I’m gonna break one of my rules.

Today I got an e-mail from a manager, one of many, imploring me to write about his act. I told him this was the kiss of death, that if you ask for hype, you don’t get it.

But this woman asked for hype, and I’m doing all I can to avoid giving her props, since she asked for it, but I see no way to write about this track without giving her credit… Otherwise, how would I have known about the song?

The woman’s name is Val Heller. And she’s got a site, ValsList

Yes, I often check out your links. But I almost never respond. And I didn’t respond to Ms. Heller either… Because the public is fucking nuts, and you never know who will take this opening to bombard you, to load up your inbox and complain that you’re not doing your share, not helping them become rich and famous.

And almost always, what I find when I click through is forgettable. But I was intrigued by the simple layout of Ms. Heller’s site. Even more, I was intrigued by the pitch… Her desire to reach the baby boomers… Inside, I felt that she just might be recommending the kind of music that appeals to me.

Here’s the e-mail:

Hello Bob,

Love your blog. Wanted to introduce my new boutique music site www.valslist.com. I target the 25-boomer crowd. Most in this age group have lost track of music, so my site helps them get it back. I basically hand pick music that boomers will love (and their kids will envy.) I’m an iTunes affiliate so format and price are the same, only difference is with valslist you know WHAT to buy.

I believe this is an untapped market niche who will actually pay for music if they just knew what to buy. I’m getting positive feedback from users, artists and managers. Check out the site www.valslist.com – if you like it, perhaps you could help spread the word? Would love your feedback.

Kind regards,

Val

I winced at her desire to have me spread the word, she obviously wasn’t a regular reader. But, like I told you, I clicked through.

The homepage, after the initial splash page, is a bit too busy. But, when you click on "See Our Music Now" in the lower right-hand corner, you end up on a page that’s simpler. There wasn’t too much information, and the info I needed was included. And there weren’t too many playlists. I clicked on one.

Turns out the links lead you to thirty second snippets on iTunes. I hate snippets. But, as Al Kooper has stated time and again, in that short period of time you can capture the essence, you can discover that you actually like something.

And I didn’t like most of the unknown material, and most of it was unknown, but there was this one track by Stephen Kellogg & the Sixers, "In Front Of The World". BY GOD, this was GOOD!

I started doing some Web research, I started downloading tracks, I became a fan.

That track was good, but the one by the Fleet Foxes, "Mykonos", was even better. It had that feel of the sixties, that darkness. You know that vibe in "Walk Away Renee"? This wasn’t the same, but akin. Kind of like a Searchers record, something cut in the UK in ’64 or ’65, shown on TV in black and white.

That was the vibe, not the feel. The track was modern. But haunting. Like driving in your car on a grey western Massachusetts day.

Check it out, it’s the fourth track down: Fleet Foxes MySpace

Turns out the Fleet Foxes have gotten good reviews. I haven’t found the rest of their material as enriching, as fulfilling as "Mykonos", but the bar is set a bit higher than it is with Stephen Kellogg. Stephen Kellogg is not quite good enough. You can be a fan, but you can’t quite convince someone who’s not to believe.

Not that I think most people will love "Mykonos". But if you’re of the same sensibility as me, you’ll get it.

We’re looking for more. Computers can’t tell us what we like, we need humans. Like Val Heller.

I don’t think Val Heller’s going to make it. Just a bit too much promotion and not quite enough innovation. But where she’s coming from is exciting. She may be in Illinois, but in the Net world, that’s right next door. She’s a fan, she wants to spread the word.

The person who owns the filter will own the future. Their success will be based not on the business plan so much as trust…the same kind of trust you placed in the deejay, back when he picked the records.

As for me… Most of the music hyped to me is far from good enough. I feel defeated. Then I hear stuff like Stephen Kellogg and the Fleet Foxes and I get this inner glow, like maybe it’s not all over, maybe there’s hope.

These are not mainstream acts, they’re never going to become endorsed by a Fortune 500 company. And I hate when you hype me on acts and can’t see the same thing, that they’re niche. Also, it’s weird to be a member of a niche… We want to be a member of larger club.

Maybe the club is run by someone like Val… A trusted site.

It’s about the tracks more than the album today. We don’t have to listen to anything we don’t like. We’ll check out more if we like one cut, but too often we’re disappointed. But we still know magic when we hear it.

There’s magic in "Mykonos". Check it out.