Da-FAQ?

What Is This?
This started as a joke.

I would post songs on Twitter and say "Hey, ya'll, listen to this weird shit I found!"Or I would post songs in response to the regurgitated, cookie-cutter over-produced Big Label stuff that everyone else was tweeting. Because indie artists and obscure musicians deserve twitter love, too.

It's still a joke, honestly.
I think I have, what, 2 regular listeners?
It's OK. I love you both.

I post randomly.

Music that inspires me.
Music I love.
Music I have just discovered.
Music I've re-discovered.
Music that I absolutely hate and post to torture (or perhaps appease) some of you.

But basically, I post 5-10 songs throughout any given day, with a final playlist link at the end of the day.

I tweet (and blog) about other stuff too. It's OK if you don't want to read those, though. I'll understand.

Why Do You Love Music Soooooo Much You Feel the Need to Tweet Random Playlists?
To me, music is a lover I can never touch, but one that can make me feel things and see things that no one else on this Earth can (and if I ever find a human who can make me feel that way... well, I don't really think that's possible). While I may be musically inclined at the piano and violin, I am not musically creative. I can't write music or sing to save my life. But I can move to music. I move with music. I can create other things because of music. It is my muse.

And not just one genre or block of artists. While I do have my definite favorites (we all do), I try to embrace all music as openly as I do art, theatre, acting and writing -- someone out there worked hard on it. They told a story that only they could tell, in a way that only they could tell it. I could no more say certain music is wrong, or bad, or terrible than I could condemn my colleagues' artworks and stories.

Granted, there are songs I can't stand. There are entire genres that I can't listen to at loud volume because of the very reason I love music in general -- synaesthesia.

I see colors and shapes when I listen to music.
It's like being on acid, but only the cool parts. And all the time.
It's kinda cool, really.

As such, some songs seem like clatter and noise and make for very scary visuals. I don't listen to music that visually startles me. It doesn't mean the music is bad -- it just means I can't (read: won't) listen to it more than once or twice.

Twitter and Grooveshark give me a way to share what I'm listening to and loving at that moment. It's as simple as that. Thank you, instant gratification social media.

Why Do You Use GrooveShark for Playlists Instead of Insert_Website_Here?
I have a lot of obscure shit. A LOT. There are plenty of great websites that I like that don't allow for uploading and posting of local files. Grooveshark does allow me to upload my weird, random, and indie music files, and it does so without allowing others to download it, so it's not pirating, it's more like spreading the love. If you like the song, you're gonna have to go buy the album. Or go somewhere else to pirate your music because I don't play that game. 

Wait? You Don't Pirate Music? Why Not?
The highest compliment I can pay to any artist, musician, writer, or actor is to buy their stuff. I don't have a lot of money. What little I have for 'frivolous spending' goes toward art, music, books and movies. Because there are a ton of great creators out there. And most of them work -- hard. If they're lucky (and I use that term loosely) enough to be signed to a major label or publisher, that label or publisher takes their cut out first. Then there are production costs. Distribution. Marketing and merchandising. Promotion. Touring expenses. Venues. And so on. So that artist or musician or writer needs you to buy their stuff because they have to pretty much repay the studio or publisher or record label for "investing" in their talents upfront.

The good news is if you like indie musicians who self-publish their own stuff, buy their stuff direct from them at their shows. 100% of that money goes to them, not company executives who "invested" in someone else and now just wants to see a profit off those lazy musician bastards.

So no, I don't pirate. Usually. Out-of-print and totally cost-prohibitive (in the hundreds of American dollars) rare imports from bands who don't have any sort of American label or distribution are another matter. And then it is only after I have exhausted all options to legitimately obtain a copy. And I feel really, really bad about doing it. Because I know there's probably some little Norwegian band out there that could have bought a cup of coffee with the money I should have paid to buy their album, but because of the exchange rates and international shipping and music import costs, I would have to take out a second mortgage.

Seriously, it would have been cheaper to buy round-trip plane ticket to go pick it up myself.

Your Taste In Music Sucks
That's your opinion.
So does yours.
I know you are, but what am I?

Open your mind, dude. Give something new a chance -- let a dobro catch you unware, or a violin concerto slide up next to you. Let a house dub drop you into next week. Take a ride on the Moog side.

Just.
Listen.


You're Awesome. Will You Be My Friend?
Of course I will, Mom. Thanks.