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Liner Notes

A weekly column by Tampa Tribune pop music critic Curtis Ross

By CURTIS ROSS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 25, 2008

For me, the late '70s and early '80s were a period of major musical discoveries. With little more than Creem magazine and a couple of like-minded friends to guide me, it seemed that every week or two would bring a new, life-altering band into my life.

A friend would buy a Talking Heads album and I'd buy one by Bob Marley. We'd listen, swap records, compare notes. A friend would visit from college with a Jam album. Creem would rave about Gang of Four. I'd go to a party and discover someone who owned a Dead Kennedys record. And on and on.

No Internet, no satellite radio and hardly any new music on TV. And yet a huge portion of my record collection to this day is bands I discovered in that roughly five-year period.

I could probably discover 10 times that many groups listening to XM while driving my kids to school in the morning, and then coming to work and scrolling the Internet. And that's not to mention a couple of bin's worth of CDs I get here in the mail every week.

The truth is, I probably do encounter 10 times that many bands on any given work day. But how many do I remember? Very, very few.

Does that mean the music made today isn't as good? I'm tempted to say yes, but I'm not sure that's it. Besides, with so many performers vying for attention, it's hard to give each one a fair shake.

In the '80s, even albums I eventually decided were mediocre got played enough times that, if they had anything to hook me with, they could have.

Now there's a constant flood of new music and finding the treasure among the flotsam and jetsam gets more difficult every year.

If there's one thing I want to do through this column and anything else I write about music, it's to introduce readers to new music they might love. That's also what I count on my music-loving friends for. So if you're hot for a new act, let me know. Falling in love with a new band never gets old.

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