ah, it's that time of year, or just after it, when the self-respecting music nerd pauses to reflect on the year that was. when she (or he) reflects on everything they've bought or (increasingly) downloaded while continuing to search for an elusive hard copy that might not even exist.
since i used to do a radio show, this was normally the time when i would do my annual best of and, since old habits apparently die hard, i still do that sort of thing in my head.
of course, the world is a far different place than it was back in olden days (the 90s). the internet, computer software and dirt cheap production costs have brought an undreamt of democracy to music. no longer does an aspiring artist have to wait long years to find a penurious label willing to put their album in the queue of things to be released when next month's unemployment cheque clears. oh no, now everyone who has a computer and a dream can be a musician, distributed internationally, accessibly to all. and this…