Jenerally Speaking

Okay – anyone who knows me well, knows that I am clueless when it comes to the music world. Years ago, I knew practically nothing about artists or bands or the top hits or MTV, etc. I used to play in the Yahoo Trivia Chat rooms about 5 years ago and I never…EVER knew a single trivia answer if it had to do with music.

It wasn’t that I didn’t like music. I did like it, but I didn’t really concern myself with anything other than the fact that I liked the song currently playing on the radio…and that was that.

It became a source of slight discomfort when I would meet new people and they would ask what music I listened to. My answer “whatever is on the radio” was truly accurate. And, which of those songs did I like? Well, I couldn’t tell you unless I actually heard it playing. That is when I could say “Yep, that is a song I like”.

Ever since my daughter was born and as she has gotten older (she’s 10 now), I find myself becoming much more acquainted with the music world. I actually have tastes. I even know the names of those tastes. I actually like artists and music groups and know the names of them, too.

This morning I was in heaven as I played around with Launchcast from Yahoo! It plays streaming music which you can rate, which, in turn, affects which music it plays for you on your personalized station. You can also watch videos and play particular artists and tell it to never play a particular artist or song ever again.
I also use this in conjunction with MusicMatch Jukebox. I know people are particular and quite loyal to their music players, but I love MusicMatch. I have been using their player for over 3 years now. They now have a way to preview tracks and purchase 99 cent tracks and their ripping and burning features are awesome.

Thanks to motherhood…and to the approach of my daughter’s pre-teen years, I am embracing the opportunity to acquaint myself with a whole new world. Quite fun, indeed!