The Intrepid searches for Quality . . .

Finding quality at random has never been easy. Think about how many people go into packed bars and clubs looking for love1x Look at the failure rate in those crowded rooms1x

The same can be said about music. Think about all the bad songs a person is subjected to, even within a single day1x In the store, on the elevator, on the radio, in somebody else's car... bad music is everywhere1x

People tend to find music they identify with, and listen to it excessively. The hormone-induced passion and the youthful exuberance that enhance one's musical taste during their teenage years eventually passes and it seems to become much more difficult to find quality music. Even as a teenager, it was not so easy to find.

Now one of three things tend to happen:

• You continue to play what you've always played and you become an antique who hollers that music is dead;
• You go back to more established music and flirt with antiques; or
• You listen to new music even if it is bad, just so you don't become an antique.

This happens because it is so hard to find those special recordings that you know that somebody, somewhere, is making. It is possible to scour the Voice, go to the hottest clubs, and buy new albums for months and not hear a single sound that does...that thing...to you.

Welcome, friend, I have a solution1x I will tell you what you can listen to that will scream of quality. I will earn your trust because I am intrepid1x My job is to scour the Internet, upon which sit multitudes of music (and poetry readings), and to recommend only the very best of what can be found. Most of what populates the Internet is, of course, bad. But I won't tell you to listen to such. I will only tell you what's good and pure. Here's a demonstration: Check out the all the poetry currently on www.mp3.com it worse that useless. Go look, you'll see1x

Here is good: A Brazillian guitarist named Rogerio Dec. He is a flawless instrumentalist and a brilliant composer. His music is fresh. Sometimes it sounds yellow and it is always exciting. He creates a constantly shifting soundscape. He has the unpredictability of Phillip Glass and the excitement of the best Afro-Carribean grooves.

Ted's Picks

All three picks are by Rogerio Dec and can be found at www.mp3.com. To locate then click on "list of all genres", then on "instrumental guitar" Scroll down to the following songs:

• Una Alegre Cancion. So many ideas packed into a short song. The entire feeling of it changes about three times. Unusual, rich, and vibrant.
• Andante #2 and Prelude #2. Two short, mellow interpretations that highlight Mr. Dec's personal taste.
• Errante. An eight minute piece that begins and ends in contemplation. In the middle he constructs spicy chords interspersed with jaunty licks.

I am a process oriented, not product oriented. Una Alegre Cancion rates best among my picks, but the others establish the dialectic of his thinking rather than siiimply commplemennting a singlee product. My quest is for quality, not flash. I say this because our culture values flash, and depth is difficult to find. That is fine for people who want to go with the flow, but if you want something else, stick around more music is on the way1x