12 posts tagged “vox hunt”
Show us something you need to get rid of, but just can't bring yourself to toss out.
Submitted by Felipe Anuel.
OK, you have got to be kidding me that this is today's Vox Hunt question, because I'd been planning for a while to write this up today. The answer is: my CD collection. It's immense (I haven't counted in a while, but I wouldn't be surprised if I've hit 800). As you no doubt know if you're reading this, I adore music, and I'm one of the last people alive to be buying CDs. But I'm finally getting to the point where I'm wondering if it's worth owning them anymore.
At this point, I buy CDs because I want to support artists; I buy them, I look through the packaging once, I rip them onto my computer, and I put them on the shelf. And that's where they stay. I don't even have a dedicated CD player anymore -- all my music-listening takes place on my computer or iPhone (note that I didn't say iPod -- I should probably sell my 60GB 4th gen iPod, and in fact I might bang it up on Craigslist today and flog it off for a quick $100). I'd love to have a nice stereo set with good speakers, an amplifier, a CD player and a turntable for vinyl records (which I don't own, but am crazy enough to want to collect -- more on that later), but that's pretty far down the list of purchases I need to make for myself, supplanted by a new TV, new furniture, new clothes, new laptop, etc.
So. My CD rack -- as gorgeous as it is -- is, essentially, a piece of furniture or home decor at this point. The rack itself is also structurally compromised; when rearranging my living room a couple months back, I was stupid enough to try to move it to another wall without emptying it completely, and the stress has really done a number on it -- it won't survive another move, be it to another apartment or just another spot in this one. And speaking of moving, God help me the next time I have to pack all of these things up; enough of the cases are cracked at this point already, and as you might expect, they fill a lot of fucking heavy boxes.
I've just embarked on a mission to re-rip everything I have, standardizing on 256kbps MP3 instead of the various bitrates and formats I've used over the years; it makes files a little too big for my iPhone's paltry 8GB of memory, but it matches the Amazon MP3 store, where I'll likely be making a lot more purchases in the future. And once everything's re-ripped, I intend to sell a good number of them -- I've culled out something like 200 discs, many of them singles or EPs I bought for bonus tracks but many of them full albums I've just grown away from (all of which are currently stacked in random places around my apartment, as I don't want to lug them all down to the record store at once but would rather bring them a list and have them let me know if they're interested). I've almost never sold CDs before, so this is a big step. But as you can see in the picture above, that cull only emptied out a small part of that previously chock-full rack. So I'm wondering if, at this point, it wouldn't just make more sense to take the total plunge and sell every single one of them. They have sentimental value, but they're a pain in the ass to deal with when you live in NYC, and if I try to only keep the ones I care about I'll suddenly find myself justifying far, far too many of them.
But that leaves the question of where I'll get my music in the future. For full albums, I refuse to buy digital-only unless they're high-quality, DRM-free files, like iTunes Plus or Amazon MP3, but there aren't enough labels participating in either of those yet to completely supplant CD-buying, and I'm not principled enough to believe I can just refuse to buy records from labels who don't participate -- I'm going to want that music. I'm also not un-principled enough to just illegally download those records; true, the labels won't sell them to me in the format I prefer, but I don't want to punish artists for their labels' foolishness.
So I want advice on this. Most of you know me and my music-buying habits (and my need for a quick cash infusion) well enough to weigh in here. Should I go for it and liquidate them all? Or am I better off straddling the gap for another couple of years?
Show us an artist who you wish would hurry up and put out a new album.
Gavin Friday. For God's sake, Gavin Friday. His last (excellent) songwriter album, Shag Tobacco, was released in 1995. That's a Kate Bush release schedule! He's been active -- doing some film work (soundtracks and acting) and a lot of one-off performances in Ireland and Europe -- but for someone stranded here in the States who only gets the chance to enjoy him on record, the wait is becoming kind of painful. The good news is, his voice seems to have undergone a kind of renaissance in the last couple of years; the bits and pieces I've heard of his recent performances have sounded better than ever. So there's light at the end of the tunnel.
