A few weeks ago I pointed out that Anu Kirk cannot escape music, or Star Trek, no matter how hard he tries.
And while no man is an island, this week we are shifting gears, still travellin’ the same pop culture highway.
Forget Ginger
If the music industry were Gilligan’s Island, this week’s top 20 from SF’s top ten digital music industry doers, makers, innovators is a better, wiser, hotter, bad ass beauty Maryann Faricy, originally from Minneapolis, lifelong music lover, digital music maven and San Franciscan for 15 years.
The first record Maryann Faricy ever purchased was the 1971 Carpenters self-titled LP. Nature or nurture debates aside, Maryann became obsessed with billboard charts by age 2, and managed to meet Karen Carpenter by age 5.
During her teen years, Maryann Faricy braved the bus all the way from the suburbs of Minneapolis through harsh winter storms into the city, all the way downtown, just to buy new releases from her favorite independent record store, Northern Lights. “I went there so much one of the employees asked me to marry him,” recounts Maryann.
Maryann’s taste in music has always been very diverse. Her favorite record at age 10? Gary Numan’s Pleasure Principle. Next year, at age 11 she was obsessed with Pink Floyd’s The Wall – and so was I.
She doesn’t know it, but we have something else in common. Maryann and I both have a bag of cassette tapes from junior high, full of themed mix tapes. Many of mine are to and from “boyfriends” back when spin the bottle meant 2 awkward minutes in a closet.
But most importantly, like everyone on this list, Maryann has turned her passion into a career dedicated to digital music whenever, and however possible. Her early love of music lead to internships at radio stations starting in high school, all the way through college.
After spending much of the the 90s working for EMI, Maryann Faricy left the music industry to pursue a career as a tech geek, which, in today’s industry, serves her well in her current role as Product Manager at Gracenote, a leader in global digital entertainment technology.
Ms. Faricy met the Top Ten Top Twenties deadline of 48 hours, but waivered back and forth on the inclusion of Coldplay. Perhaps that’s because in her stash of old mix tapes, the only one I personally know of is one from high school she titled “I Don’t Care If It’s On The Radio It’s Still A Good Song Mix.”
Top Twenty Albums 2000-2009: Maryann Faricy
01. Doves – Lost Souls
02. Grandaddy – The Sophtware Slump
03. Muse – Absolution
04. Arcade Fire – Neon Bible
05. Ladytron – Witching Hour
06. Keane – Hopes and Fears
07. Snow Patrol – Final Straw
08. Doves – The Last Broadcast
09. South – From Here on In
10. Soundtrack of Our Lives – Behind the Music
11. Radiohead – Kid A
12. Coldplay – A Rush of Blood to the Head
13. Interpol – Turn on the Bright Lights
14. Midnight Juggernauts – Dystopia
15. Neko Case – Blacklisted
16. Marjorie Fair – Self Help Serenade
17. Jayhawks – Rainy Day Music
18. Ambulance LTD – Ambulance LTD
19. Damien Rice – O
20. Caesars – 39 Minutes of Bliss
Next Up: Gabe Benveniste, CEO & Founder, SonicLiving
