Ironic Really

[Beechwoods]

I've just put the best of Village People... YMCA, In the Navy

(I'm not afraid of tomatoes today : it's my birthday )

Happy Birthday Dimitri

Just for you, may favourite version of YMCA. The Cantonese version (I think), by George Lam. This kicks disco butt! Enjoy!

[Peter Galbavy]

I would consider myself a listener of varied taste, but I don't "understand" music. I can't. I have had many a professional musician try to educate me especially in the weird world of "keys" but it simply doesn't sink in. I watched the rather good TV series "How Music Works" which was entertaining but didn't work either

When it comes to listening the subject depends very much what mood I am in. I almost always can appreciate a technically well presented recording regardless of genre - my exceptions like someone above being freeform jazz (vomit...) and anything assoiated with Morrissey. Sometimes I want come orchestral, sometimes electronica and sometimes thrash metal.

One area that is sadly overlooked because of the confusing breadth of talent is the "World Music" sections of many retailers and online shops. I love it because it's so anti-US/UK commercial crap. There's plenty of commercial crap, mind, but it's not Radio 1/ Crapital 95.8 level. Another thing that makes me tick with foreign (non-English) music that for vocals I sometimes don't want to understand the words but just appreicate the human voice as an instrument. Not speaking anything except English and Hungarian, that's easy

I have found a couple of ways to expand my knowledge and experience and they are to buy compilations where you know only one or two artists (to give you a basis for the rest of the content) and then buy albums by those you like. The other is to buy albums simply on spec, sometimes based on the cover art (yes, I can be that experimentally shallow!) and other times by the notes on the back - the recording studio, the year, the label (if it's a small obscure one).

Example - and I might regret it - is that Mark from Focal, when he recently swapped my speakers over, left me a sampler "Focal 6 - The Spirit of Sound" and track two is Molly Johnson, Melody. It's "jazz" but something about her vocal hooked me quite well, so onto the web and 3 CDs on the way from play.com.

[Joe]

I would consider myself a listener of varied taste, but I don't "understand" music. I can't. I have had many a professional musician try to educate me especially in the weird world of "keys" but it simply doesn't sink in. I watched the rather good TV series "How Music Works" which was entertaining but didn't work either

It's the same with me (and I also watched 'How Music Works'). It may be something to do with being crap at maths; I've found people who are maths whizzes are often very good with music.

[The Grand Wazoo]

People who are good at languages are also often good with music..............

I'm crap at maths & I can barely speak my native tongue..........I just go with what I feel.

However, I feel '2 & 2' make 'oui monsieur'