Crow

I have been collecting records and cds for nearly three decades now, and I have too many of them. Recently I decided that it might be fun to write reviews for all of the cds and records I've gotten recently. It's more of a writing exercise than anything else, but good things may come out of it. If there are artists links to be had, they'll accompany the review. If the cd has a consistent mood surrounding it, I may find a photo to illustrate it. What kind of music do I like? As a child, once I branched out beyond my parents' record collection (some folk music, a couple of Beatles records, jazz, etc.) I discovered heavy metal, starting with Kiss (who I can't listen to now without laughing). From there I discovered a lot of the other mainstream heavy metal bands of the day - Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, Blue Oyster Cult, Scorpions, etc. In junior high, starting with bands like Iron Maiden and Saxon (introduced to me via a small article in "Hit Parader" magazine, if I remember correctly), I discovered that there was a lot of music ignored by the mainstream press. In high school, I branched out into punk, and then experimental music. By college, especially when I was working at Tower Books (with a great magazine section full of music magazines and a girlfriend at the time who was the import buyer next door at the record store) I started listening to just about anything that sounded like it might be interesting, including a lot of world music and folk (thus coming full circle). I tend to stick with things that need words like, "haunting" and "upsetting" to describe them. There is room for happiness, quirkiness, and beauty as well though. I'm a big fan of making things up as I go. Things may change. Or maybe they'll stagnate. Time will tell. See also: www/flickr.com/photos/crow, stoopypoop.blogspot.com, www.csua.berkeley.edu/~scharpen/OAC.html