Volume 27, Issue 3, August 26, 2004

MUSIC

Death to Music! (before it's the death of me)

a note from the editors and staff of the music section

Introductions can be hell. Certainly writing this one has left us a little weary. We're not usually so self-indulgent as to compose a letter from the editor(s), but it seems appropriate just this once.

The music section is changing and not just in the renaming.

Wait. Let us start over.

Music writers, and usually readers, tend to be audiophiles. Albums are obsessively alphabetized; Top Five lists are traded like baseball cards; music magazines are treated like bibles. Frankly, we're music geeks. The only thing that keeps us from feeling like total nerds is that we know that there are others out there just as fanatical about the recorded medium as we are.

And because of this, the music section has to evolve.

We're tired of being hype machines. We're not going to settle for being amateur public relations flacks any longer. We're striking out into the unknown and we have no idea where it will take us. But, we've made enough mix tapes to keep us moving.

Music brings people together. It creates subcultures and identities. Lifestyles, fashion trends, even political movements coalesce around it.

More than entertainment, music is a primal force. It reaches deep within us and touches something essential. Life would be unbearable without it.

The point is, music is an all-consuming passion for us and we want to express that. This year, we'll be taking some chances, reaching for something bigger than the details of who's coming to town, who's got a new CD out, or which bands broke up. We'll still be covering those things, but our emphasis is shifting and widening to include the less tangible aspects of the musical experience.

You might be wondering what exactly that means. Don't worry-we're wondering the same thing. It'll be a lot of fun finding out.

We do have a few solid goals in addition to our somewhat nebulous desire to capture more of the passion we feel for music. We want to cover local bands and events more frequently than we've done in the past. We'll be looking hard at the culture of music and the way it affects people's lives.

Death to Music! Long live the Audiophiles!

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