i have too much music now

Ned, it's not so much compulsory listening, more a liberal whittling down of my collection.

*probably needs it's own thread, but what do people think about this? will my cds become null and void once the non-physical format revolution really kicks in? or is it worth holding on to them in the hope they become more valuable with age like vinyl does?

I'm happy to stick with hard copies for the majority (95%) of my music listening for some time yet. and CD's getting even cheaper = yay!

and vinyl= getting more expensive... WTF?

so i'd have a massive disk sale, but i don't know if i want to be parted from those precious inlays, nor am i sure whether cashing in my chips would be worth it. it's been a 12 year labour of love collecting these fuckers and i always assumed they'd be passed on to a worthy place when i died, or that i'd be able to sell a lot of them as collector's items in tghe year 2030 and make a mint. i had visions of a nebulous grandson picking out "giant steps" and wondering what the heck this little shiny circle thing was for, and then being astounded and amazed (or curiously amused) by the music they used to listen to in the olden days.

but yeh, it looks like since cds scratch/oxidise/snap of their own accord, this will never happen. also, why lug around an arseload of digital media in crappy plastic cases when you can carry it on medium the siz of a fingernail?

Hmm, I have data files, like digital photos and Word documents, that I've had for at least 8 or 9 years. They've been stored on 5 or more harddrives in that amount of time, so even when the drive dies, the files somehow find a way to live on...

But then 90% of people store things in "My Music" on the c: drive. I'm not optimistic.

Works for me anyway, because I'm very aware of the too much music thing. Less is more. We live in a time where it is possible to hear everything. This is a problem, not a benefit, because ultimately because we all have lives to live, you have to be selective.

I tend to give downloaded records at least 3/4 solid plays and a couple of weeks hanging around though. But if it's not good enough to buy, or I don't take to it in some way that feels personally satisfying & rewarding to me... I don't buy it, and I don't keep it either - in the (recycle) bin!

I do have some albums kind of on loan though :/ if they're enjoyable, above average, but not exactly "crucial" purchases they are "buy it when I see it, or see it cheap online" deals.

albums and tracks are sorted by year on my HD.

if i listen to music on computer it is via iTunes or WinAMP and usually at random.

if i'm selecting stuff to listen to it's usually because i've not yet heard it and want to or i want to boost the artist or track on my lastfm account (ha). obv. now and then i'll select an album to listen to in full.

anyway after a while this all just became the norm so i don't worry about it. my objective is to wittle the whole collection down to a pool of around 10,000 tracks with new stuff pushing old stuff not listened to for ages out (it'll still be backed up somewhere), plus i make me own mixes of stuff i like and just listen to it that way often.

music collection management - the lifelong hobby/pursuit continues.

ORLY? It's more like 70-200 years, according to the industry's estimates. And I have plenty that are this old already and they play just fine.

The only disc I've ever had w/ rot was the original Blue Orchids comp on Playtime. I haven't pulled that one out in a while .. should see how bad it's gotten

ORLY? It's more like 70-200 years, according to the industry's estimates. And I have plenty that are this old already and they play just fine.

Keith is posting from the future!!!

Pressed cd's supposed to be impervious to the Second Coming and the third ice age, but something in the ink and everything else degrades them pretty quickly. NIST says about 30 years or more in pristine conditions, but longevity is contingent on not touching cd readable surfaces with hands, putting them in hot or humid areas, getting oil on them, yada yada yada. The way they try to prove the 200 year timeframe is putting the discs in a testing "oven" and trying to "pressure cook" them, and then subjecting them to a battery of "marketing" and "advertising" claims.

'Course, if indeed cd's do end up lasting 200 years and I'm totally misremembering information, odds are it'll be La Bouche that survives and not the Mekons. Sadness.

The Future of Rock and Roll

So instead I wind up listening to books on tape.

Pretty much the same for me, only time I listen to music exclusively is in bed at the end of the day with the headphones on and the lights off.

(I wouldn't call music listening a hobby either.)

But if I'm really enjoying either pursuit then I have to stop whatever else is going on and concentrate on just the one thing, I resent being distracted by other things because I might miss somethign that's important or amazing or enjoyable.

And what is listening to music if it isn't a hobby? Or do people just resent the word "hobby"?

Isn't that really sad though, if listening to music's something you really enjoy, that you get bugger-all time to do it?

