There was a spooky sundown tonight, so compelling in its peach and turquoise blaze, that I had to follow it, though I shouldn't have been driving west, but south. As it faded, I headed home, looking in my rear view mirror to catch its last glorious rays. Only it no longer had that amazing glow, but had devolved into a gently cool mauve. You would have never known, had you just come outside. Here I am geeking out about the sunset, happy that I still look, and that I get excited by the beauty of something like that. And I still listen to music...yes, that includes new music.
I had a conversation with my brother Mitch today, talking about the sad state of radio. "Why don't they play new music?" he asked. Well, the answer to that is long and complicated. The best we can hope for is the divestiture of the giant corporate entities, and maybe when indies and Mom and Pop's can own radio again, there might come a new day of exploration on the dial. And there are still the occasional radio stations that defy the odds and bring it. Of course, in the meantime, there are myriad other sources of music: streaming, Pandora, Slacker, Satellite, and of course websites like ours. Did you know you can even launch 50 of our tunes in a row, kinda like radio, with our Music Fog Video Player? Look for it on the upper left hand corner, under our crew names. Why am I telling you all this? Oh yeah...when I listen to Matt Harlan, he brings me back to why I listened to folk music in the 60's. For the sake of the song as old as the hills, for the delivery as clean as a mountain stream. For the honesty and commitment to quality.
Matt Harlan's CD Tips and Compliments spent the month of March at #1 on the Euro Americana Charts. Patty Griffin's Downtown Church was #1 for February, and John Hiatt's The Open Road is #1 this month. Mighty fine company! Now ask yourself why our American music is so well embraced over there, and not here. But that is another age old story. Authenticity.
-Jessie Scott
