The Finite Universe of I-Tunes

I remember hearing in one of my library school IT-ish classes that there were a few chaps, in the early days, that had reached the then limits of the web. Probably impossible these days, but not necessarily impossible in sections. I-Tunes, for example, definitely has places where any ship will sail off the edge and into the used-CD market. This is saying something, because honestly, Apple has done wonders in acquiring so much music.

Not surprisingly, I-Tunes is strongest for "popular music," the stuff one normally hears on the radio. For what I call "unpopular music," that is much of the music I enjoy, one is not so lucky, though again, there is still a lot out there. A few examples:

--Robyn Hitchcock is well represented, but not Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians
--a new fangled album by The Sound is available, but not their seminal work "Jeopardy" (1980)
--Dougie MacClean has a few greatest hits out there, but nothing like the jangling discomfort and beauty that is Tullochgorum
--Some of The Smiths are available, but not, sadly, "The Queen is Dead"
--a DC area I-Tunes Essentials exists, but not, again sadly, "State of the Nation," a giant compilation work
--there is decent "world" coverage, but little in the way of some Chinese folk instrumentals

On the other hand, I did find Breathless's "Never Know where you Are," Crispy Ambulance's "Step up!," and a fair number of tunes from Hal Hartley movies.

I know that it all comes down to two things: commercial legality and availability. My guess is that the first is the bigger problem, but who knows, with everything going digital in the music world maybe even the albums and songs we can't get we will be able to find one day. I just hope it happens before they go the way of The Fems--can't find their hilarious "Go to a Party" song anywhere these days. Pity.