I'm not talking about a huge fuck-off sub-bass WHOOMPH that rattles windows, my speakers aren't that big and I don't have a sub, and a lot of my music-listening is done on headphones anyway - I just mean a subtle, controlled movement of air.

But if I'm really enjoying either pursuit then I have to stop whatever else is going on and concentrate on just the one thing, I resent being distracted by other things because I might miss somethign that's important or amazing or enjoyable.

I think this is all very well, but generally I'll find if the music is enjoyable or interesting enough then it will jump out no matter what I do. That's why I often listen to Black Metal if I'm tidying up or have to finish something in a hurry. It's monochrome enough NOT to distract me yet acts as an aural wallpaper and drowns out other distractions as well as being a frantic and relentless metronome to help me finish in double time.

And what is listening to music if it isn't a hobby? Or do people just resent the word "hobby"?

I'd say it's something I do an awful lot of the time. I don't see it as a hobby because hobbies are what stamp collectors do to fill up their spare time. I have little to no spare time and that's the beauty of music is you can do stuff WHILE listening to music.

I am sympathetic to not wanting to have more things around than necessary. On the other hand, I think it's a little imprudent to entrust your entire music collection to a hard drive.

Nick, I probably just resent the word hobby. But on the other hand, I'm not sure I would count listening to music as a hobby. (I think of a hobby as being more active. Not that music listening isn't or can't be active, but it's an unusually passive-active type of activitiy. The activity is largely a matter of making yourself receptive, as I see it, which is one reason it can combine well with taking certain drugs.)

x-post.

I have loads of time when I could just listen to music, and occasionally I do, but then usually I'll pick up a magazine or newspaper or surf the net within a few minutes. Sitting doing 'nothing' doesn't come naturally to me.

x-post again.

Sitting doing 'nothing' doesn't come naturally to me.

This kind of terrifies me. I've always been good at being bored though.

cuz I like to lie on my side and the headphones crush into my ears.

Sitting doing 'nothing' doesn't come naturally to me.

This kind of terrifies me. I've always been good at being bored though.

Oooh god no, I always have to be doing something with myself at least, I can't stare into outer space for more than 30 secs without getting fidgetty. Maybe I ough tot take up more sport, or maybe it's finger-reflex action from using ILX.

If you're running your PC's soundcard straight into an amp and then speakers, your PC is essentially just a very big, very complicated CD player with a LOT of music on it. If browsing that music, tagging it, putting it in playlists etcetera, and then choosing what to listen to (or NOT choosing, if you hit shuffle) really saves you the time it'd take to select a CD and put it in a drive, then good for you, but I can't believe it.

You're over-stimulated, dude. Are you also neurotic? How's your diet?

1) I listen to music in two environments. The first is in my studio (when I'm not recording people) through a pro-quality sound interface, on monitor speakers. The second is on my iPod Shuffle, which I'll likely be replacing with a full iPod soon. (I recommend replacing the stock Apple earbuds with just about anything else.) I was one of those kids who brought his Walkman with him wherever he went, and I find that I still "discover" a lot my favorite music in this fashion. (My new favourite thing is to select "Autofill" in iTunes and let it randomly pick a Shuffle playlist for me.)

2) I realized earlier this year that I would be far MORE likely to listen to the music I own if it were all clearly indexed & tagged. Usually, this is as easy as popping the disc in the CD drive and letting iTunes access the online CD Database for track listings. Out of all the CDs I own, there were probably fewer than a dozen instances where I had to hand-index a disc.

3) The notion that you cannot absorb music while doing other things is, to me, absurd. I enjoy reading, walking, exercising, and cleaning with a soundtrack. (Doing the dishes without music playing is just plain no fun.)

4) As far as sound quality goes, I'll go on record as saying that I can JUST BARELY hear the difference between a CD and that same CD rendered to a 320 kbps, AAC file.

5) Hard drive space is cheaper and more plentiful than it's ever been, and backup time is a question of hours, not days.

5) I'm at a point in my life where I want less "stuff" around me. I minimized my studio setup earlier this year so that I only had the things I really used in my rack. (I'm putting some of the redundant gear on craigslist. It's still perfectly good stuff, and someone else will be happy to pick it up for cheap.) I also chucked out most of a huge bin of cassette tapes that I knew I would never listen to again. So it makes sense that I would want to get rid of my CD collection.

I love reading, and I love beautiful poetic prose, the kind that deserves to be read slowly and savoured. But I read really quickly, I just can't help it, so I often don't appreciate a book as much as I could. But, I do reread my favourite books over and again.

