saving country music's essential for 2017

Saving County Music has named their essential county albums for 2017. They claim 2017 was a bumper year for country and roots artists. I agree. Saving Country Music honor roll includes 65 albums and they have put together a commendable list.

If your into country and americana music, this list is worth checking out. Do yourself a favor and look into it. You'll be glad you did.

Margo Price, who has a positive grade

Original post from Saving Country Music: Essential Albums List 2017

Saving Country' Music's 2017 Essential Albums List. https://t.co/F7o8AnDaxp 2017 was a bumper crop yer for great country and roots records. #savingcountrymusic A total of 65 albums.

— Mike Bertelsen (@mikebertelsen) December 30, 2017

npr's top 50 albums of 2017

2017: a year that kept us on edge, according to npr.org. There war music that captured our attention instantly. That's good.

nprmusic These are the 50 best albums of 2017. How many have you heard?
https://t.co/TbloSD72XV pic.twitter.com/6wvhNm5Cfi

— Mile High Company (@milehighcompany) December 23, 2017

the top 25 albums for 2017*

Metacritic * released their top albums for this past year. Metacritic scores selections from the many reviews that come with an artist's release. They distill many critics" voices into the single Metascore. Metacritic's mission is to help consumers make an informed decision about how to spend their time and money on entertainment. They believe user voices are important as critics and need to be used and scored to be made easy to use.

They carefully curate a large group of the world’s most respected critics assign scores to their reviews, and apply a weighted average to summarize the range of their opinions. Here is a rundown on how Metacritic does their scoring: Metacritic explanation.

The 25 best albums of 2017, according to critics https://t.co/R1HCaBLTn9 pic.twitter.com/7ptBvNPGZQ

— Business Insider (@businessinsider) December 7, 2017

our creativity is part of our self-story

We want to manufacture something that won't go to waste. We want to be a guardian of creation.

We can work for high quality. If you are a writer, for example, you can not be sure that you will be creative tomorrow. It's always up to others to judge our creativity.

Promote Creativity

We need to make more time for ourselves so we have more time to gaze at the heavens. This will allow us to be more creative tomorrow. Creativity is all about tomorrow. Meditation is creative idleness. We can take a walk and think about things. This will give us a fair balance in our lives. 

The great dream of life should be to boost the moral and economic dignity of human beings. I come from a family of farmers. I hold fond memories of those years. We sowed and we reaped. Through that time, I took many items for granted. I know now I should not have done that. As I reflect on my growing years, I realize how fortunate I was. I'm thankful for much.

I learned to foster dignity and contribute to the community. This came from work. Work elevates the dignity of culture and society. We have a universal wish to be treated with honesty, respect, and consideration. We need to feel respect for every single person. 

We Have Come to the World to Know

As creators, we want to convince people of our thoughts. Others want to convince me too. We need to strive for hope. We need to replace fear with hope. If we want to challenge the status quo, we have to be polite. We have to be five percent better tomorrow than we were today. This is progress.

Marcus Aurelius once stated that we should think as it were our last day on earth, but we should plan as if we will be here forever.

Aurelius

the beatles - rubber soul

Rubber Soul was truly a complete album.

This was their sixth studio album. Nearing completion of the album, they were a couple of songs short. Fourteen tracks were slated to be on Rubber Soul, but material was absent. On November 11, 1965, The Beatles entered the studio to complete the album.

Songs recorded that day were: You Won't See Me, Girl, Wait, and I'm Looking Through You. 

On December 3, 1965, Rubber Soul was in U.K. record shops.

Picture for the album cover

The Beatles started recording Rubber Soul on October 18. This album made them into a studio band. A grueling tour schedule, for them, would become a thing of the past. Rubber Soul is truly a complete album. A new phase of The Beatles was launched with this effort. 

lee morgan documentary

Lee Morgan was a jazz musician. Brash, crisp, and soulful. Last fall, in October 2016, a new documentary was released about Lee Morgan. It was released at the New York Film Festival. The U.S. premiere is tomorrow (03.24.17).

Lee Morgan

Lee was killed in 1972, at the age of 33, by his common-law wife Helen. He was between gigs at a jazz club called Slugs' in New York City's East Village.

The early 70's was a particularly hard time for jazz. The creative beat and soul of the genre seemed to be on trial at the start of the decade. Louis Armstrong died July 6, 1971. The free-spirited jazz men were contained, almost put into a box, where they were examined and criticized. This scene made a discourse for a reactionary style that had left several enthusiasts confused, but wanting what they craved: original and way out stylists. Lee Morgan was one of those musicians. He dug deep when jazz needed it. Jazz needed him. That particular notion was in its infancy when Lee was killed.

Armstrong

I Called Him Morgan is the documentary made by Kasper Collin. Lee's life emerges from video interviews with his friends and fellow musicians. Several of his friends are still mulling over his death. An audio interview with Helen, Lee's wife, is also included. This interview was conducted in 1996, shortly before she died. Helen's monolog determines the mood of the film. 

No one is reduced to a symbol in this film. Lee was made a project by Helen. She had made her apartment in Hell's Kitchen a studio for jazz musicians. She was an on and off again jazz singer. Her aspirations are still not clear but it's apparent she loved music and Lee. He had started to see another woman and this led to the confrontation that killed him.

The film is energized by the people who knew Morgan. Morgan's style of hard bop was a simplification of bebop. He created a musical paradox, an infusion of blues with bop's harmonious complexity. The original, way out Lee Morgan broke out of the box of criticism and examination. 

His music was open and free. His music pushed hard-boppers into free jazz.  The film is a moving portrait of a great musician who was cut down way too soon.

blogging

If you're new to blogging, there's much to keep up with.

There are many reasons to blog. Blogging and business go hand-in-hand, now that Social Media is prominent on the Internet. Business blogging gets more leads and garners more links.

Which Social Media platforms to use depends on the topic you blog about and the business your in.  Find and join groups and publish your posts regularly. This gets you more engagement.You must be active on Social Media. Contribute. Comment.

Go searching for Social Media platforms.

Social Media is your outlet to the world. Don't neglect it.

Start learning. There are plenty of references to help you (like this blog). This process is time-consuming and will test your research, writing, and patience. But hang in there.

Get started on the learning process by reading this post: 25 Blogging Tips For Newbies

Running a blog and adding content is rewarding and gratifying. You'll find this out.

be visible to engage

Engagement via Social Media requires patience and commitment. The combination of social media, social business, and sales networking can help drive visibility and engagement.

Create and curate content that appeals to your audience. Promote your content.

Custom, created content is where you'll get good mileage for your brand. Make content personal to add value. Give your audience and followers a reason to tune in. The reason to tune in is you.

Need help with content? I can help.