I'm beginning to think that we are simply at a cultural place and time in which by and large the "good stuff" musically is going to be found on the outskirts and fringes of what is well-known and mainstream. And perhaps we've been here for a couple of decades already.

There might be many reasons for this; sociologists could have a field day. I point it out here merely to say that if my goal here is to highlight intelligent, quality music, I might not be including that many more mainstream artists even if they were in fact offering free and legal MP3s. 

At the same time, I do not discriminate against popular musicians, either. This is an unfortunate reflex in the alternative/indie rock universe, where fans and critics alike seem so often to reject music out of hand once it's popular--and often, therefore, turn on musicians once enjoyed simply because they have gotten popular. This is silly. Music isn't automatically bad just because it's popular, and music isn't automatically good just because it's obscure. The internet has made it painfully clear just how unfortunately unlistenable a lot of obscure music is.

The bottom line here on Fingertips is that good music is good music--it's in "the grooves," as they used to say back in the day. So don't be frightened by the unknown names--the musicians here are making some great music, they deserve to be heard, and they're making it easy for you by letting you upload their songs for free.






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