itune Frenzy

When I get an itunes gift card in my grubby little hands, I follow a certain pattern of behavior. First, I get nostalgic. I find myself drawn to oldies, but goodies. Goodies, of course, is subjective. I am not sure if everyone would consider Boston's "More Than a Feeling" a goodie, but it definitely brings me back to my childhood bedroom where I used to sit on the floor with my cassette tape playin' boom box right next to me as I do my homework.

To my shock and slight embarrassment, I realize that I do not possess the classic by Rick Springfield "Jesse's Girl". How could this be? I have "Love Somebody" and "Human Touch", yet completely missed the wedding dance standard! No worries, downloaded immediately.

No music collection is complete without an addition to an already large Madonna collection. "Vogue"? Check. "Crazy For You"? Check. "Burning Up"? No!!! I do not have "Burning Up"! I must own this little gem.

The Pretenders have become a recent obsession. I think it is the combination of lyric, deep voice of Chrissie Hynde, and momentum that I hear in the insturments behind her voice. Today, I purchased the bass driven "My City Was Gone". AHHHH! Everyone should love this song.

When I finally get the nostalgic that is so deeply connected to music in my mind, I move onto the smaller category of most loved artists. Lyle Lovett always enters my mind when I purchase music. I like to go to his page and see what I need to have in my collection. Today, I purchased "Nobody Knows Me" and "That's Right (You're Not From Texas)". A person doesn't have to love country music to adore Lyle Lovett. He is so talented and his voice is modest, yet beautiful. Of course, I can't mention Lyle Lovett without telling you to listen to my favorite "Private Conversation". If you are to own only one of his songs that would be my recommendation.

Thankfully, I live in Philadelphia where I am graced with the beloved wxpn.org that plays really, really great music. They list their playlists so I can always check out the music that they play and then, stalk those artists on itunes. This leads me to the last step in music buying. Sometimes, the artists are so obscure on wxpn that I cannot find them on itunes. Today, I wanted to purchase Jose Gonzalez's music, but itunes did not have a lot of his music. So, I went for Rufus Wainwright. Right now, I am loving "Hallelujah" by my man Rufus. Just a piano and Rufus. Very nice. Very haunting.

Although nostagia leads several of my itune purchases, I learn about music from the radio and friends. I like to discuss music and artists. If you have some recommendations or comments on my suggestions, I would love to hear them.