Backstage Intro: Meet Brian!

[EthanS1]

Our Community Rock Stars can submit blog posts to be published on the Spotify Community Blog. To find out more about the Rock Star Program click here.  Hey there, @brian_mansfield (Rock Star)! Tell us something about yourself. I’m a long-time music obsessive with a collection that threatens to overrun the house. The first single I ever bought was either Alice Cooper’s “School’s Out” or David Cassidy’s “Cherish.” (Both Alice and David found this very funny and said they used to hang out with the other a lot back then.) My first concert was either Bachman-Turner Overdrive or Electric Light Orchestra. I used to buy comic books from Aimee Mann in Boston, and I once delivered a phone book to John Prine’s house. I introduced Carrie Underwood to Little Richard. I own a 1954 Memphis directory with a listing for Presley, Elvis, and I also have Earl Scruggs’ copy of the Mott the Hoople Live album. Do you prefer listening to songs in your own language or in another language? Why? I prefer listening to songs in my own language, but I don’t do it exclusively. Being able to understand the lyrics gives me more ways to connect to the music. If I’m listening to a song in another language, I really have only the sound of music — the groove, the instrumentation, the melody, the production — to draw me in. Often that’s enough, but it’s nice to have lyrics that speak to me, as well. If you could be part of any band/group for a day who would that be and why?  Assuming I could hang with them? Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band. They’ve been my favourite band for years, so why wouldn’t I want a one-of-a-kind view of one of their marathon shows? Plus, each of their shows has just enough difference that my night wouldn’t be quite like any other night the band ever played — even if nobody noticed I was part of the band that night. Is there a playlist that you’re proud of which you’d like to share with us? What was the inspiration behind this? “50 Years Ago Today” has turned out to be one of my most popular playlists. I update it every month with records that U.S. radio stations actually were playing 50 years ago to the month. So right now, I’m in 1967. It gives you a sense of what records were being played at the same time, so it’s more focused than just a “1960s” playlist. Plus, at about 100 tracks each month, you get into records that even people who were listening to the radio 50 years ago would either have not heard or had long forgotten. In that way, it acts as a discovery playlist while having lots of familiar tunes, too. https://open.spotify.com/user/brian_mansfield/playlist/3EtLel1q6vjRpe3nK0dXOu Thanks for taking your time to chat with us. Before we go, what joke always makes you laugh? “What’s big, red, and eats rocks? A big, red rock eater.” What, I’m not laughing? I’m laughing on the inside. If you were my pancreas, you’d know.