The Metal Files

I go through phases where I just really don’t want to hear music.  Conversely I go through times where I can’t get enough of it.  As some of you faithful readers may know, I have been selling off a large portion of my CD collection.  “Why?” you may ask?  Mainly because most of the stuff was just sitting there taking up space.  I tend to move a lot.  I’ve been here in Austin for 3 years and just moved into my 4th place.  Moving all those boxes gets to be a bit laboring!  haha.

I did a purge around 2000/2001 and got rid of about 200-250.  This time I plan on getting rid of about 1000.  Many I kept simply for nostalgic reasons.  “I loved this album.  I’ve had this CD forever.”  etc etc.  Sure it made for nice conversation when folks would come and peruse the collection, but really, who gives a shit?  I will be keeping some sentimental faves, around 600 of them…Iron Maiden, some Stones, Triumph, Warlord, WASP…the albums that really matter to me.  They’ll also be on the iPod.

As I’ve been going through this selling process, I’ve been converting many of them to MP3 format.  Last week I bought the 160gb iPod.  For years I said I’d never get one.  “Screw those things!  I love my CDs!”  Now, and it hasn’t even been a full week of ownership, I love this thing.  Right now I just have it loaded with the stuff that I have pulled out of the collection and sold, much of which isn’t even my favorite stuff from the collection.

I just put it on shuffle and let it go.  It’s nice.  There are a few times when I have to grab the iPod and look at who’s playing as it’s something that I don’t recognize.  “Wow.  I forgot all about this song!”  It’s been nice revisiting much of the stuff that just collected dust over the years.  Conversely, there are many CDs that I am not bothering to convert.  I mean I really don’t need to hear Defiance’s Void Terra Firma ever again.  I never really liked it but kept it and their others just to be a completest.  Completest no more!

I did add some stuff like Triumph’s Thunder Seven (my least fave of theirs) and heard a few tracks coming and going San Antonio last weekend and thought, “Wow, this was a good album after all!”  This morning on my way to work I heard Toy Matinee’s Ballad of Jenny Ledge and it just gave me that warm comfortable feeling that music can often give me.  It’s just got me back in the music mood again and I love it.

On top of that add in that my main band is playing out again and last week’s show was great and I think we picked up a lot of new fans.  Life is good…and thanks to music it gets better.

For as much smack as I talked about iPods over the years, I now want to thank them for renewing something in me that was always there.

I had a great conversation with a friend about this over a sushi dinner on Sunday and we both came to the same conclusion…Music is life and life is music.  Amen, sister.  Amen.

Music is and always has been my one true love.

Carry on.