Who is the “man behind the curtain”?
He’s a dreamer, a lover, a part time optimist, and a real lover of music.
He’s me.
I first became interested in music when I was a wee lad – my mom was a music person as well, and always encouraged my interest in music and radio. She and other family and friends started buying me kiddie records before my cognizant memory existed, because to me, I always had them. And a little G.E. Portable record player too. Slowly, I invaded my mom’s collection of records, and my own collection began to grow as well, because she would buy me a new record as a treat every time I had to go to the doctor for a Gamma Globulin shot, which was every six weeks for two years. Between family, friends, TV, and Radio, I was immersed in music from the very beginning. So I have been listening to music and collecting records since the late 1960s, and seriously started collecting most forms of music (I don’t have a lot of 8 tracks and cassettes are limited mostly to cassette singles , though a few good titles have made their way into my collection through the cut out bin) in my teen years, in the late 1970s and early 1980s. I am presently in the midst of revamping my home office studio to make it easier to use my vinyl and tape collection, as I am beginning the process of digitizing my collection (and the smaller collection my wife also has) into MP3s, with the goal of having my entire collection digitized by March 15 2023, my next “milestone” birthday – I will turn SIXTY on that day…::gulp::
My interest in music charts began in 1972, when I first discovered “American Top 40” and eventually, I started keeping my own charts. They always reflected my tastes at the time…still do…but you won’t find a lot of radio stuff on them, that’s for sure. Even back in the day, I was marching to the beat of my own chart…and I have remained a chart fanatic to this day, and will until whenever I pass, hopefully many years from now.
I worked as a volunteer amateur DJ several times in my school years for school functions, and had planned to get involved in radio when I got out of school, but plans changed, and so instead I contented myself with collecting music over the years. From my early-20s to my mid-30s I worked in the retail music trade, first for a local-based chain in Ohio, and later for several locations of the Transworld chain. My radio dreams got fulfilled when I was the program director and one of several on-air hosts on one of the early internet radio pioneers, DiscJockey.Com, which unfortunately went belly up after the Napster trials during the dot.com crisis, but while It was going on, I also started writing about music on my then-blog RadioTC.Com and on the DiscJockey site, and have continued writing through the present day.
I have varied tastes, and like my mom before me, I have a tolerance for all kinds of music, except maybe opera – not a huge fan of that. I grew up in the late 60s and 70s, and so my musical tastes have been colored by that era. I preferred bubblegum and teen idol pop when I was smaller, but I grew to love disco in the late 70s as well. And I didn’t really cut my teeth on real rock music, aside from a song or two here or there, until I was a sophomore in high school, when I discovered AOR radio. My record collection is very diverse, and not nearly what some of the other cool people in the vinyl community have as they frequently display on their YouTube channels, so when you see some of my stuff, you’re going to be scratching your head…and laughing as well, probably…but that’s cool – everyone has their own loves, and mine….we’ll, they’re sometimes pretty ok and normal, and other times extremely eccentric. Hopefully, you’ll get a kick out of it
I can show you how diverse my tastes are, but I’m gonna usurp an old Steve Martin comedy bit to do it…so this is TC’s…um, musical philosophy, so to speak, I guess…anyway, time for…
WHAT I BELIEVE
I believe that there’s a place in the music industry for all types of music, though I personally am not the biggest fan of most hardcore rap, a good amount of country music, or opera…
I believe that it’s criminal that music fans in the US have not yet made Alison Moyet or Jann Arden household words here, though both have achieved such in their native countries, the UK and Canada respectively….
I believe that it is possible to be a teen heartthrob at one point in your career and still be taken seriously later when it becomes evident that the same talent you exhibited as a teen heartthrob is still in evidence and has matured into an even greater talent over the years. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, you are obviously oblivious to the band the Village Voice named in 2008 as “the true face of American indie rock music” – and it’s bound to cause you consternation to know that the band that was granted this honor was….Hanson. They are NOT just “MMM Bop” anymore, and haven’t been for a long long LONG time…and if you haven’t yet discovered that fact by now, it’s YOUR loss…
I Believe that the music industry cannot ever achieve parity without the ridiculous rules that cause an undue burden for digital music and digital streaming without the copyright and publishing laws in this country (and the rest of the world) being completely scrapped and overhauled to put the emphasis on the ARTISTS, and NOT the greedy motherfuckers running the record labels… and also giving creators like myself and others some more concrete and outlined “fair use” options that don’t trigger ridiculous flags on YouTube when you don’t have any intention of monetizing the video in the first place…
I believe the RIAA should be gagged and neutered as a lobbying agency, and should exist ONLY as an entity to track sales and issuances of gold and platinum records…
I believe that U2 is perhaps the most overrated band of all time…which isn’t to say I don’t like their music, because I do…but I just don’t think they are the gods some fans claim they are…
I believe that some of the best songwriters should stay as far away from a microphone as possible – Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits, et al…
I believe the same about some actors – Scott Baio, Pierce Brosnan, William Shatner, et al…
I believe in the old axiom “only the good die young”.. it’s the only way to explain why so many performers leave us far too young – Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Karen Carpenter, Jim Croce, John Lennon, Andy Gibb, John Denver, Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, Amy Winehouse…the list goes on and on and on…
I believe that “Groove Is In The Heart” by Dee-light is quite possibly the most nerve-wracking, insanity-inducing song to ever have been a hit…with an equally nerve-wracking video to match…and Billy Swan’s “I Can Help” is a close second, despite it’s inexplicable presence in Gus Van Zant’s 2008 masterpiece “Paranoid Park”…
The list of songs that everyone else seems to worship that I find “meh” at best is topped in my book by “Stairway To Heaven” by Led Zeppelin, “Jeremy” by Pearl Jam, and “Free Bird” by Lynyrd Skynyrd…
I’m sure they’ll be more to come…heh heh heh…
PERSONAL FAVORITES
Among my personal favorites list you’ll find a very diverse group of musical acts. I consider the following some of my favorite acts:
Jann Arden, Hanson, Alyson Moyet, Carpenters, Eminem, Def Leppard, Owl City, Reba McEntire, Backstreet Boys, Adam Lambert, Donna Summer, Sam Harris, Garth Brooks, Michael Giacchino, Joe Satriani, Jerry Goldsmith, Dolly Parton, Rascal Flatts, DC Talk, Hans Zimmer, Neon Trees, Grace VanderWaal, Luke Mitrani, Michel Szpak, Five Seconds Of Summer, Dadi Freyr, Craig Chaquico, Dave Grusin, David Benoit, Basia, Cher, Ashley MacIssac, Celtic Thunder, and scores more…