Moozik week Day 3

[gwyn]

In a change of pace from the first two songs, this is from an album movies_michelle turned me on to a couple years ago called Torch, a sort of modern take on the torch song by a really interesting mix of artists you've never heard of, one-shot "groups," and well-known people who should be more famous than they are, like Cassandra Wilson. I like Dropshere by Dzihan & Kamien because it has these unusual tempo shifts and tonal shifts, and mixes this sort of lo-fi, ethereal quality with a chanteusy, world-weary vibe, only with innocence.

Speaking of moozik. Does anyone have any recs for a music community that isn't punitive, snotty, exclusive, or semi-deceased? Some of you may recall my rather annoyed post after being booted off teh music communiy last year for not participating enough. For those who don't: when I began flying down regularly to San Diego to take care of my sister, who had cancer, I got an iPod, which really saved my sanity during all the delayed flights and being on the plane, where I can't read. I joined teh music, and never had time or energy to post on my own, but I regularly responded to requests and emailed music to people. After my sister died and I went back to clean out her house, I found out that I'd been booted, along with other people, who didn't participate (even though there was nothing in the rules about that) enough, and who hadn't responded to the random, no-warning two-week notice post that went up when I was down there, doing one of the most gut-wrenching things of my life. I politely told them that I was sorry I'd been booted, that they'd never made it clear posting was a requisite, and that all the music I'd picked up there had helped me keep my sanity during the worst period of my life. But I reminded them that even putting up a notice that "if you don't respond to this to stay on the list, you're gone" isn't necessarily going to work for people -- loved ones die, work gets insane, people lose jobs or get in accidents... life happens with unpredictable speed and it seems unfair to cut people when they may have no control over what's going on in their existence.

They of course stood by their decision because people, you know, lie all the time to get into their very important community (of course, they believed me, but you can't bend the rules!) but that I could try to join again the next time they opened membership. As if. I am constantly agog at the 12-year-olds who run things, for whom life has never held any great challenges or tragedies, and who think modding a community makes them important or powerful. It's LJ, peeps, not the U.N.

But I really miss seeing new things that people send out, sampling what's out there and then going out and buying some new stuff. It's like a listening station, for me, when people post music -- try before you buy. I'd love to find a community where people aren't snotty little jackasses who think they're special, where it's about music and not participation levels and "Respond to me now, you minions, or I will smite you with my sword!" Bitter? Moi? Hell, even if you know of a blogger with good taste who just posts his or her own choices, that would be good. I can't really listen to Pandora at work because I don't have enough bandwidth to do that and be fast enough on my work connection, so trying stuff out is a better mode for me right now.

Comments

[umbo.livejournal.com]

I'm getting a 404 on the music file :-)

Also, not sure if this is what you're looking for or not, but theamusedone posts a fair amount of music, and he's great about sharing stuff--posts a lot of yousendit links.

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

So sorry! html error. Fixed now. Thanks for the rec -- I will look him up.

[callherblondie.livejournal.com]

If you're looking for an LJ music community, I recommend that you stay far away from audiography because of THIS (http://www.journalfen.net/community/fandom_wank/941922.html). The posters are great, the mods are assholes, and I left the community and deleted it off my friends list yesterday. I can't stand LJ mods on power-trips--it's absurd, infantile, and delusional behavior.

[boniblithe.livejournal.com]

See, I love audiography mostly because I ignore the mods and just download all the MUSIC :)

[callherblondie.livejournal.com]

Yes, prior to leaving the community, I had never posted either. But I would constantly see the mods being rude in comments to posters and I just can't condone that nonsense. I felt like I was in elementary school all over again, watching the bullies picking on the weaker kids. Just because the mods never picked on me doesn't mean that I think it's okay or I'm going to put up with it just so I can have free music. There are zillions of great music blogs on the Internet. audiography isn't the only means.

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

Yeah, this does not sound at all like a place I need to be. My life sucks enough and my emotions are still so fragile that I find LJ increasingly unpleasant for just this kind of thing. What is it about music communities that encourages these little tin-pot dictator behaviors? Who do they think they are? The mind just boggles.

[sdwolfpup.livejournal.com]

Heh, and I was going to recommend audiography, because I've gotten a lot of good music off there and have never posted to the comm once.

[callherblondie.livejournal.com]

I've gotten a lot of good music from that community and I've never posted, but it disgusted me to constantly see the mods being assholes in comments to posters so that's why I left. It makes no difference to me if the mods are being assholes to me or to other people--it's just unacceptable, period. I refuse to be part of a community like that. In fact, such an atmosphere goes against the very definition of what an 'LJ community' is.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if the mods end up shutting down the community in the near future if members (who are the ones that really run the community since they're the ones posting 99% of the music) dare to disagree with them again. They've already banned most of the dissenters and deleted the original post. LJ fascism, yay!*eyeroll*

There's plenty of places on the Internet to get free, good music. Fluxblog consistently has great new music and zillions of links to other music blogs. Contrary to the attitude of the mods of audiography, their comm does not have a premium on free music.

[boniblithe.livejournal.com]

herself_nyc trolls a lot of music blogs, I think she has links around her LJ somewhere (check the memories).

[boniblithe.livejournal.com]

By "trolls" I mean "visits" LOL.

[klia.livejournal.com]

Here's a link to my favorite indie label's downloads site:

http://www.heyday.com/Site/Free%20Downloads.html

And I'll go ahead and rec Marty Willson-Piper (lead guitarist of the Aussie band The Church) and Noctorum, his side-project with Dare Mason.

[mlyn.livejournal.com]

Rachelle from the F&F fandom runs a journal where pretty much only she posts, although she encourages others to post as well. She's wank-free.

muzicology. If you have to, tell her I sent ya, but she might know your name anyway.

[nagasvoice.livejournal.com]

I'd be tempted to talk to filktom, who is very cool, writes and records a lot of cool stuff himself, and knows tons of people in the filk community. Filk community people have the most eclectic taste in music I've ever seen.

[klia.livejournal.com]

Just got this week's EW and it has a whole section about online music sites, everything from radio stations to iTunes.

[keerawa.livejournal.com]

I finally got around to listening to Dropshere - thank you, liking it lots!