CDs

Got the re-mastered edition of Remain in Light by Talking Heads on the system and I have to say that as far as re-masters go the Talking Heads series is going to stand as a stunning achievement. Most re-masters seem to be little more than an exercise in turning up the volume but not these, they are incredible and it is frankly hard to believe that they haven’t quietly gone back into the studio and re-recorded them so different they are to the originals.

Just about finished re-arranging my precious cd collection, really trying to thin it out and just keep the ones that I know that I really like. The exercise is supposed to be part of my strategy to cut down on my cd buying habit which I have to admit has been bugging me for some time. How many times have I walked into a HMV or Virgin on the off chance of finding something that I think that I’ll like and then blowing the best part of 20 quid? More recently of course it has not so much physically going to places as just browsing the web. I have had a pretty good go and I think that I am just getting rid of the stuff I know I’ll never play again. What I am now left with is a collection of around 500 CDs give or take one or two and that should really be more than enough. The batch that have just come out of the racks, deemed no longer necessary, will either be given away to anyone who wants them or just taken down to the local charity shop. Simple as that, I know I won’t miss them. Well at least I hope that I know.

Hopefully it will all go towards making me think twice when I next have the urge to go and buy a CD which will probably be tomorrow or sometime over the weekend. And I guess that when I sit down and really think about it there is not that much truly great stuff that has been released; especially these days where a lot of music is made by people who are simply pursuing a career and nothing more than that. Since getting my new car, a Toyota Avensis, I have also been going through a period of taking CDs out to the car and seeing which ones sound best on the eight speaker sound system. The CDs that I currently have in the motor are two by the French new progressive group Air, a recent live CD by British metal masters Iron Maiden, the re-mastered Bob Dylan 60s classic Blonde on Blonde and the first volume of the Wilco and Billy Bragg collaboration on tracks written by Woody Guthrie. I think it is called Mermaid Avenue but I might be wrong about that, having not played it for a good couple of years. In fact it nearly got chucked in the previously mentioned recent purge. Somehow it managed to hold on and I’m glad about that as I am sure that it would be ones of the ones I would regret getting rid of a couple of weeks or months further down the line.

Anyway all of this must show what a luxury life must be for me if these are the things that occupy my mind at the moment, when there are so many more serious things going on in the world. Thankfully I am in good health and have no need to worry about money or anything like that as long as I stick to my monthly budget. So many people are not in such a fortunate position and face real difficulties in both those areas. It will be helpful to me if I continue to be mindful of that and appreciate what I have, celebrate each day as the new dawn appears on the horizon.