I Love Rhapsody!

Here's my latest thing. I absolutely LOVE Rhapsody at www.realrhapsody.com. You pay $9.ninety-something a month for a membership, and you have streaming access to whatever music selections they have. It's almost like having a huge CD collection without having to store or care for them. I say almost, because I have found a few tunes that aren't available for whatever reason. Sometimes it's just not part of their repetoire yet, or sometimes the artist or record label still wants you to pay to listen to it. You have to pay additional fees to burn the tunes onto CD, but I don't have a CD burner yet anyway; so for me it's great. Whenever I log onto the computer the first thing I do is open Rhapsody and play whatever I'm in the mood to hear.

One of the reasons I like it so much is because there are songs I've been wanting to hear for a long time that I couldn't justify buying. I found them here. And in looking for them, I've been reminded of many other songs I'd forgotten about but absolutely love, especially ones I'd listened to on a regular basis years and years ago.

That brings me to my next topic. Those who know me well know that my taste in music is. . . well, square. That's it. Just plain square. I actually like quite a variety of music, really. Oldies, classic rock, pop, new age. . . and more. But some of my favorites are for squares. For example, I've only been to a handful of concerts in my life, and most of them include--and I'm just going to put it out there--John Denver, Roger Whittaker (twice, actually), and Neil Diamond (shut up, Terry). Add Chris De Burgh and Harry Belafonte to that list, and you've pretty much got my current Rhapsody playlist. I know. But growing up, my record collection consisted of what my parents let me play and what my older sisters left behind. And I'm not ashamed--OK, maybe I am a little ashamed--to say I loved it! As a matter of fact, at age 13 I was a member of the Roger Whittaker fan club! OK, maybe I've gone too far.

So, today I'm going to post my list of Square Favorites for you to enjoy or laugh at, whichever you prefer.

John Denver: "Matthew;" "This Old Guitar;" "Calypso." I like most of his stuff, but these are my current favorites. And "Toledo" is good for a laugh.

Neil Diamond (shut up, Terry): It's hard to pick my favorites, but lately I've been listening to "Done Too Soon" (which ends too soon); "Stones;" and "Coldwater Morning."

Roger Whittaker: "River Lady" is easily my favorite. I really like "Kilgary Mountain," too. I have to admit, although I feel disloyal, I don't like him as much as I used to.

Chris De Burgh: "All The Love I Have Inside" is an ongoing favorite, and lately I've been listening to "Where Peaceful Waters Flow" over and over. We'll see how long that lasts.

Harry Belafonte: "Old King Cole" and "Man Piaba" are really fun, and I love his versions of "Shenandoah," "Try To Remember," and "I'm Just a Country Boy."

So there you have it. I have no more secrets to hide. (Yeah, like THAT will ever be true!)