Saturday, August 09, 2003
I posted today on I Love Music. (one of the 7 comments under a thread titled "PopMatters the website". Today's winner for most posts on a day's topic, currently 203 comments under a heading "The Village Voice Thinks You're Stupid".)
Yes, I like PopMatters, too. And today more than ever, because all the pieces just fell together -- everything lined up perfectly and communications worked as they should so that some good could come into the world. OK, I write and publish on PopMatters, so of course I like the place, but let me tell you what just happened.
As I zero in on this, remember I live in the same world as you, where it often seems everybody is concerned only with advancing their own careers and personal agendas, where individual or corporate profitability are the yardsticks by which all worth is measured or even valued, and where everybody tailgates and nobody donates blood. I never would have dreamed that this latest development would ever materialize, which only goes to prove the world is still perfectly capable of providing good surprises.
I wrote my original review on Jessie Mae Hemphill for PopMatters after hearing Jessie's record broadcast on a small local radio station as I was winding down through the hills on my rare commute into town. Her music was so captivating that I thought I'd like to hear some more. So I moseyed in to the local record store, not really having much hope as the odds of me finding a copy of that very record were remote indeed, especially if you can imagine my little hick town. But nonetheless there was a used copy of the CD in the bin before me like one of those happy coincidences or small miracles you hear about.
Well, after listening some more, I decided to write about this music. After doing some background research and emailing people back and forth, I learned Jessie was in some genuine difficulty. There were some other obstacles mixed in for me, as I preferred the original cover photo where she was holding her Handy awards, but that original LP had long ago fallen from print and was rare as hen's teeth. But I cast about and asked for help from complete strangers in a blues discussion group, and several people (one guy lived in France!) went out of their way to scan and send me the cover. Another even set up the album on a chair in his living room and photographed it, sending me a digital picture!
Having learned more about Jessie along the way, I also felt a little guilty having bought the CD used (I figured Jessie wouldn't get any royalties and I knew by then she could use the dough) so I mailed her a little bit of money with a copy of the article once it was published (because I also figured she didn't have ready access to the internet).
Truthfully, as even the CD was "out of date", PopMatters was likely the only magazine that would even consider such an article for publication, especially by a humble hack such as I who holds no claim to fame or career.
Then a while back someone got in touch with me asking if it was okay to quote from the article. Now let me say, this form of courtesy is almost unheard of in the modern world, too, where most tend to look on articles and reviews as their property once the words hit print.
Here's what just recently showed up for Jessie, which I just found a few days ago on the internet:
Jessie Mae Hemphill Foundation.
So you see publications like PopMatters can play their part in helping to make a beneficial difference and even impact individual lives. So that's why I like PopMatters.
Best,
Barbara Flaska
¶ 8/09/2003 09:19:00 PM
Yes, I like PopMatters, too. And today more than ever, because all the pieces just fell together -- everything lined up perfectly and communications worked as they should so that some good could come into the world. OK, I write and publish on PopMatters, so of course I like the place, but let me tell you what just happened.
As I zero in on this, remember I live in the same world as you, where it often seems everybody is concerned only with advancing their own careers and personal agendas, where individual or corporate profitability are the yardsticks by which all worth is measured or even valued, and where everybody tailgates and nobody donates blood. I never would have dreamed that this latest development would ever materialize, which only goes to prove the world is still perfectly capable of providing good surprises.
I wrote my original review on Jessie Mae Hemphill for PopMatters after hearing Jessie's record broadcast on a small local radio station as I was winding down through the hills on my rare commute into town. Her music was so captivating that I thought I'd like to hear some more. So I moseyed in to the local record store, not really having much hope as the odds of me finding a copy of that very record were remote indeed, especially if you can imagine my little hick town. But nonetheless there was a used copy of the CD in the bin before me like one of those happy coincidences or small miracles you hear about.
Well, after listening some more, I decided to write about this music. After doing some background research and emailing people back and forth, I learned Jessie was in some genuine difficulty. There were some other obstacles mixed in for me, as I preferred the original cover photo where she was holding her Handy awards, but that original LP had long ago fallen from print and was rare as hen's teeth. But I cast about and asked for help from complete strangers in a blues discussion group, and several people (one guy lived in France!) went out of their way to scan and send me the cover. Another even set up the album on a chair in his living room and photographed it, sending me a digital picture!
Having learned more about Jessie along the way, I also felt a little guilty having bought the CD used (I figured Jessie wouldn't get any royalties and I knew by then she could use the dough) so I mailed her a little bit of money with a copy of the article once it was published (because I also figured she didn't have ready access to the internet).
Truthfully, as even the CD was "out of date", PopMatters was likely the only magazine that would even consider such an article for publication, especially by a humble hack such as I who holds no claim to fame or career.
Then a while back someone got in touch with me asking if it was okay to quote from the article. Now let me say, this form of courtesy is almost unheard of in the modern world, too, where most tend to look on articles and reviews as their property once the words hit print.
Here's what just recently showed up for Jessie, which I just found a few days ago on the internet:
Jessie Mae Hemphill Foundation.
So you see publications like PopMatters can play their part in helping to make a beneficial difference and even impact individual lives. So that's why I like PopMatters.
Best,
Barbara Flaska
¶ 8/09/2003 09:19:00 PM
