Aficionado: a person who likes, knows about, and appreciates a usually fervently pursued interest or activity
I started buying and collecting music when I was 8 years old, a habit that still takes up most of my free time. Back in the day when the music you bought had a physical presence, going to a record store was my favorite activity. This was the place to spend most the entirety of my meager allowance on vinyl records. In those ancient times the record store was not just a means to pay for music, but a place to meet other music lovers who voiced their opinions about their likes and dislikes, talk to store owners who were versed with most of the music they carried, and browse endlessly through stacks of LPs in the bins. The store was were you learned about new music and socialized with fellow music aficionados, many of them introverts who you would not otherwise meet. In short – it was a place to socialize, with music driving the conversation. Back then there were no recommendation engines, no playlists and no blogs to spark your interest in music you were not familiar with. This blog, and its face on facebook, is an attempt to recreate that sort of engagement in today’s virtual world.
Music moves me, and I particularly respond to melodic and melancholic music as you will notice when you browse through the posts in this blog. My tastes are quite eclectic, with soft spots for the British folk scene of the late 1960s, acid folk, the classic era of Progressive Rock, jazz from the 1950s to the 1970s (bebop, post bop, cool, free, jazz/rock), classic blues and blues rock, lush orchestrations in popular songs, romantic and modern classical music, early music. As I said, eclectic. If the music was made primarily to fulfill an artistic urge rather than someone’s pocket, and is made with a high level of proficiency and skill, I’m all ears.
The posts in this blog are a journal of the musical pieces that left the most impression on me. As the cliché goes, this is the soundtrack of my life. There are thousands of those pieces that affected me at various stages in my life, so this is going to be a long process. As another cliché goes, it is all about the journey, not the destination. I hope that this blog informs you of music you may have not known about, or reminds you how great is the music you already know.
If you like the music articles I share here, you may also be interested in daily music recommendations I post on my blog page on facebook.
For feedback, questions and everything in between, please use the form below:
thank you very much for your sharing, one of the most valued blogs on the net for me
Sounds like me. I just don’t have a blog
That’s why I have this blog. Enjoy it. You may also like the daily song recommendations on my facebook page https://www.facebook.com/musicaficionadoblog/
Thank you, thank you very much I discovered this site today while trying to understand better Relayer, my favorite record. I learned a lot thanks to your explanations and enriched my understanding of this masterpiece. Next to Tarkus, Selling England by the Pound,Tales From topographic ocean, Animals, where have I known you before and cook, Relayer is my favorite.
Thanks Again
Hi Rafael, thank you for the compliments and glad you liked the article about Relayer. You may also be interested in other prog-related articles here: https://musicaficionado.blog/tag/prog/
Aamaing article! Thank you!
Hey I’m Kobe I am not really Kobe but this is how the Dictaphone spelled your name LOL. I am new to your log and website. I am 69 years old and a veteran keyboardist. I grew up with the folk music of my mother she was Macedonian. Also Chuck Berry, Elvis, The Beatles you know you were there. I got turned to Yusef Lateef, Miles Davis well you know Bebop, Soul jazz, Jazz Rock by my guitarist older brother. Thanks for contributing to my insatiable musical Journey please keep on keeping on
Leon Thomas is an interesting lesser known Jazz Singer but well worth your time if you haven’t already found him. There are some avant-garde jazz musicians, Andrew Cyril, Cecil Taylor and others that they are connected with is a nice little diversion into the esoteric New York Jazz scene of the early sixties, might be a little too obscure for your taste
Funny that you mention Leon Thomas. Currently working on an article discussing his contribution to a different group on artists. Coming soon.