In the month that I have subscribed to it, Rhapsody has improved my life two main ways; in class, whenever a student mentions a song, I can almost always cue it up immediately and create a lesson around it (they believe I am a sorcerer) and in the car, where i can drive for hours and never hear a song I’ve heard before. My six hour drive home from the Cape seemed shorter for my playlist, which was built from albums in the “New This Week” section, including Jack Johnson, LCD Soundsystem, Black Keys, Band of Horses and The National. All of it so good and inspiring and free (for the price of $10/month) to listen to whenever I want. How could I ever be expected to keep up and purchase each of those records? They all need to be heard and enjoyed. And how would I ever have found Abigail Washburn and Shanghai Restoration Project’s beautiful “Afterquake” without a related artist section under The Postal Service?
There is so much amazing music out there and most of it has been buried by radio and labels. When a tiny minority decides what everyone else will listen too, it is never in music’s best interest. When the listeners are given the freedom to choose, it is not corporations but music itself that will prosper and return to its original purpose of communication and community. We have been losing sight of music’s true value for years and have convinced ourselves that it is a commodity like toothpaste or lighbulbs or swiffers, but it is not. It is a primal expression, our howl at the sky, that synchronizes and blends individuals into a emotional omni-state. We need access to everything to find the music that inspires and represents us and Rhapsody is simply the most efficient means of hearing anything anywhere anytime.