NEW MUSIC | FEMALE ARTISTS
New Voices, Different Beats — A Rate-a-Record Refresher
Hooky-Pop from NYC vs. Hip-Country from Decatur match up in this new music showdown
In the folded but not forgotten publication, Plethora of Pop, writer and music aficionado Terry Barr spawned the musical writing prompt, “Rate-a-Record.” Writers offer musical selections, most often four, with a bit of backstory or fun facts relevant to each artist or song. Then, readers are asked to rate each song using the old American Bandstand scale of 35–98 with no qualifying criteria other than personal taste.
While Plethora of Pop has closed its doors, the Rate-a-Record lives on and currently sits at 239 stories. Not bad. Terry should be quite pleased.
For me, there’s been a break in offering up musical selections as I’ve focused primarily on my fiction writing and happily achieving some personal goals there. Still, music is always present while concocting make-believe tales. I have playlists for moods, settings, and personalities and often draw inspiration from lyrics and melodies.
So, it was with my latest fiction piece. I had a premise, characters, and an ending; the only thing missing was the soundtrack. Fortunately, I have a muse and musical assistant who…
