Freegal Create the Ultimate Music Collection

Music is everywhere. We can hear it. We can feel it. We may not be able to see it, but we know it’s there. Music is very important to me. It’s important to all of us. Music is part of the human experience.

Not only can you listen to music, but you can also feel music as it affects your mood. And, with the right song, you can sing or dance like there is no tomorrow whether you know how to or not.

Over the years, I have accumulated an impressive collection of 70s and 80s music, which some would call Classic Rock ‘n’ Roll. I also have a small collection of Classical Music. For me, there is nothing else like it. It is my personal collection. Every song has some special meaning for me.

I began collecting music in the 70s in the form of vinyl records (45 and 33 1/3 rpm), cassettes and one 8-track tape. Not a fan of 8-track tapes. I hope they don’t make a comeback as vinyl records seem to have done.

I worked for a newspaper delivering The Washington Star, a prominent newspaper in the Washington, D.C. area. The pay was $30 a month if I was lucky. Maybe I should have worked for The Washington Post.

Not much money to invest in a music collection, so I improvised. I used an AM/FM radio with a tape recorder and a blank cassette to record off of. Then I would wait for a good song to play on the radio. If I called the radio station, the DJ or Disc Jockey could play my request depending on where I was in the request line. Sometimes it was a long wait.

As I got older, I took a more serious interest in building my music collection. No more vinyl records. I wanted cassettes. Then I wanted Compact Discs. I listened to music in my car more than in any other place. Road rage was never a problem for me because I had the right music.

For the record, you can get a good 100 miles out of one Meatloaf album.

Then somebody decided to take the cassette players and then the compact disc players out of the cars, leaving me with only AM/FM radio to listen to and a port for a flash drive for my own music in the glove compartment. This was terrible. This was cruel. I had to figure out how to burn my CDs onto a flash drive if I ever wanted to listen to my music collection again.

My tribe, the people often referred to as Generation X, stands on the bridge of old and new technology. If anything, we know how to adapt. I taught myself how to burn my CD collection onto a flash drive. My connection to my music collection was restored.

The Central Mississippi Regional Library System offers a simple solution to the problem of collecting music through a service called Freegal. It’s a new and more innovative way to download music onto a smartphone or other personal device and create the ultimate music collection…for free. And, free is something I’m sure we can all afford. 

ABBA

The Central Mississippi Regional Library System offers a way to create the ultimate music collection with the minimum of effort. You can download music onto a smartphone or personal device and not have to wait all afternoon for Casey Kasem’s America’s Top 40 to play your favorite song.

Simply go to the Central Mississippi Regional Library System website https://cmrls.lib.ms.us/ and click on Our Virtual Reference Collection page. Find Freegal on our Full Virtual Reference Collection List. Left-click on Freegal and prepare yourself to be amazed.

Or even better, just click on this link: https://cmrls.freegalmusic.com/home.

Freegal offers a free downloadable collection of music from a variety of genres. I prefer Classic Rock from the '70s and '80s. Visit the Freegal website, download the app, and see if something is there for you.

Downloading the Freegal App is an easy thing to do. Go to the App Store and type in Freegal. Tap on the Freegal App, type in your zip code, and click Continue. Tap on the Central Mississippi Regional Library System, type in your card number, and then your PIN number, and then you will be ready for the full music experience. Tap the Search button and find the artist or song you are looking for.

Contact your local library if there is a problem.

We’re here for you, the patrons! 

Thinking about hanging up a disco ball and

getting out my disco song collection.

Don’t tell anybody.

Every once in a while, I have the urge to:

“Do the Hustle!”