Thanks to Sander, Tristor, and Jesse. I have been smacked upside the head with a baton. A musical baton that is, not the kind the cheerleaders or majorettes have. It’s an interesting moment for self-analysis though…

Total volume of music files on my computer:

1,905 Files, 8,341,171,980 bytes (7.77GB).
The vast majority of which is legal, ripped from my own CD collection. This still only represents about half of my CD collection. Roughly a hundred files are singles, half of which I ripped from CD collections, leaving about 50 or so of questionable origin. I do not recall how they got into my collection, I swear.

Last CD I bought:

Hmm, I’ll go one better. Well, three better.

• Latest artist repeat-buy: U2’s How to dismantle an Atomic Bomb.
• Latest artist-first-buy: Dido’s Life for Rent (then No Angel shortly afterwards)
• The actual Latest CD purchased: Sequentia/Choral Ensemble of the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis Chill to the Chant, although this is a replacement for the original I bought in 1995 that has been lost in the mists of time and moving, repurchased April 30 for $1.96.

Playing right now:

Tony Bennett Unplugged

Five songs that mean a lot to me (in no particular order):

• Depeche Mode’s One Caress – I’ve sung this for exactly one person, although I’ve sung it in front of many more. It’s just four minutes of purple velvet from my soul.
• Frank Sinatra, It Was A Very Good Year – So bittersweet and honest, it tells a story with no regrets.
• Samuel Barber, Adagio for Strings (Opus 11) – It just rips my heart out every time.
• The theme from the original The Legend of Zelda – Why? if you need ask why, then you also need to listen to an orchestral version. To me, it’s a soaring theme with a simple but bold melody. It brings to mind being eight years old playing in a lush, verdant field and rolling hills, and infinite adventures beyond the horizon.
• Phantom of the Opera, Music of the Night – Again, for exactly one person. It’s a sweet pain that reminds you what it is to live life to it’s fullest.

Five albums that mean a lot to me (also in no particular order):

I’ve added this section because coming up with those five songs reminded me how I feel about albums. I agree with the artists that still cling to the artistry that is an entire album. With these five choices, the album is a masterwork of flowing moods. For me, choosing one song from these would be like picking a single color from a Van Gogh, or a single word from Shakespeare.

• U2’s Achtung Baby – The entire album just fits me like a second skin.
• Tori Amos’ Little Earthquakes – Incredibly revealing, you just can’t turn away. You’re forced to share yourself in return.
• REM’s Automatic for the People – A long look back at the life you’ve lived so far, coming to terms with it, accepting it, holding on to it, and finally accepting who you are. And that’s ok.
• Depeche Mode’s Violator – Peeling back the veneer of civility to reveal the base desires in us all. A cool yet smouldering passion.
• The Cranberries’ Everyone Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We? – A time of many firsts and many loves. The memories attached to this are so strong I literally couldn’t listen to it for about seven years. And yet I could never forget it, or let it go.

Five people to whom I’m passing the baton (still in no particular order):

• ct^ – He’s just freakin’ cool.
• MightyMu – The second best non-native-Pennsylvanian you’ll never meet.
• Wil Wheaton – I hope I can get Uncle Willie to reply in his “Big Willie” style…
• Nosebleed – Don’t drip on the carpet, it’s new!
• Asa Dotzler – Just to see if I can get him to reply. About as likely as Wil…

Now it’s your turn. (Some linkage below if you’re interested…)
» Continue reading “Follow the bouncing baton…”