. . . sometimes I lose a little faith. KEXP is pretty much the best music-oriented radio station that I know of.  They have pretty well-rounded  programming that caters to most musical tastes, if only for 3 hours at a time. The djs are very knowledgable and experienced (and the ones I’ve met are nice people, too). I give them some of my time and [probably too much of] my money. But every once in a while, the station has a way of making me say, “Huh?”

For example, you can say all the nice things you want about the station, but if you have anything negative to say, you best keep it to yourself (or in your blog). I agree that some people get a little crazy sometimes and take out their anger on the dj. But I know of at least one dj who will get seriously offended even if you just state simply, “I don’t like that song.” I would think that would be good information to have if one’s job boils down to being an entertainer. If you do something that nobody likes, would you really want to keep doing it?

And then there’s this sort of elitism I feel sometimes with regard to the station. A kind of “we say what’s cool and what’s not” kind of vibe. Only sometimes. Which makes the fact that they are now playing Flight of the Conchords’ “Business Time” a wee bit ironic or something. I first heard this song several years when a friend of mine forwarded a .wav file of it to me. At the time, it was apparently a big hit on the Mountain. (The Mountain is a very cracker-type radio station in Seattle. They play Dave Matthews, ’nuff said.) I don’t know exactly how long ago that was, but I could swear I still lived in West Seattle, which would put it at more than four years. And at least two years ago, the kiwis were performing it on Conan O’Brien. So why is it now cool enough to be played regularly on KEXP? Because now the Flight of the Conchords are cool enough to have their own HBO series.

Or at least that’s how I see it.

Several months ago, I gave my mom copies of all of Elliott Smith’s studio albums (I felt ok about that since he’s not going to miss out on any profits). I had mentioned the Beatles’ influence and asked her what she thought, having grown up a die hard fan. A bit later, she came back to me saying that, yes, she did hear the Beatles, but more specifically she heard George Harrison.

Last night, I was at my computer, searching for some Marty Robbins to put on my iPod. One thing led to another, and I found myself watching clips of Elliott Smith on YouTube and reading his Wikipedia article. In the Beatles influence section, the article mentions some of the solo works Elliott played regularly in concert. Making the list was only one Lennon song and three of Harrison’s. I’ll just have to take their word for it, but, coincidence?

I have no way of corroborating with first hand knowledge. I only went to one Elliott Smith performance at the Showbox here in Seattle, which, regrettably, I don’t even remember. I do have the ticket stub as proof, though. Nor am I the type of person to take note of such details. The idea that my mother would make the distinction among the Beatles is impressive to me. Sure, I heard the band’s influence in Smith’s work, but beyond that, I wouldn’t be able to make any definitive statements.

There are some people who know everything there is to know about their favorite artists (in whatever genre or medium). However, even regarding the one musician I “completely” obsessed over, I am seriously lacking. I made a pilgrimage to Trent Reznor’s home town, and I religiously traversed the homonymously named street during the five years I lived in New York. But ask me to name all the songs on any Nine Inch Nails album, and I’m sure I couldn’t do it. And there are only a handful of albums to choose from.

I do enjoy reading about artist’s lives, the paths they’ve taken and how it affects their work. I do think a lot about the music as I’m listening to it. And I suppose all those facts and ideas are stored in my brain somewhere. Mostly, however, I just feel like it goes in one head hole and out another.