Unexpected pleasures: bootlegs and the Internet

I'm one of those people that likes to listen to recordings of live music. Sure, studio albums are nice, but to me a recording of a live performance - where the band is on fire, improvises and jams - is infinitely preferable to a polished, perfected and, well, safe studio recording. Whether it's a recording of a great concert thirty years ago, a recording by a band I'm planning to see in the near future, or a memory of a great concert I attended, for some reason the live aspect just works for me. Heidi is the opposite way - she's annoyed at a live concert when the band doesn't play her favorite songs in the exact same way as they sound on the radio.

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