Sixteen Tons (or Please Pass the Gravy)
Isn't it great to get all that eating and relaxing behind you and settle back into the work week. Yeah, nothing like it. Somehow I feel a poem coming on.
There was a struggling man who asked
For a day free from trying
There was a suffering man who asked
For just one day of dying
There was a weeping man who asked
For just one day of living
But never was the man who asked
For a Monday to follow Thanksgiving
I think Emily Dickinson wrote that. OK, maybe that was my pen at work, but seriously, as we pause to remember the food shouldn't we also take a little time to pause and reflect a little on friends and family and all that togetherness. Of course we should, and it brings to my mind a great old saying from some guy whose name I can't remember right now, but that just seems to sum it all up -
A hotel may not be a home, he said,
but it's better than being a houseguest.
How true, how true. Here's hoping you had a great Thanksgiving, and for God's sake I hope you didn't wash your hands using the "good" towels.
The Old Man And The Sea
They had a story about some 12 year old composer on 60 minutes last night, and I got to tell you it really creeped me out. According to the story, he started composing when he was 2 and now he walks around all the time waiving his hands and hearing this music in his head. In fact it's so bad he feels like he'll go crazy if he doesnt' get the music out of his head and write it down on paper. Now is it just me or doesn't that remind you of that old Edgar Allen Poe story, you know The Tell Tale Heart where this guy keeps hearing this beating heart until it slowly drives him mad. Eeewww, creepy.
Unfortunately, they didn't really air much of his music so it's hard to tell if it's any good or not, but even if it's not it doesn't matter much because, well, he's only 12. Of course it'll be a different story 10 years from now when he's no longer a precocious little boy. When that happens people will be judging him more by his music than his prodigious gift and he'll need to deliver. Hopefully he won't turn into another Bobby Fischer or something like that. You know, gifted child that grows into a completely wacko adult. I wish him well, though.
And speaking of prodigies, whatever happened to Sarah Chang? Oh, I know she's still recording and playing and she is still immensly talented, but it just seems that she's one of those prodigies that has never really had that big breakthrough CD that everyone expected. I've got a couple of her CD's and I like her playing, but neither of them are what I would call "breakthroughs". They're just too traditional, too much like everyone else to stand out from the crowd. Sure, traditional will get you played on the local radio station, but are there a lot of people who feel an urgent need to get the new Sarah Chang CD when it comes out? There may be some, but for the most part it's just good, solid, polished work that is almost too ordinary in it's goodness to get really excited about (if that makes any sense).
Her rival, or so they say, is my personal favorite, and even though I think this rivalry stuff is a lot of B.S., I do think that Ms. H.H. has already established a more distinctive body of work than Ms. S.C. It's all subjective, of course, and many people prefer the traditional, down-the-middle approach, but c'mon, it's not breakthrough, and I'm afraid that I'm still waiting for the Sarah Chang CD that really knocks my socks off. Maybe someone should tell her she's not a prodigy anymore and it's time for her to do some stretching and growing.
And speaking of H.H., I see that her latest CD is selling rather well. It was number 10 on Tower Records top selling list and in the top 50 over at Itunes. Pretty good for a CD that I'd characterize as being a little on the difficult side. At least it was for me, although I think I finally I understand it, or misunderstand it, as the case may be. Who can tell a correct interpretation from an incorrect one anyways. Just as long as you get some meaning from it, who cares? Of course you want to know what meaning I found, so I'll tell you, but first I should explain it took quite a bit of wandering before I finally found it.
My first wandering was back down to the record store to find another recording of the Elgar Concerto besides H.H's. They only had one other, but it just happened to be by one of my other favorite violinists so I bought the Nigel Kennedy version and brought it home. To say it was a different from H.H.'s would be a gross understatement, but then anyone with even a passing acquaintance with classical music knows that Kennedy (or is it Nigel Kennedy? I can't keep it straight. Let's just call him Nigel) is a very different violinist than H.H. Where H.H. is still and precise, Nigel is fanciful and flamboyant, and let me tell you he really takes that Elgar concerto for a ride. And yes, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
So that got me thinking that maybe H.H. has taken a serious misstep with her recording and gotten in a little over her head. I mean by the time I finished playing the Nigel CD my ears were burning and I didn't hear any of that fire anywhere on H.H.'s CD - just an odd sense of incompleteness. Well, I thought, even the great ones produce a dud every now and then, and Ms. H is certainly no different. At least she tried to find her own way with the piece and that always counts for something.
Then I got another CD. This time it was not the violin concerto but rather a well-known and highly regarded recording of Elgar's cello concerto by Jacqueline du Pre, and it is a wonderful CD by the way and certainly worthy of the praise it receives. In fact, Jacqueline du Pre and H.H. are a little similar, in a way, in that they both seem to want to get out of the way of the performance and let the music have it's own voice, rather than say a Nigel Kennedy who wants to stand out in front and be the center of attention. Not that one approach is better than the other, but listeners will have their preferences.
