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Well it seems like forever since we first started talking about this subject. I know this last installment is long over due and for that I apologize. As promised, this column is completely dedicated to feedback from you, the readers. As you can see below, this topic touched a nerve with many people who were more than happy to share their own opinions and tips. Thanks to everyone who took the time to write in. We always enjoy your feedback and will continue to feature it in future Musical Notes. On to your letters: Dear Bob, Your commentary on MAMSS piques
my curiosity, tickles my funny bone, and points out some worthy
resources for finding new music that could help avoid stagnating
tastes. Of course, as you note, there are plenty more. Two you haven't
mentioned that seem solid enough to be recommended are Chondo at http://chondo.net and Calabash at http://www.calabashmusic.com/.
Chondo is a subscription streaming site with multiple channels of music
of the African diaspora, while Calabash offers a decent selection of
mainly worldly downloads. — Jonathan E
I love being the oldest person at clubs and shows because I feel like I'm still a part of musical culture when every one else has worn out. The elder is always looked up to. I teach the young ones how to pace themselves. Always-Tina  I just read your email and want to invite you to check out our world beat site – the only one in Australia that certainly matches the others for content. Check it out on www.diaspora.com.au. We have huge current reviews sections, interviews, stories and comments on the state of music of the world. Would love to hear your comments. Kind regards-Cristina D/ Editor
(used and new) The scarcer stuff can be a bit expensive. Cutout bins
are a great place to find interesting music that you wouldn't pay
retail price for.
"Dirty Linen"at www.dirtylinen.com & "Acoustic Guitar" at www.acousticguitar.com magazines are great sources as is website "Minor 7th" www.minor7th.com, which recently reviewed "High Wire Live".
Kumpo
Beat is truly a gem of radio broadcasting featuring a broad range of
diverse African musical programming deserving of attention. It is
broadcast from 8:30- midnight on Thursday evenings on www.kalw.org where it can also be streamed.
Thank you for the links for sources of new music. I couldn't help but think of the stories about Charles Ives, the 20th century iconoclastic composer. He would chastise stagnant listeners with the phrase "Don't coddle your ears". He also would see the beauty in the singing of hymns in a rural church where many passionate voices were off-key and this would be part of his inspiration for his polytonality.
Let me mention a couple of my favorite new music sources in the Boston area, provided by two enterprising college radios: 1. www.wers.org (Emerson College) streams a wonderful variety show of World Music each weekday (2-5PM EST), called Gyroscope. They play many of your label's Brazilian artists in addition to a lot of other music that doesn't fit into mainstream categories. 2. www.wzbc.org - (Boston College) produces a show called NCP (No Commercial Potential). Rarely do I know the bands or understand them, but that is good. That is where I first heard of "Birdsongs of the Mesozoic" years ago. Keep up the good work- Dean S/Concord, MA
www.kpfk.org 90.7fm Los Angeles, 98.7fm Santa Barbara plays just about every single six degrees release!
I thank you for the pointers u are delivering to the audience and I include myself. I'm a radio disc jockey for Community radio station in St Louis 88.1FM KDHX www.kdhx.org. We often receive many of your promotions and releases - I find many of your travel compilations very well researched and hand picked w/the exception of a couple which of course there will always be some of those. Playlists are available at http://www.kdhx.org/programs/globalelectronic.htm Another fine program we offer where we also feature many Six Degrees releases is http://www.kdhx.org/programs/folksoftheworld.htm
I am a recent discoverer of Six Degrees, and read with interest your most recent article on the challenges of finding good music. I must concur that radio and the music industry have changed greatly since I first start listening to popular music back in the 60's and 70's. Mainstream radio was much more of a vehicle for new music. Overall today, we are inundated with pre-packaged and ultra-marketed images of what "popular music" is, or should be. I equate it to being presented with 100 brands of sugar-coated cardboard-tasting cereal on the grocery store shelves. It's bland, tasteless and actually unhealthy, but somehow we are influenced to think that's the good stuff. It's a real challenge to find the good stuff, and often expensive. This is a subject near and dear to my middle-aged heart, but finding alternative sources of great music gives me hope - I was very excited to discover your label. I discovered it through an amazing radio station in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada - CKUA. CKUA started out as a university station 75 years ago, but has metamorphosed into an absolute gem of a public radio station, entirely listener-supported. You can listen to it online at www.CKUA.com....if you haven't heard of it before, I encourage you to check it out, and pass it on to your subscribers - each program has a playlist so you can see what's going on at a glance. Two of my favourite programs are "The Way I Hear It" and "Night Music". I think it's the best radio station in the world, but then I'm biased! I am also fortunate to have two young adult sons who have completely different musical tastes and sources than I - they introduce me to a lot of the "good stuff" as well. Thanks very much for your suggestions for finding great music - I will definitely check them all out!! Yours in musical solidarity, Carol Anne M Victoria, BC, Canada
as well... Phillip B
