Music CDs

Originally published in the Ketchikan Daily News, April 2006; written by Lisa Pearson.

You might think we’re all about books, but this week the Ketchikan Public Library wants to help you get your groove on. Whether your tastes run to Turkish pop music, the Velvet Underground, an album of standards sung by Rod Stewart, or a rousing Sousa march, we have something on our CD shelves for you. We have expanded our music collection recently, and we now have over 1,400 CDs from which to choose.

In our Global Music section, we have tried to fill a few geographic holes and beef up the more popular genres. “African Groove”, compiled by the popular world music label Putamayo, contains an eclectic mix of songs from all over Central and Southern Africa. “Technology meets tribal beats on this funky blend of contemporary African dance, electronica and hip-hop”, according to the back cover. If you’re looking for something a little more laid-back, try “Asian Lounge” or “South Pacific Islands”, some other Putamayo creations. By scouring the ends of the earth and leaving no musical stone unturned, we even managed to find some fun albums by artists from the exotic locale of Canada: Great Big Sea and Ashley MacIssac.

Native American music has a wide audience here in Ketchikan, and we have added three new discs of traditional and contemporary Native music. “The Rough Guide to Native American Music” features such popular artists as Primeaux & Mike, Ed Lee Natay and Chester Mahooty. “A Native American Odyssey”, produced by Putamayo, presents an even wider range of indigenous sounds, including music from the Amazon, the Andes, and Northern Canada. Carlos Nakai brings out the haunting beauty of Native American flute music in his album “Earth Spirit”.

In addition to expanding the geography of our Global Music collection, we have filled in some chronological gaps in our Rock music section by adding some classic albums from the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. Look for albums from legendary greats such as Arethea Franklin, Blood Sweat and Tears, the Velvet Underground, and the Kinks. Indulge your New Wave nostalgia with Depeche Mode, the Police, the Cars, and the Eurythmics. We’ve even added some selections for those of you with only a hazy understanding of what the words ‘vinyl’ and ‘LP’ mean. Tracy Chapman’s breakout album “Crossroads”, R.E.M., Madonna’s ‘Immaculate Collection” and the CD that started the grunge craze – “Nevermind” by Nirvana – can all be found on our shelves now.

If you generally avoid music composed after 1910, we also have quite a few new classical discs as well. Enjoy Leopold Stokowski’s interpretation of Bizet’s Carmen, or listen to Leonard Bernstein lead the New York Philharmonic in a performance of Mussorgsky’s two greatest works: “Pictures at an Exhibition” and “Night on Bald Mountain”. If you really want to get your toe tapping, then select “Gilbert and Sullivan Favorites” or “Sousa Marches and Stirring Marches of the USA Services”. Open the windows, crank up the volume, and share a little culture with the kids next door. They’ll thank you in the end.

Is your head spinning with the endless possibilities? Well, a journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step (according to Lao-tzu). Come down to the library, scan our CD racks, and grab whatever catches your eye. CDs check out for 3 weeks, and it’s free, so you can wallow in your favorite music or dabble in a totally foreign genre. We even have a stereo and headphones available so you can try the CDs out before you take them home. What a deal!