On-Ramp: Introduction

Human beings have made so much music: Symphonies, folk tunes, requiems, revelries, incredible music, and terrible music. From the haunting Hurrian hymn to Nikkal etched into clay tablets, to the simple melody of the Seikilos epitaph, etched in Greek on a tombstone, to the grand religious awe of Mozart’s “Symphony №40 in G Minor,” to the simple 12 bar blues over off-beat claps of Son House’s “Grinnin’ in Your Face,” the sheer scope and depth of humanity’s musical legacy is overwhelming.

Today, thanks to the development of recording technology and online catalogues and steaming services, we have access like never before, an ocean of sound bottle-necked by our speakers and limited time. Despite the impossibility of experiencing it all, or perhaps as a means of coping with it, certain artists and corners of music have risen to a level of essentiality, artists such as Billie Holiday, Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, Jimmy Hendrix, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Nirvana, and Beyoncé. Beyond this, each genre has its own list of essentials. If you listen to rock, a familiarity with Led Zeppelin is expected. If you are a rap fan, you must have an opinion on The Notorious B.I.G. and 2Pac. If your car radio is often tuned to a country station, yet you can’t name a Johnny Cash tune, prepare yourself for derision.

Even in this narrow, elevated slice of our species’ musicians, there are simply too many begging for our attention for us to encounter them all organically. We explore so many artists, and some just don’t catch our attention or get a chance to put their best foot forward. Someone is going to be missed and forgotten until the moment we are struck with a sinking sense of social inferiority as the entire party or every passenger in the car bursts into singing along with a chorus utterly unrecognizable to us.

This is where the On-Ramp comes in. These are playlists paired with analysis constructed with the express purpose of introducing the listener to an artist in a way that encourages future interest. It’s for the listeners that never “got into” a particular artist. It’s not a collection of greatest hits. It’s not a playlist of an artist’s best songs. It is an attempt to make an artist accessible. If an artist is known for one hit that doesn’t represent the rest of their work, that song is going to be on the playlist right alongside the most well crafted pieces in the musician’s discography.

I am not the perfect fan of any of the artists I will write about, and my personal bias will be apparent in the albums I draw from most heavily and the notable absences in the playlist. I hope to correct for this by making my own process collaborative. An artist’s On-Ramp is not intended for hardcore fans, and hardcore fans might find the selection disappointing or lacking, but all are welcome. Enjoy.

Start with our first On-Ramp for Radiohead.

End Notes

Thank you, Devin and Johnny, for your parts in inspiring and carrying out this feature.

Learn more about the Hurrian hymn “h.6”, the oldest known complete melody of notated music.

Also learn about the Sumerian epitaph, the oldest complete musical composition yet discovered.

Jack White expresses his appreciation of Son House’s “Grinnin’ in Your Face” from the documentary It Might Get Loud.

And The White Stripes performance of “Grinnin’ in Your Face” and another Son House song.