes or track down a cheap CD copy. In the car, radio and CDs work best, and I don’t tend to listen to classical music CDs in the car. That’s what works best for me right now. Okay, enough random thoughts for the day…time for other tasks.

Here’s an article from the Christian Science Monitor on whether compressed music is good enough, for further thought:

“Thousands of songs in your pocket: An audiophile’s nightmare?
Will consumers who demand portable music always have to compromise on sound quality?”