I’ve been making a massive playlist of vocal harmony groups on Spotify – it makes for nice shuffling when I’m working in the kitchen. There’s lots of great music on the playlist, but whats’ most interesting is what’s missing. What’s outside the database.
There are albums around the corner on my CD rack that aren’t on Spotify – and their absence is glaring. Off the top of my head, this includes classics like New York Voices’ What’s Inside, Moss’s self-titled album, and about half of The Hi-Lo’s output.
It’s fine for me – I have a CD player and the CDs (and, actually, lots of them on vinyl backup). But the import of it was driven home recently when a student had never heard one of my favorite New York Voices tracks, “Lady Be Good”. Despite being a superfan, she was limited to what was available on Spotify, and so she never knew it existed.
All this is to say, even in the age of infinite internet, it’s still possible to have musical blinders caused by lack of access! I know to make sure my musical intake isn’t limited by the medium, and so should you!