| All of which is the long-hand way of saying that I’m making a mix CD tonight: of stuff I’m interested in, of stuff I’m already sure I like and which I’m actively seeking out, of stuff I only just heard of yesterday. And when I’ve got my mix CD, it will serve some of the same function for me that mix tapes did, a thousand years ago: it’ll be a compilation where only I am to blame if there’s anything on it I don’t like; it’ll enable me to listen to songs removed from their original contexts, thereby placing them in relief for closer examination; it’ll give me something to spend twenty minutes needlessly fretting about, i.e. what to call the damned thing, not that anybody in the whole universe cares even a little. In addition, it’ll serve some purposes that mix tapes couldn’t have -- that nothing could have prior to the advent of file-sharing: I’ll use it to familiarize myself with artists whose records I haven’t bought and can’t otherwise hear; I’ll be able to duplicate it without loss of sound quality, although admittedly an mp3 doesn’t really have any sound quality to speak of: they sound awful: if you need to be convinced of this, you won’t be, so let’s not waste our breath on the question; anyhow, I’ll be able to make copies of it even if I’ve had one arm entirely gnawed off by rats, and thereby I’ll be able to demonstrate both my extreme resourcefulness and my impeccable good taste. Or not. Here’s what’s on the disc I’m making tonight: |
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