Surprise!

It feels like it used to happen much more often: I would be listening, to the radio, to the TV, and Surprise!..something would catch my ear and hold on, would stick in my head and become my New Favourite Song for at least a week. Maybe it was because it was back in the days of polymusical radio, before corporations took over the creation of content for commercial radio.

I know that musicians have continued to slave away, learning their craft while playing to half-houses with no cover until they have mastered whatever style they aspire to and appear, apparently suddenly fully-formed to the greater public. Once in a while their talent is so great that they manage to break onto the world stage without having to conform to some corporate ideal of what music ought to be, but more often they have to soldier through a commercial phase, either to disappear again when corporate support is withdrawn, or to arrive at a place where fans love them so much they can do whatever they want.

All I'm saying is that as the road got harder, the Surprise!s became fewer and further between. I'm also aware that this has to do with me aging, that I'm more attached to artistic lightweights from my adolescence than I am to serious talents who appeared when I was in my 30s, but I do still have those Surprise! moments, even now. They just don't happen very often.

So what a treat it was to click on a link a friend recommended and find this, a genuine old-fashioned band of skilled players with great songs and great vocals. This song was my first exposure, but I bought the album and found so many other songs that have become my New Favourite Song for a week or three each. Enjoy!