Advantages: Panpipes, hip-hop, throat singing and the value of enjoying music
Disadvantages: Academics, choirmasters and performance art

...For me writing about 2007 in music means simply writing about 2007, almost all of it, and for that reason this review (or whatever you wish to call it) is going to be a long one. I apologise in advance. Very little of my year was focused around anything else. And so this was my 2007 in music; a few of the things that I studied, performed, heard, and learnt. January At the start of 2007 I was a third of a way through a masters in ethnomusicology. Ethnomusicology is the study of world music, more or less. Although a masters in ethnomusicology mostly involves a lot of talking about how to study world music rather than actually studying the music itself; theory and ethics and fieldwork strategies and how to write about 'others' without calling them savages. During January I developed my hatred of the word 'representation... Read review

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Advantages: Music is essential to many people's lives
Disadvantages: Has it gone too far in on many levels???

...Hello all!!! For my next op, I've decided to raise the temperature a little bit, because I do have the bad feeling some people may be steamed from this op. If you are, just remember that opinions are like a**holes, everyone's got them and they all stink. LOL, ok, ok, seriously though, I think I make some really good points here as to where music has gone as far as the 21st century is concerned. So, sit back, read and have an open mind....to me it makes sense, and I hope it does to some extent to all of you too. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<GROWING UP WITH MUSIC>>>>>>>>>>>>> Exactly....who has not grown up with music? Even if you were raised by wolves in the Rockies or the Alps, or if you have been kept in isolation, I'm sure that every single person has listened to some form of music one way or another... Read review

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Advantages: Mildly entertaining?
Disadvantages: Rather self-indulgent. And quite long.

...Music has been a part of my life (albeit a part with varying importance) since before I started secondary school. For the past two years I’ve done nothing but music. And so my 10 Musical Memories aren’t, like thingywhatsits and leaofRafkis, my favourite tracks and the memories they embody, but instead some of most memorable and entertaining musical moments from the past eight years of my life. I realize this review is pure self-indulgence, but I hope that some ciaoers have the patience to read it, and even enjoy it. Like chocolate but…without the patience. Hmm. Anyway…Thank you for reading! 1. School carol services in Norwich cathedral Every year at Norwich High I used to sing in the annual carol service. And they were never particularly spectacular, or momentous, but they just became a fundamental part of what my Christmas was... Read review

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Advantages: Lots of freeware and shareware
Disadvantages: The site is very popular and can be a bit slow at times

...If, like me, you're into the world of computer music you should check out the Shareware Music Machine http:www.sharewaremusicmachine.com They list free and shareware music software for both audio and midi composition. This is the best free music software site I know, I use several of the programs listed and can highly recommend them. Music software if divided into groups such as MP3, editors, sequencers etc, and further divided into Windows/Mac etc. which makes navigation extremely simple. The site is up-dated weekly and you can subscribe to a free email newsletter which list all of the new software listed on their site.... Read review

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Advantages: Great Musical Songs.
Disadvantages: Not as good as origanal artistes.

...Martine McCutcheon's Musicality CD Who is Martine McCutcheon? Born 14th May 1976 - Hackney London - Martine trained at Italia Conti Stage School and at 15 was picked to be in girl band Milan, the toured with East 17 in 1994. It was in January 1995 they she got her big break when she was cast as Tiffany Raymond in East Enders a long running soap on BBC1. She stayed with the soap and before long 'Tiff' was a household name. Her dramatic relationship with Grant Mitchell kept viewers avidly watching, but despite her success she decided to leave the soap for good and was killed off. Martine then went on to pursue her acting career and was a hit with her first single 'Perfect Moment'. In 2001 Martine took to the stage as Eliza Doolittle in My fair Lady. Most recently Martine most recently starred, as Hough grants love... Read review

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Advantages: Free Mp3 downloads, cheap online CD prices
Disadvantages: Artists out of pocket??

...The debate between the Music Industry and the Internet has been on-going since Shawn Fanning (a university student at the time) first developed Napster (A music community for sharing MP3). The Internet has certainly raised a lot of issues since it's existance. Internet pundits had raised issues on politics and pornography to great length, but it was a suprise to most, that one of the most important issues would revolve around a compression technology called MP3 or MPEG Audio Layer 3. Ultimately, we are raising 2 issues here: * The availability of illegal MP3s * Online CD retaliers purchasing their goods outside of europe to sell in the UK The first part of this debate will focus on the MP3 side. What was all the fuss about? *********************************************** Many complaints were made about Napster... Read review

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Advantages: No exams, modular courses, small friendly department
Disadvantages: Sometimes not enough practise rooms, no coffee machine!

...Like many sixth formers, when I was seventeen I was faced with the daunting prospect of reading a very, very thick textbook. And it wasn't for any of my A-level courses, either - it was the Big UCAS Book of Places To Spend The Next Three Years of Your Life - or, a directory of universities and courses. It was HUGE. I was TERRIFIED. Fortunately for me, I'd already pretty much established that I wanted to study music. [Most of my teachers had realised this in my GCSE years when I tended to miss their classes due to viola and piano lessons...] I had convinced myself that I wanted to stay somewhere close to home, which was in Oxford - probably on a bringing-washing-home basis, to tell the truth - so I went to look at nearby universities. I'll try not to dwell on these too much because this is supposed to be about the York Music course... Read review

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Advantages: I've failed to think of any
Disadvantages: It's pathetic, it's killing real music and it can even be dangerous

...Ooh, I could rant my head off over this, I really could! But you probably don’t want to see, or even listen, to me when I’m in one of my stressy fits, so I’ll try and make this op as coherent and balanced as possible. I just wish that the ‘musicians’ of today would do the same with their ‘songs’. Before I wrote this op, for the purpose of research I went and checked out this week’s Top 40 chart. As this represents the most popular music which is most widely listened to, I feel this represents the core of modern music most accurately. As I expected, I was not impressed by what I found. First, I crossed out all the songs which are cover versions. Next, I scribbled through the tracks which display all the lyrical ingenuity of an inebriated monkey, repeating the same phrases over and over until they bore into your mind. Subsequently, I... Read review

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Advantages: Interesting read, informative
Disadvantages: Not a complete history of 60's music

..."The sixties began in the summer of 1956, ended in October of 1973 and peaked just before the dawn on 1 July, 1967 during the set by Tomorrow at the UFO Club in London." With this statement Joe Boyd sets the tone for his fascinating and very personal potted history of popular music in the 60's. In fact the book is more of a sketchy autobiography of Boyd than it is a complete guide to music in that period. He by no means covers the subject extensively but rather personally however since he was such an influential part of the 'scene' at that time his personal recollection do cover a very wide span of music and the music does give you a cultural feel for time. Joe Boyd is an American born in 1942 from a white very middle class background; he first discovered a love of music from listening to his parent's old scratchy blues and jazz... Read review

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Advantages: Some good tunes, suitable for anyone any age
Disadvantages: Also some poor quality tunes, getting worse each time a new ones out

...Now That's What I Call Music Vol.69 Complication Album This is the 69th United Kingdom version of the Now That's What I Call Music volumes as the title would suggest. I had been waiting for this album to come out for a while as I usually buy the Now albums for something to listen to in the car, this album came out on the 17th March 2008, all of the music on these albums is from the recent official chart listings. Now That's What I Call Music albums come out every 6months and have the Number 1 charts singles over that time as the contents, these albums are usually just known as Now 69 etc as it's easier and not as long as the full title! Now69 is the latest version of this set to come out. It was bought out by the record labels EMI and Virgin. This album as like the other previous volumes consists of two disks with the following... Read review

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