Date:         Sat, 6 Jan 2007 22:23:32 -0500
Reply-To:     Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
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Sender:       Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
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From:         "Steven C. Barr(x)" <[log in to unmask]>
Subject:      Re: Libraries disposing of records
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----- Original Message ----- 
From: "phillip holmes" <[log in to unmask]>
> Courtney,
> Well, if we need to keep prog and disco around to explain punk, then I 
> guess you're right.  I'm a punk fan too.  It's amazing what you can 
> accomplish with 4 chords and a bunch of guys who can't play their 
> instruments all that well. 
> Libraries and institutions should all specialize in something so they 
> can do it well.  If you are a jack of every genre, can you give anything 
> enough time to do it justice?  I'm not talking about personal 
> collections.  I'm speaking of libraries and institutions.  There should 
> be a list of libraries, and what their collections consist of, so that 
> if a library gets a tasty rare bluegrass side (or other), and they 
> specialize in the complete /Pablo Cruise/ or /Tony Orlando and Dawn/, 
> they can send that Ralph Stanly acetate to someone who'll preserve and 
> archive the material.   That's just to hold the original specimen.  
> After it has been restored/preserved, the recording should be available 
> on the internet to other libraries.  I'm not an advocate of making all 
> recordings available to the public through the internet for many 
> reasons, and I AM a member of the public.  I like the idea of making 
> someone go the library for access.  I have multiple reasons for that 
> opinion.  Even though libraries are funded by tax dollars, they aren't 
> funded like Kellogg, Brown and Root.
> 
Interestingly enough, what this thread (and similar related threads on
the subject) proves is the fact that each one of us has a particular
personal definition of "ideal music, which needs to be preserved!"
Only difference being that many, if not most, of us, can do a better
job of explaining, justifying and defending our choices. Further,
there are many folks out there in Radio-Land whose defintion would
include ONLY classical music, inherently defining everything else
(or most of it) as "lowbrow trash" and thus unworthy of any effort!

Steven C. Barr