There's been some discussion of late, among
the folks who gather at the old watering
hole, concerning how we buy, store and even
listen to music in 2013. We each have our
own problems, solutions and suggestions in
this regard, but the common thread that
binds us is that we are all in it for the
long haul. By whatever means necessary,
we'll be grooving to our favourites and
digging the new, until we drop.
My primary issue is one of space. I've no
doubt that if I had the funds and enough
square footage, I would have a music
collection of John Peel proportions. In the
real world, however, we have a front room
that I have to occasionally remind myself
actually is a room, so crammed is it with
boxes of books, CD's, records and sundry
other stuff accumulated along life's
highway. It needs addressing, both to
reclaim the room and to be able to unbox and
enjoy the stuff we do have. To that end,
I've purchased a 4tb external hard-drive and
begun wading through CD's, ripping as I go.
It's a bittersweet experience I can tell
you, as nearly every one of them is a memory
of some kind. My aim is to get the physical
collection down to a manageable level while
backing-up and dispatching what's not
essential, though, as we all know, what
might appear non-essential today may well be
life-affirming tomorrow.
In my dreams....minus the carpet
On the subject of life-affirming, I had long
ago discounted a purchase of the forthcoming
Clash box-set on the grounds that a) it
isn't as comprehensive as it could be,
b) I have all the music on it (sometimes in
multiple copies), c) the expense and d)
the dimensions! It would take up a ton of
potential shelf-space that I'm trying to
free-up. I was pleased with my resolve and
proud of my self-restraint. Then, a few days
ago, the following footage appeared online.
Familiar stuff to the average Clash fan, but
in drastically better quality than has
previously been available. As I watched this
glorious performance, two of the four songs
played by the band on the US TV show
'Fridays' in April 1980, my resolve melted,
my self-restraint ebbed away and I slipped,
tripped and fell in love all over again. I
ordered the box-set. Something slightly less
life-affirming will have to go to make way
for it.
Happy Birthday Joe
