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So I've made one more step into the world where "digital," "virtual," "online" and "download" represent concepts so commonplace that the original nomenclature is already approaching obsolescence, like "radiotelephone," "automobile" and "jet airliner." Like Mr. Burns on "The Simpsons"...or Austin Powers' nemesis Dr. Evil ("laaay-serrrr")...people will soon show their age by how they use (or misuse) these terms.
And if anything on the above list makes you think of the Steve Miller Band instead of a type of "aeroplane," it still doesn't mean you're not old.
On the other hand, some terms are still useful and current even in this brave new paradigm. That first purchase I made, Bob Bennett's collection called "Matters of the Heart," is called an "album" even on the iTunes store. My understanding is it originally referred to the "book" that contained a set of records (made of vinyl or something similar)--a set because the higher rotation speeds (78 rpm) necessitated more discs. That package resembled a photo album and so the term came to mean a collection of songs released as a set, with a specific identity, cover art, etc., even though it may be on a single disc in a sleeve as most records came to be. The term survived the advent of cassettes and CD's and is now unrelated to the actual medium, at least for most of us.
But the important thing is the music, not the medium...and Bob Bennett's "Matters of the Heart" album is a classic that has aged well in the decades since its release. It was named "Album Of The Year" by CCM Magazine in 1982, and was later named one of the "Top 20 Christian Albums Of All Time." Bob hasn't had the fame (or notoriety) of more widely-known artists (even in the small pond of CCM) but then that's seldom an indication of enduring quality or relevance (usually the opposite). He's one of my top songwriting heroes, and his music has nourished my soul and spirit more than that of anyone else I can think of.
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More good news is that Bob's first album "First Things First" by ordering directly from him. This stuff is just too good to leave behind.
I'm just a man in a world full of men just like me
With a heart full of questions and answers
That seem to be somewhat connected
And a head full of preconceived notions
That manage to get in the way
And I find myself longing to return
Back to the place where I started
Back when I knew next to nothing
Back to the heart
Back to the heart of the matter
To the heart of the matter
Bob Bennett, "Heart of the Matter" from "Matters of the Heart" (available on iTunes)
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3 comments:
so lemme get this straight.... you finally ventured into the digital world of itunes, only to by OLD music??!! "You're Killing me smalls!"
Yes, this irony occurred to me as well but my post was too long as it was to bring it up. But I'm probably typical. Do you think most people want only new releases on new media? Cassettes...VHS...DVD?
When CD's came out people were buying new & old music like crazy so the music industry looked like a good investment to the big companies and they bought the labels up...so now it's driven by the demands of showing shareholders profit on quarterly earnings as much as anything else.
Besides, these kids today...whadda they know about music!
Well you may have purchased OLD MUSIC, but some of us appreciate it a lot! Thanks, Bob.
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