Hey Z,Great question!
Could you post a few recommendations, for the musically illiterate among your readership? (Even if it is only me.) At those prices, I'm certainly willing to buy a few based on recommendation, in the interests of furthering my education.
If I could only buy one I would buy this one:
So why this record? Simply put, jazz (generally speaking) has a more transcendent quality than pop music. Said another way, this record has been selling for 50 years and will probably be around for another 50 years. All those other records will not be selling in 50 years.
Pop music (and I like and own much Pop music) is usually created for the sake of making money. Jazz, on the other hand, is more pure in the sense that most guys who play jazz don't have the slightest care about getting rich doing it. They simply love the music and love the pure artistic expression. Because of this, it will reach fewer ears since it doesn't "communicate" as easily, but when it is done will will have an enduring quality that will last over time.
It's the same reason why people are still reading Jonathan Edwards hundreds of years later. It's tough to plow through, but when you do, the pay off it huge and you'll keep coming back to it over and over. I won't be listening to the latest Black Eyed Peas record in 5 years, (let alone 5 months) but I'll probably be listening to Blue Train until I die. It's so deep that you can continue to draw from it's beauty. Pop music is more surfacy (which isn't to say that I don't like some of it) and will not satisfy over and over again over time. By and large, pop music is desert, good jazz is like steak.
Some other good ones to consider:
| Price: | $5.00 |
Mae is a really creative power pop band. This record is a bit more tame than some previous efforts, but still sounds good.| Price: | $5.00 |
This band has the #1 song right now on iTunes. I know nothing about them other than that. It could be really lame. | Price: | $5.00 |
More power pop that that is very creative. They guys have been around a long time and have a huge cult following. This is for good reason.
Deep grooves and very soulful.| Price: | $5.00 |
4 comments:
If you don't get the whole Mae album, at least get the track Night/day. Its very good
What about the Johnny Cash cd? 25 classic songs is a good deal. Mae is a really good band and Owl City is a Postal Service sound-alike (almost exact).
you really should spend $10 and get the new Thrice album!
Thanks!
I love Elbow's "Seldom Seen Kid" album and I discovered that after you recommended it. So, I'm interested in checking out these albums as well.
Mae has been mostly a disappointment since "The Everglow". From the 30 second clips on the Amazon, this EP doesn't sound that great either (although I agree that Night/Day is a decent song - whole song is here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVoG5COHdUc).
Owl City does sound exactly like The Postal Service, so if you like them, you'll like Owl City. I actually just bought their album at Best Buy for $10 and am bummed to see I could have gotten it for half that. Fireflies is the song Zach is referring to as #1 on iTunes and this was the song that prompted me to buy the album. It's a nice change of pace from what I usually listen to and I have enjoyed it, but warn it's not for everyone.
I also bought Switchfoot's new album and highly recommend this one for pretty much any listener. GREAT album!
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