The Search Continues

Ellen McIlwaine : Toe Hold
taken from the album "Honky Tonk Angel" on Polydor (1972)

Jorge Ben : Oba La Vem Ela
taken from the album "Forca Bruta" on Philips (1970)

Pucho & His Latin Soul Brothers : San Juan 2000
taken from the album "Yaina" on Right-On (197?)

Sir Victor Uwaifo & His Titibitis : Sakpaide Special
taken from the album "Jackpot" on Makossa (1981)

It appears as though the digital music takeover, like the warming of our winters, is inevitable. It's no longer a prospect for us to ponder, it's our condition. While most of us bought MP3 players and started finding (or creating) music blogs, an army of tiny, efficient, 4MB songs crept it's way into the comfortable vantage of our lowest common denominator. And now, as DJ after DJ gives in to the alluring convenience of the latest technology, music enthusiasts of every ilk-- from the olde-tyme collectors of 78rpm hillbilly blues platters to the latest hipsters trying their luck as electro-clash trend setters-- have no option but to surrender. Because whatever type of music it is that makes you crazy (however rare and obscure), there's a place online where you can find it-- probably for free.

When faced with the choice between A) maintaining the integrity of your physical music library at the cost of missing out on thousands of songs that you would surely love, and B) downloading more music than you could possibly listen to in this lifetime, every music-lover I know opts for B. The endless itunes library, set on shuffle, is just too appealing. What are the ramifications? Well, for me at least, it means a whole lot of recording records... Although the process is less than fun, I find some meager reward in the form of creating MP3s that will possibly outlive the records from which they came. When the arctic-melt flood waters reach my doorstep, it'll be a lot easier to pack my hardrive than my record collection. This does not mean however, that I'm going to stop searching, scouring, looting, and hording while the gettin's good. There is much still to be discovered in these plastic plates. And there's a grumpy old man inside me somewhere that thinks I ought to earn my iTunes library with a bit of actual context. hmpf.

Check out funky guitar mistress Ellen McIlwaine here.

Explore the greatness of Jorge Ben by checking here.

Find more about Pucho and His Latin Soul Brothers right here.

Dig the truth about Sir Victor by peeping this.