“The Dutchess of Kircaldy always smiling/ And arriving late for tea/ The Duke was having problems/ With a message at the local Bird and Bee/ Cry baby cry/ Make your mother sigh/ She’s old enough to know better/ So cry baby cry/ At twelve o’clock a meeting ’round the table/ For a seance in the dark/ With voices out of nowhere/ Put on specially by the children for a lark.”—A song called “Cry Baby Cry,” from the fourth side of a platter called “white,” but really entitled The Beatles.This year’s Best of Burque Music reader’s poll featured a new system, hosted by the pollsters at Second Street. For readers, listeners and participants, the process was simplified but more enriching. Photos or comments concerning each contending artist and ensemble made identification and affirmation easier.Contrariwise, the same system came with some issues. The voting structure allowed one group of musicians to take advantage, giving them, their inter-related projects and cohorts a definite advantage over those organizations who didn’t have a solid ground game. That’s totally cool though because that dominance seen in the results documents the evolution of the scene away from known players into new units whose ranks and audiences continue to grow. Still I can’t help but believe that such was a matter of motivation as well. If you want something that bad, then you can clearly make it happen by force of will. That is, this poll reflects the portion of the population that voted—while whole swaths of the community went or remained dark for reasons that escape me and escape reason.That isn’t equivocation with a hint of sour grapes. It’s just how things shook out this year and Weekly Alibi salutes the brave souls who made it to the final round of voting; a double-salute with devil horns goes to those who went one step beyond and gained a number one ranking.As you take time to sample the work offered Downtown at our Best of Burque Music Showcase on Saturday, March 24, recall the vitality and diversity of culture here in Burque that made such possible. If you still don’t like the results after some studied listening, then I’ll give you the same general advice I do about not liking any election outcomes. Here is my advice: Vote!
Best of Burque Music Showcase tickets are available at alibi.com/bucks.
