I love the smell of procrastination in the morning
I wake up at 5:30. There are no cats in bed. I think that’s a problem. I entice Data to come sleep with me. Instead he purrs for a few minutes, lulls me into the thought that he might just settle down and sleep for once.
Wrong.
Bite. Bite. Scratch. Fight with other cats. Scratch. Bite head. Ouch.
I’m thirsty. I think I’ll get up and get a glass of water. And then go back to sleep.
But I don’t want to go to sleep. I’m awake from all the scratches. Instead, I think, I’ll go and rip a couple of CDs to iTunes while I catch up on my blog feeds so they don’t become overwhelming by the time I return from my upcoming jaunt to Las Vegas. (Star Trek convention, w00t!)
What started as a couple of CDs and multitasking turned into a full-out dig through a large box of CDs.
Now, I should be packing. Hell, I should be packing instead of writing a blog post. But packing clothes for a weekend trip won’t take that much time, or so I tell myself. Even packing toiletries small enough to make it on the plane in my carry-on luggage can’t take that long.
So I rummage some more. I could probably be sleeping. I could be reading. I could be unloading and reloading the dishwasher so that my cat sitting friend, Sarah, won’t be disgusted by the pile up. To be fair, I did a load of dishes last night and there are just a handful of dishes that will need to go in the dishwasher this morning.
So now I look at the huge box of now-disorganized CDs. I decided, when I moved, that I wouldn’t put my CDs in display towers any more. I can’t tell you the last time I put a CD in to listen to. Everything gets put on the iPod of power. Eventually.
And when I moved, I divided the CDs into copied and not copied coupled with I like too much to put away forever, even if I’ve copied it. Now, after prolonged digs through that second box, everything is a mess. Every time I get in the mood to copy more stuff, I have to dig through tons of unnecessary albums.
I feel another bout of organization coming on.
I think what is going to happen, pretty soon, is that I’m going to re-evaluate my albums and weed out the ones I really, really don’t want (two songs I want, the rest is junk, already copied) to sell. And then I’ll consolidate boxes and get down to only the CDs I haven’t copied yet.
I’ve had the iPod since late June 2006. How many songs have I managed to load on this 30gb monster?
2401 songs. Representing about 40 days worth of play.
10.34 gb. I have 49mb of video. I finally used the photo function recently and loaded a handful of my favorite photos: family, friends, best shots and of course, cats. Only 50mb there. Some other stuff at 356 mb. Probably album artwork storage.
I still have a little more than 17gb to go. It’s been more than a year. Not all of my albums have been copied. And I don’t copy every song. And there are probably songs I should go back and weed out. For instance, if I haven’t listened to an album in years, and don’t remember whether any of the songs are good, I tend to give it the benefit of the doubt and will come back later to weed out the crap. If I ever listen to the whole thing on the iPod.
My question to my faithful readers (you know who you are, all six of you): Would you get rid of some of your CDs, knowing they are taking up space and you will never physically listen to them again?
For my further procrastination pleasure (and not yours):
My top 25 played songs (after a recent, unfortunate iTunes library corruption which destroyed the play counts of three or four songs which no longer appear in this list)
American Jesus, Bad Religion — I don’t need to be a global citizen, Cause I’m blessed by nationality, I’m a member of a growing populace, we enforce our popularity
10,000 Days (Wings Part 2), Tool — Great two-piece set, somber. Special to me for reasons my brother knows because he loves these songs too.
Wings for Marie (Part 1), Tool
Mary Jane, Rick James — I don’t think this song was on my radar until I was in a bar one night and a live band played this song and everyone sang and danced to it drunkenly. Except me, because I wasn’t drunk and didn’t know the words. Nice and mellow.
