Rockstar Mommy is just a tad obsessive about her music collection. She alphabetizes her cd's for chrissake. How sick is that? Today she's in a tizzy because someone planted a Michael Bolton cd into her collection. She says it was planted. Actually I'm with on her on that. No one buys Michael Bolton cd's. She says she has a gazillion, CD's, not just Michael Bolton cd's. She only has that one. I believe her. I have at least four or five hundred CD's. I don't have any Michael Bolton CD's. I do have a Rod McKeun CD. Does anyone remember him? The Gay, beatnik sort of, poet? What can I say? I thought he was totally cool back in the late 60s. I am so embarrassed. I also have about 300 vinyls out in the garage. I used to have a lot more. I have sold hundreds of dollars worth in about a dozen garage sales in the past twenty years. Those fuckers are multiplying on their own, I swear they are. They have no value to me, but my sense of value won't let me throw them away before I try one more time to sell the bunch.
I like music. I have a wide range of flavors I enjoy. When I pick and choose what I listen to, I listen to world music. I mixes me world music with a lot of blues, and I include blues from all races, sexes and languages. Most of the time I just listen to the radio. We have a listener supported jazz station that I listen to in the evenings. My roommate and I play the classical station as we do our morning routines. The only other station to which I listen with any regularity is K-FOG, or Geezer Rock, as my much younger co-worker calls it. They annoy me too much for me to listen with regularity. I want to bitch about popular radio, but right now I'm talking about my cd collection, and by extension, music. I felt the necessity of explaining WHY I have such a large cd collection.
I have tried multiple ways of organizing my cd's. I hate the plastic cases and resent the amount of space they require for easy manipulation, so I'm always looking for more efficient ways of storing and using the bastards. Also, I drink alcohol and smoke naturally growing substances, both of which leave me comfortably relaxed in a very NON-anal sort of way--we're talking obsessive compulsive behavior patterns and not sex (I don't want to preclude any possibilities )-- I generally find myself with CD's scattered all over the place, far from that annoying little plastic case.
And how about opening that nasty little fucker when you first get a new cd? There's the no-seam plastic outer covering which is impossible without a sharp-edged instrument. (Sometimes my tongue and other times my nails qualify as a sharp-edged instrument, but seldom when they're needed for something as mundane as getting that nasty little piece of plastic off the case.)
So you succeed in getting the wrapping off the "jewel box" (what kind of bullshit name is that?), there's an even more insidious strip of plastic that has to be removed. I have ruined so many fucking nails trying to remove that fucker that it's not even funny anymore. Okay?
In an attempt to get away from the plastic cases of which I am not fond, I've started using CaseLogic plastic sleeves in 3-ring binders. That's not too bad, as long as you remember which binder you took the cd from. Last summer I realized that stereos, cd players, tape players, turntables and source material was occupying approximately 72 cubic feet in my living room. I had one of those huge entertainment centers, 4 X 3 X 6? crammed full of just audio stuff. I visited a friend at the beginning of summer and he had reduced his audio clutter from approximately the same amount to nothing. Two big speakers, a tiny receiver about the size of a dictionary, and an iPod. Folks, I had seen the future.
Last summer I bought a 40-gig iPod. That's Guy-talk. I have no idea how much a "Gig" is, but it seemed like a lot. It's a complicated story and I won't go into it just right now, but I have never learned to use my iPod. I figured I'd have a young boyfriend by spring who could show me how to program the sucker. Only, now I can't wait for next summer. I have to get busy and get all my Louisiana and Mardi Gras music arranged for my party on February 6. I imagine programming about four hours of hot music for the party on the iPod, then hooking the iPod up to the receiver. How cool will that be? For the past week I've been shopping for Mardi Gras music on Amazon.com and eBay. I've bought 6 cds, mostly used through Amazon. By the way, that was a brilliant move on their part, facilitating the sell of used cds. Once I get all of my music uploaded and backed-up, I want to get rid of all my cd's once and for all! I hate cd's so much that I've even learned to download music off the internet. That is the future.
I'm dancing as fast as I can to all these changes, but damn, that's a fast beat.
I have about 2,500 CD's, give or take. That's why they are alphabetized. I'd never be able to find what I was looking for otherwise.
But someone planted that damn Michael Bolton CD! I'm going to find out who it is! And when I do they're getting locked in a room with that damn CD on repeat for a week straight! Ha! If it doesn't kill them, it'll sure get my point across!
Posted by: RocKStar Mommy | January 12, 2005 at 06:30 PM
Also guilty of alphabetising.
And, YES! Rod McKuen. I'm not so sure he has a great vocal range, although his version of "Seasons in the Sun" is probably one of the best, I totally love "A cat named Sloopy" and own 4 of his books (not in alphabetical order).
Posted by: Jo | January 13, 2005 at 01:50 AM
I got tired just reading that post. That sounds like a lot of work and mental stress for something that should be relaxing. I have this lovely little cd that a wonderfull fellow sent me for Christmas. I listen to it while blogging. Now if you want to talk about pieces of paper with notes scribbled on them, then I can give you some competition!
Posted by: wanda | January 13, 2005 at 08:14 AM
I only have a few cds cause I'm starting all over again ovah here, but they're still hard to keep up with. Right now I slide them in a little cubbyhole on my desk (that's where they're supposed to be anyway). My dial up makes it impossible to download much of anything.
Posted by: Brenda | January 13, 2005 at 11:04 AM