About Me

I'm a Seattle area musician, and though I go to a lot of shows, I live in a bit of a broadcast media blackout-- there's really no television or radio in my world.  Don't get me wrong: I'm not an "I don't watch TV" snob... it's just that they put shows out of disc now, and that removes commercials from the equation.  Since I don't listen to the radio (and that might be snobbery: I never like anything I hear on the radio), the outside world's hype machine really doesn't have much access to me.

Eric on the Charts snapped into existence when I realized just how out of touch with popular music I'd become.  For many, many years now, all new music that entered my life came in filtered through friends or going to see shows.  I'd be handed new music or discover a band opening for another act I already liked; even if they have songs on the radio and rocketing up the charts, I wouldn't even hear about them until a friend put the album in my hand (this actually happened with Massive Attack's Mezzanine.)

Even if looking into the Billboard Hot 100 doesn't expose me to a lot of music I really like, this project is a good way to fight my ignorance of current, popular music. Though I may never buy one of these CDs, it's good for my cultural awareness to be familiar with the music millions of people hear every day... so, I'm learning.