Road Trippin’, Red Hot Chili Peppers — This is a theme song whenever we get close to the ocean. Blue you sit so pretty, west of the one, sparkles light with yellow icing, just a mirror for the sun
Hazy Shade of Winter, The Bangles — I dunno. It’s pretty? Guilty pleasure, I guess
When Doves Cry, Prince — Prince rules, and this song rules
Common People, William Shatner — This is my favorite Shatner song and arguably one of my favorite songs ever. I mean, it’s number 8 on my top 25, right? It’s a cover, kinda punk and totally awesome. I don’t care that he has a stunt singer
Bring Me the Disco King (Loner Mix), David Bowie, Maynard James Keenan — Love both versions of this song. Helps me calm down sometimes. Very mellow and slightly sad
Playboy Mommy, Tori Amos – sad, sweet, deals with loss. There’d be two or three more Tori songs in this list, but they were victims of the great library mishap
Duel of the Fates, John Williams (Star Wars: Episode I) – There’s nothing better to listen to while driving up a scary mountain pass
Shiny Happy People, R.E.M. — Happy, happy! Funny, I didn’t like this song when it came out
The Sounds of Silence, Simon & Garfunkel — A very new favorite. Hello darkness my old friend
Bring Me the Disco King, David Bowie — Original version. Torn on which version I like best. The play counts don’t count
Portrait of Authority, Bad Religion — Bad Religion, punk badasses in three minutes or less
The Whole Night, Ani DiFranco — Surprised my whole playlist isn’t full of Ani. But hell, I have 118 of her songs on my iPod. And I didn’t copy every single on of her songs, because occasionally, her albums are uneven
Love Song, The Cure — Love this song. Can’t get enough. Mellow
True Faith, New Order — Song from my childhood. I remember the weird video
Tainted Love, Soft Cell — Cheesy, yes. Fun, yes. 80s music rules. Have a whole playlist full of 80s music and then another for favorite 80s. You really don’t want to know how much I love the 80s. I also have the Marilyn Manson version of this song
Otherside, Red Hot Chili Peppers — Makes me sad occasionally
Sunday Morning, Ani DiFranco — More Ani. Kitties swarming around our feet
Pick Up Song, ELLIS — saw this folk singer live in a podunk venue last year. I should take a chance on more of her music
The Great Destroyer, Nine Inch Nails – Part of Trent Reznor’s vision-concept of the future-present of totalitarianism. Love it. Say your name, try to speak as clearly as you can, you know everything gets written down, nod your head, just in case they could be watching, with their shiny satellites
Mr. Roboto, Styx — I’d like to say this is a guilty pleasure, but I don’t feel particularly guilty. Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto … I need control. We all need control
Been Caught Stealing, Jane’s Addiction — A lovely bit of early grunge alternative
Still not done procrastinating, by the way. What I’d really like to do is go back to sleep, but I think my alarm will go off in about 10 minutes.
my hubby, who is a music junkie, will keep every cd he’s ever owned. he’s only ever gotten rid of duplicates he’s found himself with. i, however, say PITCH THEM! if they are loaded on itunes, you could totally burn another cd if the mood were to strike you. and who really wants cover artwork anyway?
I’m amazed by the number of bands I have never head of on your list–just when I was becoming somewhat sure of myself musically….I would not get rid of a single one. We always curse ourselves afterwards.
Case in point, what happened to our copy of TA’s Little Earthquakes? We must have sold it to someone a decade ago and now (when I finally have a hankering for that bitter disc) I am forced to listen to it on tape.
I can’t get rid of my CDs, even though I have everything I ever want to listen to on my iPod. I just can’t do it. They sit on a shelf, collecting dust, but they are physical representations of my tastes (poor as it is). I sometimes think the one flaw in the digital revolution is that people like to own “stuff,” to have books or CDs on a shelf that they can take down and hold in a hand. A digital file is not the same–especially since, as the movie and music companies keep telling us, we don’t really “own” it. We just buy the right to listen to it, within certain legal limits.
“Hazy Shade of Winter” is one of the rare covers I like. Especially a cover of a Simon and Garfunkel song - you walk a fine line when you mess with those guys.
As far as keeping CDs - um, you’ve been in my house. Next question?
I’m a collector. I will admit it. But I’m recovering and I think there’s a time to let go.
iTunes will store cover artwork for you and fetch it even if you didn’t buy it from them. And no, you can’t look at it closely. As Rachel says, who really wants cover art anyway?
I haven’t missed my physical CDs in that sense. New albums sometimes come with digital booklets and art, if you buy from iTunes.
If you’re into lyrics, you can store them in notes in iTunes.
I don’t miss my CDs as much as I thought, and I think that says a lot.