What I"m listening to right now: Stan Rogers' "Free in the Harbour", from his album Northwest Passage. I listen to this song a lot: it is a hauntingly beautiful, a story of how children of fishermen leave their traditions to become oil refinery workers in Alberta. I know some of these people (or at least, I knew the children of farmers who did the same thing): and the song is deeper for all that.
But what is of interest here is that I am listening to it on a radio station "Stan Rogers Radio": it plays music of a similar type. It's not a real radio station: it is a construct of Pandora.com which I have created to play songs of this type. I've told it to throw in things like Pete Seeger, Woody and Arlo Guthrie, etc, and it plays a bunch of other interesting things too.
Unfortunately it's only available in the US: licensing issues keep them from allowing access in other countries: and its collection is not perfect: no Zoe Lewis, for example, which surprised me a little (I expected not to find Jennifer Gasoi or Nancy Day, for example, but I thought that Lewis's Sheep might be well enough known that she'd show up!) But if you are in this country, I'd recommend giving it a try. Throw in your favourite musicians and see what it spits back at you!
I have an awful feeling that this is going to be a fiscal disaster for me --- it will introduce me to new music I'll end up wanting to buy.
Yours, anticipating musically induced poverty,
N.
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3 comments:
One is never poor when one is surrounded by the beauty of music. I AM SO JEALOUS that you have created a Stan Rogers Radio station!!
I saw a performer the other night at the ECMA's named Dave Gunning (from Pictou, NS). He played a new song he had written with Ron Hynes (a Newfoundlander folk singer....do you know him?) that was VERY reminiscent of Stan. It brought chills. Then, on Sunday afternoon in an impromptu set up because they wanted to film it for an upcoming special on the awards show, right in the middle of another concert I was attending, out walked Dave Gunning and Ron Hynes to sing a duet of that very song! Beautiful.......
As soon as it's released, I'll send you a copy.
I do love Pandora. I think I got to hear Stan Rogers'last show. It was at teh Kerrville Folk Festival and I think he was on his way back home when he died in the plane crash.
It's almost worse than a plane crash in its heartbreakingness: he died on the ground in a fire on board: all but seven people survived the fire....
Thanks for visiting, Sister,
N.
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