Maggie's Farm

We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.

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Monday, February 11. 2008

Organizing my CDs

Stormy afternoon house cleaning yesterday after church and Lenten Group study, including putting away some Christmas stuff. Decided to pick up and re-order the CD mess - hundreds scattered everywhere and many loose, homeless orphans separated from their jewel cases.

I wondered whether anybody still buys, or uses, CDs very much. I still like them, because I have three quite high-end sound systems around the place (including my precious Legacy speakers) which I enjoy more than computer speaker sound.

Anyway, I collected every CD in the house and put them all back in their cases, and made stacks. To Keep it Simple, Stupid, I made five categories: Pop (incl. rock), Classical, Roots (eg folk, blues, country - including every Emmy Lou - , Jazz, Irish, etc) and Misc (religious, Christmas music, Broadway, Cole Porter, Shakespeare plays, random home-made mixes, etc) and, finally, a Dylan stack.

The Pop, Classical, Dylan, and Roots stacks (many stacks of each so they wouldn't topple) were about the same height. How did the Dylan stack get so high? Because the Dylanologist has given me so many CDs of live performances (on top of all of his production recordings), which are far more interesting than the commercial CDs despite the iffy sound quality.

Creating order out of chaos is both mindless and satisfying, like doing the wash. I did find a Highway 61 Revisited in a Schubert case. I did end up with about 20 loose CDs without cases, and about ten cases without their CDs, which ain't bad.

I have enough Creedence. I need more Schubert, though.

Posted by Bird Dog in Our Essays, The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation at 10:55 | Comments (19) | Trackbacks (0)

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My beloved is still grieving from the last time I tried to organize CD collection. I bought one of those big notebook type storage sysems with the little slots for the disc, but not the plastic box they come in--soo, I removed the best ones (I think) from their boxes, disposed of the boxes and put the discs in their little plastic sleeves. This system is so clumsy --it is an abomination from which this family still has not recovered. Any great ideas about storage are most welcome. As I write this I am just a few feet away from three stacks four feet tall. Our B&O system is without a disc player--but, still can't beat the sound!
#1 apple pie on 2008-02-11 11:27 (Reply)
I use the cheap but sturdy black plastic ones that hold 100 CDs each, and stack those up in the closet that holds the sound equipment.
#1.1 BD on 2008-02-11 11:39 (Reply)
"Any great ideas about storage are most welcome."

Ask, and ye shall receive:

http://www.dr-mercury.com/tb/tbcaftek.htm
#2 Dr. Mercury (Link) on 2008-02-11 14:03 (Reply)
Everybody needs more Schubert.
#3 Skookumchuk (Link) on 2008-02-11 15:00 (Reply)
thanks! we'll be over for dinner tonite--me, maw, and the 7 chilluns.
#3.1 Melvin Schubert on 2008-02-11 15:07 (Reply)
On the menu tonight - hot dog gravy and biscuits.

Moon Pies and Dr. Pepper for dessert.
#3.1.1 Skookumchuk (Link) on 2008-02-11 15:16 (Reply)
Nice Dr. M.
I just try to keep the stacks low. Like to keep paper and CDs filed so I can flip thru them without going thru a pile.
#4 Patina on 2008-02-11 15:04 (Reply)
I've been putting my CD's on my computer. I'm about two thirds through the project and have enough listening hours to play music non stop for a year and a half.

I have discovered that I'm too heavily weighted in SRV, Eric Clapton, and the Allman Brothers. Provided one can be too heavily weighted with those choices.

I just purchased one of those gizmos that allows you to turn records into CD's. I think it's gonna be fun to take the music I inherited from my grandparents from the 20's and 30's and get it on the computer.

I need more Bob Dylan!!!
#5 Habu on 2008-02-11 16:42 (Reply)
What! No doo-wop? seesh.
#6 Jack on 2008-02-11 18:31 (Reply)
Jack,
Lots of do wop, R&B, lots and lots of blues, beach music ..I've even got different sound effects CD's...

I remember the first rock and roll song I actually memorized when it came out was "All Shook Up" by Elvis. I was in the third grade and every party my folks gave I'd get dragged out to do my Elvis thing. Heartbreak Hotel...great stuff....the Everely Brothers harmony is not to be missed. Crying in the Rain..fab stuff.
#6.1 Habu on 2008-02-11 20:23 (Reply)
I find I have a hefty stack of Thai Loogthung music

Here's one http://rhhardin.home.mindspring.com/thaibikesong.ram

(Pumpuang Duangchan, I believe)

that I put up to compare with the McGarigle's Bike Song from Matapedia, as to rhythmic mood, which struck me as similar.
#7 Ron Hardin (Link) on 2008-02-11 19:25 (Reply)
I did what Habu did and transferred the songs I like from CDs onto my computer. I transferred those into categories onto two iPods - one for each vehicle. My favorite is my Myrtle Beach collection (4 CDs) of Beach Music and second, my southern boogie/rock. With iTunes, I find I download about 20 new songs a month so that's fun. I also love ripping a CD for a friend and getting one in return.

Thank you, Steve Jobs!! :)

Oh. Big problem - I can't get rid of the old CDs for some reason. They're like books....sometimes you just have to touch them and look at the covers. Also, I have a pile of compilation cassettes. One vehicle will play cassettes and CDs, but that will be a thing of the past soon enough.
#8 Meta on 2008-02-11 19:56 (Reply)
Meta,

I know. Like how do you just give away or otherwise let go of those shiny discs?
#8.1 Habu on 2008-02-11 20:16 (Reply)
if you happen to have a .410 exposed-hammer Rossi side-by-side and someone to throw from 90 degrees, they make great close-in clay pigeons.
#8.1.1 buddy larsen on 2008-02-11 23:18 (Reply)
I'll go for a more abstract dumpage. Ride around the county and stick some in mail boxes. Take a load to the library and slide one at a time in between books. Take a pile to Wal-Mart and put them in the racks of new CDs. Go to a parking lot and put one underneath a windshield wiper..... do a lot that way. Wait until warm weather and dump them into open windows of trucks. I did that with 2,000 stuffed animals. It was at a tractor pull, and I just walked around with two huge bags and gave everyone a stuffed animal.
#8.1.1.1 Meta on 2008-02-11 23:45 (Reply)
What's an eyepod?

When you listen to music through various little gizmos, you can't really hear it. No acoutiscs. They turn it into noise.
#9 BD on 2008-02-11 20:31 (Reply)
BD - It's digital. In concert applause, you don't just hear the audience clap.... you hear each individual clap. Digital. Size does not matter.

I don't know what an eyepod is. A place for eyeballs to go for spa treatment after too many hours staring at a computer screen?
#10 Meta on 2008-02-11 22:50 (Reply)
ohh, me...i need to put my eyes in the eyepod....
#10.1 buddy larsen on 2008-02-11 23:14 (Reply)
I like to have both the CD for specific listening on high-end stereo and the digitized format on my computor to make my collection more portable and customizable. My wife thinks I'm obsessed as I can spend hours getting a 'play list' compilation just right. I love the iTones/iPod system as I've listened to more of my collection since I loaded my music than I did when it just was an overwelming pile of 500+ CDs.
#11 Phil G on 2008-02-12 08:13 (Reply)

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