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/ Bob Dylan 
/ Jewel Kilcher 
/ Ani DiFranco 
/ Tape Trading
It's rather trite to say that 'I like all kinds of music.' So I won't. And it's not all that true anyway. I haven't had experience with much more than the rock/pop genre. I try to listen to classical but I don't have much of an ear for it yet. And I haven't ventured too far into jazz, blues or soul. I'm trying though. In those areas I have found an appreciation for Coltrane, Marvin Gaye, Miles Davis, Buddy Guy, Al Green and Otis Redding.
I may not have encountered it all, but I like a little bit of everything I've heard. I know a lot of people who only like to listen to industrial, or goth, or blues, or alternative. I've never found a style of music that enraptured me that much. I'm more interested in individual artists than I am in the particular style they play. There are just certain artists who thrill me by the ways they express themselves, and it has nothing to do with style. My favorite artists are ones that wander through the styles, who experiment, and who keep me interested. The artists below are some of my favorites, and certainly meet those requisites.
I've earned an appreciation for live music over the years. A concert allows a musician to do what musicians were meant to do, perform. I enjoy recorded music, but I think that over the last sixty years things have gotten away from us. We've forgotten that recordings are just byproducts of the musical act. Music is meant to be ever-changing, to be constantly renewed. And it's kind of strange how a song performed once in the studio can live on forever, eclipsing the many other forms it's taken over the years live. So I encourage all of us to experience the joy of live music again. If you're like me and can't afford to go to many concerts then you might be overjoyed to discover the world of concert trading. Concert trading has allowed me to hear dozens of shows from my favorite musicians, and given me new appreciation for their work. I don't think anyone should miss out on it. You can read my newsletter entry on tape trading, or you can move along to my tape trading page.
Who is the greatest among those that grace my music pages? Why none other than NEIL YOUNG. Neil has completely revolutionized my feelings towards music. If you've never watched him playing electric guitar don't waste your time reading this drivel - go get a video! To see some of my thoughts on Neil go to this section of one of my newsletters. Fellow fans of Neil, write me and we'll chat. If you wish to be driven to jealousy I'll tell you about my poster-size signed photograph of Neil wailing on Old Black.
Neil is like a personal mentor to me, but I think that BOB DYLAN may be the greatest musical genius I've encountered. I find it hard to even think of Bob as human - more like a mouthpiece of the Muses. And yes, I can hear all those tasteless jokes you all just made about Dylan's voice. My wife will laugh in my face for committing this to print but I actually think Bob Dylan has a fantastic voice. So joke about that instead.
For those true fans please read more of my thoughts on Bob from my newsletters. And of course if you want to talk Bob, write me.
Now that I've gotten through those two dinosaurs from the Sixties, how about a younger, fresher voice: JEWEL KILCHER. She's certainly not unknown anymore, but it wasn't so long ago that she was. Back then I followed her extensively, and really enjoyed watching her career begin. Nowadays I'm a little more jaded about where she's taken it. I definitely recommend trying her out though, if you can dig past the pop and circumstance. Let me give you a brief history of her music.
For some expanded thoughts on Jewel, read my newsletter entry. If you just want to chat about Jewel, or have a question, feel free to write me. I'll tell you about Jewelstock, my photos with Jewel and my signed shirt.
Currently peaking at the top of my musician list is the now widely known ANI DIFRANCO. Usually toted as a feminist, lesbian punk folksinger, Ani is alll those things to the max, and yet more. She has driven the 'establishment' crazy with her political talk and song, has driven 'corporate rock' crazy by distributing her music independently, and has driven her own most fanatic fans crazy by writing love songs about men and then marrying one. Ani refuses to be typecast.
Above all though, I think Ani is the best lyricist writing music today. Critics complain that she writes too much about herself, and her role as a singer, which I must agree with. But regardless, she is writing some of the most perfect songs out there. When they are not perfect, she settles for the kind of lyrics that make you want to applaud after each line. And besides the lyrics her singing and music style would electrify the most boring song. She strums an acoustic so ferociously that it becomes a true rhythm instrument, I doubt that there is any higher musician to noise ratio in music today. She manages to bring funk, hip hop and beat influences into an acoustic show that is already light years away from folk.
Off of the stage, Ani has done it right. She has put out all her own albums, on an independent label. She has not compromised, while putting out an album library that any artist would love to put their name to. All the while building up an enormous fan base while touring relentlessly to packed crowds.
I know the only reason you all came here is for my TAPE TRADING page. I know because the other summer I had to remove it, I was getting so many e-mails from it. But I put it here at the end anyway, hoping you might even peruse some of my other content before you get here. Such as my old newsletter entry about tape trading.
I currently don't trade concerts, for a variety of reasons. Maybe someday I'll be back into it. For the time being, you're on your own.