“There is no good music coming out today. It all sucks.”
Thus spake an acquaintance of mine a short while ago. I got ready to tell him that he sounded like his father, but I realized that I didn’t know his father. So I said something worse. That he sounded like my father.
But he had a point. Once upon a time radio was adventurous and experimental and unafraid to take risks. These days seem to be gone. Sure, some good stuff seeps through the cracks, but most of what gets played is of little or no interest to me.
The sad things is, so many people in my age group (mid 40’s) appear to have lost interest in music. They either cling to the stuff they loved when they were young, or just listen to the local radio stations and swallow whatever they happen to play.
My argument is always that there is a world of music out there to be discovered. So many disparate acts are writing and performing excellent music, but you won’t hear them on most radio stations and you damned sure won’t hear about them on MTV.
Of course, it’s asking a lot to expect people to plunk down cash in these uncertain financial times to check out an unknown recording artist. That’s a good way to have a big costly collection of CDs that you never play.
There is another place to check out the music that can’t be found anywhere else. It’s called No Pigeonholes. No Pigeonholes is a long running radio show that plays what used to be known as home tapers. Musicians recording their own music, free of any corporate interference or influence and sent in to the show. And as the title suggests, No Pigeonholes is unfettered by any shoehorn of style of music.
The host/DJ of No Pigeonholes is a man named Don Campau, and he’s been doing it for a long, long time. The heyday of home taping died out sometime around the late 90’s, as digital technology became cheaper and easier for just about anyone to use. Home recording is a more accurate term for what is being broadcast at the present.
But the spirit of home taping continues on, and it is thriving at No Pigeonholes. You won’t love everything that is played there. I don’t. But I do like a hell of a lot of it. Don does a nice job of mixing pop with some rockers and experimental music in most of the shows. He even did me an enormous favor by playing some of my late brother’s music on the show, which brought me great happiness. His spirit still lives on in music lovers’ speakers.
Some people I’ve talked to have seemed concerned about the quality of the recordings on No Pigeonholes. The answer is that the songs generally sound pretty good. It varies, of course, but for the most part they resemble conventional recordings. Most people here are big fans of independent publishing and filmmaking. Why not truly independent music?
I’ve heard all styles on No Pigeonholes: Rock, reggae, punk, world, soul, rap, country, experimental and just plain weird. As well as bizarre hybrids of all of the above. I also found an act that has become one of my all-time favorites: The Rudy Schwartz Project. I discovered Rudy Schwartz on No Pigeonholes this past Summer and I and my family have become completely addicted to this truly unique music.
I always get up on my soapbox and ask you to lay down your hard won dollars to support or to check something out. No Pigeonholes is podcast on a regular basis and the cost is exactly nothing. Free. As radio should be. I download every show and burn them to disc and listen to them as I drive around. Tuning in to a new show is always exciting and I can never anticipate what will be coming up. And listening to Don’s voice is as welcome and comforting as that of an old friend.
So if you’re not afraid of expanding your musical horizons and opening your mind to new and different types of music from all around the world, take a chance on No Pigeonholes. Go to Don’s site, download the latest show and sign up for the newsletter to get notice of all new podcasts. Don does a twice-monthly show for KKUP in Cuppertino, California. He also does some for Europe’s Radio Maribu, as well as original podcasts.
http://www.doncampau.com/
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