Shelley's Stereo & Video

May 18th, 2010

Category: Articles, Music and the Arts

Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Here’s an easier question to answer. What came first, music or recorded music? The answer, of course, is that music came first. Duh! From the dawn of mankind when a stick was picked up and something was struck in a rhythmic pattern and grunts became words, music was born. Musical instruments were invented and passionate craftsmen gave us instruments that brilliant musicians used to compose great musical works. And thanks to Thomas Edison whose vision led him to invent the first practical recording devise in 1877, we are able today to listen to our favorite music in many different ways any time we want.

Still today the debate rages on. What is the best way to reproduce recorded music? We all know that digital is here to stay. And of course, vinyl too appears to be here to stay. Hip, hip hurray! I think it is very important to know what real music actually sounds like. So much of today’s music sounds like R2D2 and C3PO made it on Garage Band and fixed it with software.  Most people don’t play a musical instrument, nor have they ever listened to a real acoustic instrument being played live. A great many of today’s young adults in their mid to late 20’s have never heard anything but a bunch of zeros and ones played on cheap inferior electronics. This is not music to me. But I have a cool solution. Keep reading.

Okay, first, quick plug. You have to come in and listen to the new Magnepan MG-1.7’s.  This fantastic speaker does a phenomenal job at getting to the musical truth at a VERY reasonable price. The reviews are stellar!

http://www.avguide.com/blog/magnepan-mg-17-unqualified-triumph

Now I would like to talk about a growing trend taking place across the nation. It’s called a “House Concert.” (The cool solution) There are a great many extremely talented singer/songwriters out there, both male and female, who write and record their own songs and make their living playing in their local areas. You never get to experience their talents unless you go out and find them. But this is difficult to do. They are all over the nation! My wife and I, and our friends, travel all over the nation both collectively and independently to smaller music events and songwriter festivals.  It is absolutely amazing the talent we have discovered. So you rely on your friends and their friends and so on to search out the talent and share. If you love real music like I do and it’s not only a hobby, but a passion, you go out and find it. And once you find it, you bring it home with you. You buy their music to support them and the arts. Then, you invite them to your home to play. Now you have a House Concert.

I have hosted several House Concerts and have attended a great many more. You book the artist and invite a bunch of people. A fee is charged per person that goes to the performer. The attendees are held to 50 or so to keep the concert intimate. It is usually pot luck and BYOB but it depends on the host. There’s a pre-show social hour and then music. REAL MUSIC! These talented people are great musicians, singers, song writers and amazing story tellers. You hear real acoustic instruments and the human voice as an instrument. It’s fantastic! And now you have a gauge to help you choose the equipment that you will listen to recorded music on. Is it live, or is it Memorex? And at intermission and at the end, these musicians mingle and have a drink with you, shake hands, thank you for listening, take pictures and sign their CD’s. How many concerts have you attended where this happens? Once again, REAL MUSIC! These guys are now your friends. Many have stayed at our home and at friend’s homes while in town which cuts down on travel expense which make the House Concert possible. These events happen all year long all over the U.S. and thanks to social networking, you keep in touch with them and their careers and their schedules and figure out how to do it again. It blows my mind to think I’ve actually had Grammy nominated songwriters perform in my back yard.

So I invite you all to contact me if you would like to know more or are interested in maybe attending a House Concert. E-mail me, bill@shelleysstereo.com, call the store or hey, just come in. After all, you HAVE to listen to the new Magnepan MG-1.7 speakers.

Thanks for listening.

Bill Kivinski

Store Manager, Music Lover

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