SYR: Visit your local library
LOCATION: Syracuse, NY
In the Village of Camillus sits the Maxwell Memorial Library. When I was a kid my parents would bring me there and just let me be. I’d wander around with my head sideways trying to read the spine of books on the shelves. I spent a lot of time in the “Sports” section.
I used to dream of being a sportscaster like Bob Costas (a Syracuse University alum), or Doug Logan. Doug was a local sportscaster in Syracuse and was the voice of the Orange (Syracuse University sports). I remember listening to his commentary through my little Sony Dream Machine radio next to my bed when players like Derrick Coleman and Billy Owens used to play in the Dome.
Fast-forward 15 years to the present and I find myself again excited about having a library down the street. I’ve been reading “Music Lust,” by Nic Harcourt in attempts to learn how to pick music that suits my mood. Since moving back to Syracuse for work my mood has been on a positive note. So with that I’ve found myself intrigued by the music of Big Bands like Count Basie. Count Basie was a swing jazz piano player. Thanks to the catalog of the Onondaga County Public Library I was able to find “Count Basie / The Complete Atomic Basie” from 1957. Click on that link to hear tracks from the album thanks to last.fm.
NOTE: Copying copyrighted music is illegal. If you like what you sample from the library consider picking up a used copy on Amazon or peep the best indie record store in Syracuse, The Soundgarden.