thought I'd take you up on your invitation and drop you a line after reading your column. I'm always looking for new sounds and agree totally that it is so easy to get burned with bogus chill out compilations, etc. It's gotten even worse than the "acid jazz" phase after it became an excuse to put out a lot of marginal stuff by shameless hacks. Tsk. One source of compilations that I learned a lot from was the Rhythm magazine series. That's where I first heard the awesome DJ Cheb i Shabbah, Paris Combo, Tarika Sammy, Susheela Raman and many others. I now have the pleasure of programming material like that on my own www.live365.com station. I think you guys have great ears. It's a pleasure to listen to your artists (at least the ones I'm familiar with so far) Very best regards- Tom B
I owe lots of my broad interests in music to the composers of classical music I studied with - they taught me the trick that, if you want to get inspired, go outside your field. So-called "maverick" types like Alan Hovhaness (who'd get so excited about Eastern European, Japanese, Indian harmonies), and Howard Hanson, and Harry Partch (who taught me to love all things Balinese as if I myself was a shadow puppet), and Yehudi Menuhin dragging Ravi Shankar to rehearsals & stages while audiences sniffed into their lace hankies. And then the record label Nonesuch Explorer; I owned almost everything they could put out, amazed that no other label else seemed to have gotten the same clue about what it takes to keep people's interest. And then, in the '80s, Tom Schnabel started Morning Becomes Eclectic on KCRW in LA and the excitement started up again - David S
Congratulations on your Musical Notes Vol 2. I absolutely agree with everything you said. In Brazil (of all places?) the situation is even worse. FM Radio is dominated by family oligarchies while AM radio is 75% religious-oriented. For you to have an idea in Rio de Janeiro alone there are 6 FM so-called "adult contemporary" stations and none of them play Bebel Gilberto! It's Air Supply, Player and other junk all day long. I'm a big fan and consumer of Six-Degrees releases, besides being a subscriber to the Six-Degrees newsletter. Abraços- Carlos T
Hi Bob. That was a great story about how we get comfortable and somewhat disconnected from the music scene, particularly the new stuff. I think the biggest factor, though really has to be exposure or lack of it from radio. It really has become safe and homogenized. FM in the '70's was a great time because of the diversity sometimes within the same station. As a result, I think it was easier to get exposure to new material and "bounce" from artist to artist as a result. I have been threatening, if only in my own mind, to write the RIAA and then record companies to suggest they start their own radio stations to expose new artists. HEAR Music has recently done this on XM Radio. Record labels are a whole other issue in that they seem to have a lack of commitment to developing good, strong talent. My suggestions to them would probably fall on deaf ears. No pun intended. People (over 29) need for it to be easy. Most do not want to work that hard, listen and research on the Internet and go to CD stores and listen for hours before buying. When it gets too difficult and too complex, they lose interest and fall back on the familiar. Another way for people to get exposure to a huge variety of music, new, old and obscure is by paying for it. I think satellite radio picked up where good quality FM radio faded out. I recently subscribed to XM vs. Sirius because they play a larger variety of music and do not repeat material near as often. Also, there are no commercials (a real blessing!) on the music channels and the artist and song are readable (and saveable!) on a visual display. I also think that part of the reason for commercial radio continuing in the direction it is going is because you and I and so many others continue to support it. If we stop listening, maybe they will be forced to make a change. You might want to mention satellite radio in your next installment of Staying Current. Thanks for your article. I'll be listening- Harry W
Bob, Here are some sources that help keep me up on new sounds: 1) www.epitonic.com This is a great website to learn about new music. You can stream stuff live, download tracks or just read about all kinds of obscure bands that you have never heard of. 2) The Winamp music player. When you download this (it is free), you get a library of about 150 internet stations that is truly awesome. A wide variety of electronic music (house, trance, downtempo, etc.) as well as jazz, rock and even some talk radio. Not all of the links work, but even if only half work, that's still 75 internet radio stations at your fingertips. 3) www.Nugs.net. this is for the jam band set, you can download shows, stream them live, or listen to nugs radio, with all of its tasty morsels.- Adam K/ Oakland I think you should also mention fROOTS at www.frootsmag.com, which Ian Anderson has been publishing far far longer than SONGLINES has existed -- and the pages of which have more and more included world music as time's gone on. In fact along the same lines I'd also mention SING OUT! At www.singout.org which of course began as a populist, left-wing folkie organ but which has also broadened substantially in scope under the guidance of editor/publisher Mark Moss in the past decade... All the best- Cheryl
One useful web site for your list would be the http://www.giantstep.net in particular in the forum section- the "what songs are you listening to right now" topic is a great way to see what people are into. The whole site is good and these people are into some very good music and not just urban and dance and gilles peterson comps and bbc radio show- talk about eclectic and cool, whew. Again, enjoy your post and look forward to the next as well as listening to your radio show- peter
Some final link suggestions from readers: http://www.thebraziliansound.com http://www.futureworldfunk.com/ www.clubbity.com – which features many great label sponsored radio shows from folks like Switchstance & IrmaBob Duskis/ President and Co-founder/ Six Degrees Records  
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