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April 27, 2008
Old Friends
I've been putting off this decision for a long time, and today was the day to make it. Shall I leave my LPs and turntable behind, or drag them along on this move? I've gotten pretty good at pitching stuff in the past few weeks, so I felt ready to confront the decision. When the time was right, I was rested, and the light was good, I sat down next to the cupboard where the LPs are stored.
And what did I discover? Many old friends! Many that brought a smile to my face or a memory to my mind's eye. Just as with the coffee cup collection in my office, I can tell a story about most of the LPs that remain. It wasn't a difficult decision to make - I'll be taking my friends with me. (If I had time, I'd get an LP to CD converter and digitize them, but that is simply impossible for now.)
As a nod to my need to trim, I identified about 50 LPs I can let go of. Some are ones I had purchased CDs of, and others are ones that I'm just not interested in any more. A few I have on "greatest hits" CDs, but there's something about the memory of the songs in their exact order that brings that smile. It's odd, but when I hear a greatest hit CD, I get disoriented when the songs are in a different order than on an LP I played a zillion times. (This happens rarely, and only about certain LPs I care a lot about or have very vivid memories attached to.)
Do I have eclectic tastes? Judge for yourself. Here are a few I didn't want to part with.
Phoebe Snow, "Second Childhood" (1976). This may have been her first album. I love her unique voice.
Dan Fogelberg & Tim Weisberg "Twin Sons of Different Mothers" (1978). A wonderful collaboration (flute & guitar). Fogelberg died in December of prostate cancer at the age of 56.
Soundtrack to Zeffirelli's "Romeo & Juliet". I loved this movie and the score - it really made Shakespeare accessible. And Olivia Hussey was a great Juliet.
Palestrina, "Missa Papae Marcelli" - This was a Deutsche Grammophone Archiv recording - It always felt like an extravagance to buy these, but it was worth it! This sealed my love of sacred choral music.
"The Zodiac: Cosmic Sounds" -- 'celestial counterpoint with words and music' The back cover says "must be played in the dark" -- Hey, I went to college in the 60s!
"Howdy Doody and Santa Claus" This is a 78 rpm set from my childhood (1953) - How could I let go of this friend?
Why does all the world look bright
On this very merry night?
All because of Santa Claus,
Hurray for Santa Claus.
From his wrinkley nose
To his twinkley toes
Hurray for Santa Claus!
Where would we be without friends??
Posted by hgroteva at April 27, 2008 12:06 PM | Moving | Music - of all kinds