Also, it's only been a couple of years since Around The Sun, but the more I hear about the new R.E.M. album the more I want it now now now. Does that count?
Show us a minor indulgence.
Submitted by Elisheva Chana.
If it's possible for a cheeseburger with four patties, four slices of cheese, and bacon to still be considered "minor," then yesterday's lunch qualifies. (I've had a tough week, OK? I totally earned this.) And yeah, it was kinda tasty, but not really all that great in the end.
And yes, this is the burger I blogged about here. I'm surprised it took me nearly a year to work my way up to the Quad (I've done the Triple several times), but I don't go to BK all that often.
Book: What book would you like to see made into a movie?
Submitted by Felipe Anuel.
The Invisibles, as I've said before, is one of the single most personally influential pieces of fiction I've ever encountered. I unquestionably wouldn't be in the comics business today if I'd never read it. The only piece of original comics art I own is from issue #13 of Vol. 2, the first issue of the series I ever read -- it's page 20, the moment immediately before Boy sees Barbelith for the first time. It's hanging next to my computer right now; you may see it every so often when I turn my iSight around (which generally means I don't feel like turning the webcam off but don't feel like showing people what I'm doing, either.)
"We're in the business of preserving life and saving souls. What do you want me to say, Lucille? You saw the dark down there and you overcame it. You saw the face of the enemy and you still didn't pull the trigger. Congratulations, kid. You're ready for contact."
[In case you have no clue what I'm talking about -- the summary I give when asked to describe the series is "Culture terrorists on a mission to utterly destroy reality as we know it, in favor of ushering in the new golden age. At least they think that's what will happen, anyway."]
Book: What book are you most ashamed you haven't read?
Submitted by Byrne.
I've never actually read the entire Bible. So in terms of pure cultural ignorance, I guess that'd be it.
I'm coming into the home stretch of INFINITE JEST, however (only 200 pages to go!), so the odds of my picking up something that long as a follow-up are pretty much nil -- right now it's probably going to be Cormac McCarthy's THE ROAD. Then Jorge Luis Borges' COLLECTED FICTIONS. And then either GRAVITY'S RAINBOW or The Bible, depending on what kind of masochism I'm in the mood for.
Audio: Share your favorite track from a live album.
Submitted by -Lisa.
This was a hard one -- I almost went with "Jack The Ripper" from Morrissey's Beethoven Was Deaf, or "The Weeping Song" from Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds' Live At The Royal Albert Hall. But the gay won out in the end:
Video: Show us a clip of a TV show you miss.
Audio: Share one of your favorite songs from 2006.
Consider this one a preview of my (hopefully) forthcoming Best Of 2006 Music write-up. I can't pick a single runaway favorite, so here are three of my very favorite songs from the year:
Nelly Furtado's "Maneater" leaked back in March -- right around my birthday, in fact -- and I've been listening to it continuously, over and over, ever since. It hasn't worn out even the tiniest bit. A spectacular pop song; I'm glad "Promiscuous" (which I also love) was a giant hit, but I can't help feeling that this one was just as deserving and got lost in the shuffle.
I appear to be one of the only people I know who thinks that "Kiss You Off" runs away with the best-track prize on the new Scissor Sisters album, even in strong company. I guess I just love Ana Matronic: I do sometimes wish she had the kind of presence on the records that matched her absolutely integral part in the live shows.
I am also of the firm opinion that the Arctic Monkeys pretty much blow,
and are about the most overrated band on the planet, even after all the
backlash (though despite said backlash, the album managed to retain
vestigial placings on entirely too many best-of-year lists -- shame on
you, lazy critics). The only thing they have going for them as a band
is that "I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor" is a pretty likeable
song, and while their performance of it is, in my humble opinion, just
serviceable, the Sugababes totally nail it to the wall, combining even
fiercer guitars than the AM original with awesome "robot from 1984"
synths. Suck on that, umpteen-millionth band of British whiteboys!
Show us a video that cracks you up.
