The Ultimate Rock Collection - Introduction

'Rock Music' is an incredibly viscous term. The phrase has attached itself to thousands of unique styles and millions of distinct bands. Miles separate Chuck Berry from Tortoise; true, if you dig down deep enough, you can see the roots of both bands twisting about each other, but the territory under the word 'Rock' in our musical atlas is quite a large world indeed. It is easy to get lost.

The Ultimate Rock Collection will attempt to act as a road map of sorts. Every other week or so, I will discuss an important landmark album well worth spending some time with. This feature will bore the expert, no doubt, but I trust the seasoned listener has already drawn his or her own legend of this wild land. These installments shall be for the new explorers.

Who are these explorers? They are the classical music or jazz fans who have never really strayed into Rock's realm past the boring sites advertised over and over again on their car radios. They are the new record buyers, grabbing the latest releases with passion but slowly growing convinced that something better or different might still be hiding in the rearview mirror. They are the many, many fans who know their neighborhoods well, be they punk, prog, or pop, but haven't really strayed far from the corner. They are those who want to absorb as much of this dazzling landscape as possible, but realizing that time and money are limited, now are searching for the most sublime monuments in this twisted world.

Are you interested? Could I entice you to buy one, only one album every other week that you might not otherwise purchase? Could I coax you into spinning that album a few times, opening your mind and letting the music have a chance to work into your soul? Naturally, you are not likely to enjoy every album I recommend, but I will do my best, and I will proceed with the naive faith that someone might find a new favorite or two. I will strive to cover this crazy country with enough thoroughness to leave us with a rock collection that won't just gather dust, but will become a part of the soundtracks of our lives.

If you are interested, know that I will post my first album soon. The world won't quake or shatter, but join along, and it might just grow the slightest bit bigger. Our horizons are amazingly malleable and can always stretch out further.