Before I start to write this, just let me head off all the jabs at me I can see coming. Yes, I realize that there have been quite a few articles about music in the Times in the past few months, and I promise you, I am in no way attempting to steal from Glitsygrl's lovely Music Scene articles. Keep in mind that I meant to write this ages ago (think way back around Christmas-time) and, being such a huge procrastinator it's almost legendary, I have only just now mustered up the time, patience and motivation to get cracking on it. :) Now, on to the article!

I've begun to notice something lately, dear Whyvillians. Rock, rap, hip-hop, and country music have taken over our radio stations, invaded our TVs and eaten our iPods. I've done a few (very) informal polls around my high school recently about what type of music people tended to listen to most. The majority said country, hip-hop, rock or rap -- even the few who told me they listened to "anything" explained, when asked to elaborate, that to them, "anything" meant only those four previously mentioned genres.

Out of all the people I asked, only two or three mentioned a different music style. Now, I know many of you don't really care, but this presents a problem for people like me who listen to everything, and I do mean everything, we can get our hands on. That includes swing, jazz, blues, soul, folk, opera, show tunes, and, yes, even the dreaded pop music. I don't listen to the radio because, unless I'm really in the mood for rock or country, none of the music I enjoy is on there.

The closest I've come to being able to talk about my favorite music in the past month was an argument about swing with my best friend's mom. If I mentioned Glenn Miller to anyone at my school who I'm not friends with or related to (because if a person is close to me you can bet I've already force-fed them my music to the point of insanity :D) I would be met with a blank stare, a pat on the head, or the ever-popular "You hit who in the what now?"

I'm not trying to insult your music tastes in any way, Whyvillians, I promise. :) But the best advice I could give anyone about music is to branch out on their tastes as much as they possibly can. Three years ago I listened to death metal and only death metal and anyone who tried to tell me to do otherwise probably would have been on the business end of a smack upside the head. After I started high school, however, I slowly began to try new things and listen to new music, and I enjoy and appreciate it so much more now. Honestly, if you haven't yet, branch out, and you might as well because if you don't I'll probably keep nagging you until you do or go crazy. :) I mean well!

And now for the fun part! I present you with Kirsten's Big Bad List of Awesome Music Recommendations, because I can and because, well, everyone needs somewhere to start, do they not?

Swing

If we're talking swing music we have to start with the kings -- Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller. I love Goodman and Miller (and swing music in general) because it always, always makes me want to dance, and you can't go wrong with dancing. Both men were leaders of 'Big Bands' which were extremely popular in the mid-1920s to early-1940s. The Benny Goodman Orchestra and the Glenn Miller Orchestra are the type of bands you've never heard of but probably know at least one of the songs off by heart. Miller's "In the Mood" is arguably the most well-know swing song ever written and I've played Goodman's "Sing Sing Sing" for my friends tons of times and almost always get the same response: someone gleefully humming along with the music before shouting, "Hey! This was on The Simpsons!"

Recommended songs:

"Sing Sing Sing (With a Swing)" by the Benny Goodman Orchestra
"In the Mood" by the Glenn Miller Orchestra.

Jazz

Jazz mashes together blues, swing, African-American and Western music traditions, plus a heavy dose of improvisation to come up with something completely unique and almost impossible to dislike. It's low, it's sultry, and if you let it, it'll suck you right in and never let you go. In a good way, of course. ;-) Here we've got so many amazing jazz musicians it was almost impossible to choose just one, but in the end I had to go with Nat King Cole, a man who, if still alive, would own my soul. I came across his music completely by chance (through David Bowie's cover of one of his less popular songs on the Moulin Rouge soundtrack, because I'm sure you were just dying to know!) and now that I think of it, he is probably the artist who got me addicted to jazz in the first place. Nat King Cole became popular in the early 1930s and remained a jazz icon until the day he died in 1965. Other fabulous and popular jazz artists include Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald.

Recommended songs:

"Nature Boy" and "Embraceable You" by Nat King Cole
"Hello, Dolly" by Louis Armstrong
"My Funny Valentine" by Ella Fitzgerald

Pop

A lot more relevant to the music scene we know and a heck of a lot harder to convince my friends to listen to thanks to people like Justin Timberlake and Hilary Duff who took over the genre, you don't really need me to introduce pop to you. Most people who don't like pop music dismiss any artist as soon as they see him or her classified as a "pop singer," but believe me, there are a lot of wonderful pop artists out there who need a little love and recognition.

It'll probably come as no surprise to anyone who has ever heard me talk about music that I've picked pop singer-songwriter Sondre Lerche to recommend to you lovely Whyvillians. Sondre Lerche was born in Norway but now at 25 years old lives in New York, New York. His songs are fun and intelligent (though sometimes contain awkward phrases as a result of a not-quite-perfect grasp on English) and he is extremely devoted to his relatively small fanbase. Another pop artist I can't get enough of is Rufus Wainwright, a Canadian-American who comes from a very talented family and, in addition to five recorded albums, has had recorded many songs for popular films and TV shows.

Recommended songs:

"Minor Detail" by Sondre Lerche
"Hellelujah" and "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" by Rufus Wainwright

I could probably go on like this forever but I suppose I should stop before I put you all to sleep. Anyway, humour me and try a few of these out, or steal some of your parents' old cassette tapes, or listen to some showtunes, or find some music you've never heard of before -- you almost definitely won't regret it, and if nothing else, it'll keep me off your back!

This is Kirbie393, over and out, off to stop ignoring my roommate and attempt to help her coax our coveted red white-board marker out from underneath her desk.