No doubt you've heard of MySpace.com, "that popular teen (and
college age) web site".  But MySpace is far more than this.  You can
find interesting persons of all ages among its profile pages.

One thing that amazes me about MySpace is how many dead people have
been showing up there lately.  Practically every legendary film star
right back to the silent era, plus numerous other famous deceased
people from every walk of life now have their tribute sites --
musicians in particular.  But one name was conspicuously absent,
that of J. Lawrence Cook whom I knew personally.  So I set out to
do something about it.  The results can be seen and heard at

  http://www.myspace.com/jlawrencecook 

It has taken me several months of extremely limited spare time to
reach my present level of progress.  I feel that I have at last done
enough work and experimentation to present something that will give
visitors a good idea of what this project is all about.  It is not
an effort to compete with Mike Meddings' excellent site, and I try
to avoid duplication, with only rare exceptions.  My efforts are
a good-will gesture that can only promote player pianos and rolls --
something badly needed.

I wonder where this hobby will be ten years from now if we cannot
attract the younger generation.  And with the preponderance of young
people on MySpace, I can think on no better place to present the
wonderful world of mechanical music -- player pianos in particular,
because they are so much more plentiful and affordable than so many
of the other instruments.  QRS management has given its blessing and
approval to the project, along with formal permission to use its
arrangements by Cook.

MySpace has a few idiosyncrasies that take some getting used to.  You
must own the copyright to music you upload.  So, I use public domain
music exclusively, where _everybody_ owns the copyright.  That's easy
to do with Cook, but virtually impossible with Milne, whose best work
is nearly all still protected and will be for many years.  But some
blatantly disregard the copyright rule and seem to get away with it.

All MySpace music accounts are considered "bands", including individual
musicians.  Only MP3 audio files can be uploaded, no MIDI files. I used
iTunes for the conversions, but I would like higher playback level,
bass boost and reverberation to simulate a concert hall, and I still
have much to learn about computers.  There is room for improvement and
your suggestions are most welcome!

And finally, because JLC's first name is Jean, he is listed as a female
in searches.  No boys named Sue on MySpace!

Please be sure to read all the blogs...

Jeffrey R. Wood