A Message from the Central Scrutinizer...

 This is my second summer project for 2013. I have considered doing this many times but decided against it for several reasons. One time I was going to do it but decided I had better focus on school. Another time I considered it but I was a worship leader at a church and didn't figure it would be wise to open my musical tastes up to scrutiny both spiritual and ascetic.

I have a huge collection of recordings. Anyone who has thumbed through my LPs (and inferior CDs) will tell you that eclectic doesn't begin to describe the situation. I love all types of music. Period. I believe there is great music to be found in every genre and I would be bored if I were forced to stick with one style. As a professional musician myself I play classical guitar, jazz, rock, worship music, singer-songwriter stuff and anything else I like. I play in a big band, a band called Pride and Joy, who do everything from jazz to rock and roll to funk to pop. I play with flautists, violin players and other guitarists in various classical chamber groups. I've played with the Chelsea Symphony in New York City the Tactus New Music Ensemble at Manhattan School of Music. I've lead a contemporary worship team with a full choir at Windham Assembly of God and I've played in pit bands for musical theater groups. I've played on a recording for an opera and I've released two cassettes (what's that?) of my own music. I've played lead guitar for Clay Aikin on two tours and I played classical guitar for George W. Bush and a Russian ambassador. Variety is the spice for me and I have learned that I need to play in a variety of styles to stay fresh.

Some of my favorite artists liked variety and change as well: Miles Davis, Igor Stravinsky, Bob Dylan, Frank Zappa, Neil Young, Eliot Fisk, Bill Frissel, Duke Ellington and Joni Mitchell just to name a few.

SO WHAT IS THIS BLOG?

This blog will be a sister companion to my other blog, Private Screenings with Pride. I will be going through my collection of recordings of records and CDs alphabetically but with a twist: I will be starting with the artists directly after my last name P-R-I-D-E. (I'm not going to review my own music.)
My collection is arranged alphabetically by the last name of the artist and the first name of  a musical organization (or a band). Classical music is generally categorized by the composer's last name, unless the recording features a variety of composers. Then, I categorize it according to last name of the artist. Soundtracks are alphabetized by title, not composer. Nothing against composers of soundtracks, I just can't always remember who wrote what. Plus, some soundtracks feature many different composers, like Saturday Night Fever. You will find this blog to feature a huge variety of music and it will hopefully introduce you to some music you never knew about. I will write about everything in my collection, including the embarrassing stuff. It is definitely a post-modern collection. For example, Bach is right next to Erykah Badu, Joan Baez Patricia Barber and not too far away from the B-52's and Bananarama (oh my...). Some artists will possibly take months to complete and others (like Bananarama) will be quick one-shots. My collection is not some sort of "best of" list. I've got some real stinkers in there. It's also not comprehensive. I'm sure some of you will say say, "You mean you don't own ANY ______ ?!!!" Sorry, I have to be in the mood, you know? This is a personal collection, which I think will make it fun.

In general I always prefer vinyl to CD and I feel no emotional connection with downloads at all. (Plus, the sound usually sucks.)  Everything I will write about is physical media. I will sometimes also comment on sound quality, which has always been important to me, but the most important thing is the music itself.

So sit back and enjoy me as I take a seat in the listener's chair, fire up the Maggies (speakers), drop the needle and take a musical journey...

FIRST UP: The soundtrack to The Pride and the Passion (1957) on mono vinyl.
(I told you this was going to be eclectic...)