confession of a musical luddite

[anotheranon]

I had a fantastic dream last night. I was in a record store with real records and CDs, full of knowledgable salespeople ("no, get the imported copy - there are extra tracks", "Voltaire is under 'gothic rock', not 'comedy'", etc.), and unexpected hard to find goodies in every stack (sigh).

Yeah, I have to admit it, I was a teenage vinyl fiend, and still am, to a degree. For me half the pleasure of music is the process: flipping slowly through the stacks, the stink of dust and PVC in the air. The challenge of looking for that one disc (vinyl or compact) that you haven't been able to find yet, the "extras" in the form of liner notes and sleeve art.

However, apart from a few used and speciality stores, what I describe above just doesn't exist anymore. Part of the reason I'm not clued into new music is 1) the less intense interest that comes with age and 2) my refusal to embrace the download revolution.

I've never downloaded any music, legally or illegally. I've used Amazon for sound samples when planning on buying something, but that's about it - I've not even used it that much for researching new groups. Clearly if I want to live in this century I'll have to face the fact that This Is How Things Are Done These Days, and learn how/where to look around.

For starters, can anyone recommend any good online radio streams (preferably not Real Player, as my machine at work won't run it)? I tend to prefer world music/global trance, electronic music in its' bajillion permutations (I'm not a purist), gothic (old and what I've heard of the new).

So, any suggestions?

Comments

[jlsjlsjls.livejournal.com]

My beloved CKUA is an excellent source for hearing world music and some electronic as well. Plus the announcers are very good about providing as much information as they can about each group, and playlists (with track, album, and artist) are usually posted on the site within 24 hours of play, making it easy to track down a CD. A peek at the current schedule doesn't reveal anything that looks like a goth show, but the schedule flexes and changes all the time (and many of the shows are unspecialized, featuring whatever the DJ is in the mood for). Requests are always welcome and, if you need more information on a piece of music, a performer, or a CD/LP/etc., the DJs are really good about answering emails.

And I promise, when you make it to Calgary one day, to take you up to A&B's big music store, where you can relive the joy of flipping through zillions of new CDs. :-)))