Last night I spent an hour or so plugged in to Josh Hathaway's B-Sides Concept Album radio show. Josh's guest was Blue Bella artist Nick Moss of Chicago blues powerhouse Nick Moss & the Flip Tops. It was an incredibly fun hour that underscored the notion that what was good about radio's past is continuing to migrate to the Internet. Outside of the odd public or community radio show, this kind of content — a talk with a working musician who is not (but probably should be) a household name — that just never materializes on commercial FM radio anymore.

Satellite radio is part of the picture too. Given its subscription-based nature, I'm hoping that the radio consultant's tendency toward homogenization will be avoided there as well. Imagine that, an entertainment world where the interesting and shiny new choices aren't pushed off to the dark fringes.

Play It 'Til Tomorrow is the kind of record that makes me wonder why blues music still resides out on those fringes. I suppose the same thing can be said for jazz. I mean, this is our music. It's as vital as anything else you'll find out there. Moss and his fine crew fling some raw and passionate Chicago blues spread out over two sets: the electric first disc, followed by the unplugged "Smithsonian" set. This may be a cliché, but if tunes like "Grease Fire" or "The Bump Rump" don't set your backside into motion, then you may have some sort of medical condition that needs further investigation. On the unplugged disc, the instruments are given a little more breathing room, allowing the piano (Willie Owshawny, Barrelhouse Chuck) and harp (Gerry Hundt) to really shine. Oh, and their mandolin-driven (again, thank you Mr. Hundt) take on "I Shall Not Be Moved" is unspeakably beautiful.

Developments like these discoveries help to wash away the layer of cynicism that has attached itself to me. The idea that music has steadily gone down hill over the years is one that has never resonated with my inner music fan. If anything, there's too much good stuff out there. The problem lies in the deliver system, which until recently has been setting up a wall between the musician and all of those hungry ears.

Maybe this'll all work out after all.