But Nick, the thing is most of us ARE! That's what we're saying. Not all music even requires 100% of your attention all the time. I'd find it exhausting if I had to concentrate on every lyric and note I hear when listening to an album. Sometimes, yes, a band like Autechre are a lot better if you do nothing but shut the curtains, close your eyes, stick on a pair of headphones and chill; but if it's the Ramones or Rhythm and Sound or Ghostface Killah then it's better in the background.

If you're running your PC's soundcard straight into an amp and then speakers, your PC is essentially just a very big, very complicated CD player with a LOT of music on it. If browsing that music, tagging it, putting it in playlists etcetera, and then choosing what to listen to (or NOT choosing, if you hit shuffle) really saves you the time it'd take to select a CD and put it in a drive, then good for you, but I can't believe it.

I'm not advocating it at all and if you have your cd collection in pristine, alphabetized condition then jolly good. Mine however is in a shared house, all over the place and being cannibalised by cunt druggy housemates as I say. Also, the good thing is I can make CD compilations very easily this way, for instance I put together an entire CD-R of Halloween based music for a party we're having on Saturday.

It might just mean that you have other responsibilities. It's not necessarily sad.

Dude, if you're walking along and then an icecream van goes past, do you fall over?

Yes. I start to waddle towards where the music is coming from, and as I get more and more excited, I try to waddle more quickly, and more often than not, I trip up.

What I hate is all the time it takes to put music on the computer and then transfer it to the portable music device.

I wouldn't mind a CD of ice cream van tunes. Maybe Bjork could collaborate with a load of ice cream vans.

As a total aside, I'm not preaching total audio purity at all times - I encode at 192kpbs AAC because I listen mainly to my iPod on a train or walking with IEMs in, and there's just no point in trying to get a "full audiophile experience" then. Also, most people download off iTunes at, what, 128kbps? There's a BIG difference there, and not one I can accept.

X-post - haha, I'd pick Autechre for background and Ghostface for foreground!

No Jonathan Richman tho OK?

Moral of the story: do not have cunt druggies as housemates.

That is also a good point.

;_;

That is also a good point.

Oh don't worry, I'm working on this right now.

No Jonathan Richman tho OK?

Ding, ding.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Collection-Ice-Cream-Vans-Vol/dp/B00004T0TS/sr=1-24/qid=1161618092/ref=sr_1_24/026-3945335-0330023?ie=UTF8&s=music

there's a cd full of (warped) musicbox tunes doing the rounds at the moment. not quite icecream van tunes but close.

http://www.boomkat.com/item.cfm?id=23464

jonathon richman had a big hit with 'icecream man'. but apparently everybody else hates it. 8(

Ding, ding.

don't you mean "meep meep"?

charlie, posting your "stuff i'm selling" list is u&k!

Go on. Bid. It's amazing.

fascinating stuff. and links to places that sell the chime boxes (expensive)

but yes, too much music. have such a backlog of listening at the moment what with podcasts and downloads and streaming radio and cds from boomkat...

My mom's an archivist and whatever national association she's part of still says that quality magnetic tape is the most provably durable longterm storage option. CDs just haven't been around long enought to really tell.

I have a bit more than a quarter of a pie chart to fill up on my "device" but I've got loads of music that isn't on it yet (and I haven't got that much in the first place). I just know that as soon as it is filled, it will conk out. I'm sure the battery life is getting shorter already.

one thing that I don't get about 'deep' listening: are you literally just thinking about the music that's playing when you're doing this? I don't think music uses enough of my brain for this to work. if I go clubbing, my brain's usually churning through other stuff, and the same applies to going to gigs, unless they are extremely physical. maybe this is less about maths and actually a more general question about the way one thinks?

also the notion that listening via a computer = looking at a computer screen = crazy.

also freeing up space by selling cds = a very good thing, I really should chuck a few hundred more up on ebay.

I came to this thread thinking "yeah, me too, I've got to sell a few hundred CDs and not buy any more" (losing job, want to move, just plain sick of not being able to find music I know I have or, say, the floor among stuff I'll never listen to again, etc) and now I'm thinking how much I want to buy Dog Latin's collection by the armful. Mmmm CDs. Help!

Do they actually shift on amazon or just sit there for months? Nothing I've got seems to get much on ebay, even things I thought would sell ok, and I've got a lot of forgotten 90s indie crap that probably nobody wants.

Sick Mouthall, yesterday.