Anyways, on the same CD with the cello concerto were recordings of Janet Baker singing 5 Sea Songs also by Elgar, and it was hearing those songs that gave me first real insight into the violin concerto. You see, the violin concerto is widely known to have been dedicated as some kind of remembrance or eulogy, perhaps, for an acquaintance of Elgar's named Alice Stuart-Wortley, and that's how I kept trying to hear the piece, as sort of an elegaic or spiritual composition, but it just didn't seem to work that way. Later I read an interview that H.H. had given and she described the piece as lyrical, which it certainly is, and said she had made the recording as sort of a gift or dedication to her father. That was interesting but not very useful, and I was still more drawn to Nigel's interpretation than H.H.'s.
Finally, though, after hearing Janet Baker sing the Sea Songs I had my epiphany, if it can be called an epiphany. The movement of the piece is what seems so strange. When Nigel plays it you don't really notice the movement because you are so overwhelmed by the pyrotechnics, but when H.H. plays it you become aware that this piece doesn't march, it doesn't dance, it doesn't sing dirges or stroll through the woods - it swells, like the tides. It rises and falls, and rises and falls, and sometimes as it recedes it leaves behind little tide pools, or should I say "tone" pools, that glisten for a while until the music rises up to swallow them again. Instead of thinkng in linear terms I began to think in cyclical terms, I began to think of the ocean when I listened to H.H. play, and the suddenly the whole thing fell into place. I tell you, if you can clear your mind and just listen for the tides, this becomes an incredibly beautiful piece. I think that rather than being a miss this may be H.H.'s best CD to date. It gets my vote for best CD of 2004, although I don't think the critics like it nearly as much as I do. Still, a real breakthrough that I just keep listening to over and over.
I wonder if H.H. would agree with me on this. Hmmm, probably not. "You ignorant dunce", she'd say, "that's not what I had in mind at all." Well, it's all in the ear of the beholder.
Monday, November 29, 2004
Tuesday, November 23, 2004
It's My Ball So I Get To Be Quarterback
The Holidays. Bah Humbug! Yeah I know that's not what Christmas is all about, at least not the Christmas they advertise on TV. Christmas is supposed to be about family, and giving, and crowds, and calories, and overlimit credit card balances, and... Ah, enough already. I'm sorry if I'm not in the proper holiday spirit but I'm getting tired, and each year it seems more and more like a chore just to make it through the season. In fact I can see it coming already.
How long will it be, you think, before we start seeing those "news" stories about how we're doing this holiday season? You know the ones I mean.
"Retailers report a slow start to the Christmas shopping season, with sales volume 6% behind what they were this time last year. With Christmas accounting for as much as 60% of total yearly sales, many analysts predict that retailers may see revenue shortfalls of up to a gazillion dollars unless consumers get out those credit cards and start running up the balances. Many consumers, however, continue to watch prices closely and wait for discounts to arrive before they start shelling out the dough."
Geez, they always try to make you feel so guilty about not doing your part to add even more heft to the national debt. But I don't care about that, and I don't mind spending the money either, but I do resent it when the news shows and the commercials and even the politicians sometimes start turning the screws and pressuring already overextended consumers to go out there and spend.
Anyways, that's not what I wanted to talk about. What I really want to talk about is charity. Now I know everyone of us tries to do our part, especially at this time of year, and I guess the one thing that I always feel good about at Christmas time is my annual donation to Toys for Tots. I've been doing it for the past 15 or 20 years or so, but it seems like every year I end up donating the same thing. And that bugs me.
You see, I know that kids want to get the hottest, latest, coolest thing for Christmas, but I never know what the latest, hottest, coolest thing is. I imagine it's probably something electronic, or at least something that needs a battery, or maybe something radio controlled, or something that moves or makes some kind of noise, but I never donate those types of things. I could just donate money, but instead each year I give the same old dull, boring, been-there done-that kind of toy you can imagine.
I donate a ball.
It used to be I'd donate a softball or a football but I noticed that kids today don't seem to be playing much baseball or football anymore, so I usually give a soccer ball or a basketball instead. I know, I know, how b-o-o-o-o-r-i-n-g. But wait a second, I can explain, and it all goes back to (are you ready for this?) "WHEN I WAS A KID." You see, when I was a kid I used to get lots of those cool, fad kind of toys too, and I'd play with them intensely for about a week or two before I'd toss them into the closet and beg my parents for the next cool thing. But a ball was different.
My brother got a football for Christmas once and I swear that thing got regular use for at least the next 6 or 7 years. And not just by my brother, either. Every kid in the neighborhood knew who had the football and whenever it was time to get a game together you could be sure someone would come knocking on our door. I don't know whatever happened to that thing, but after a few years the strings were all broken and tied together in knots, and one of the seams had split open a little so that there was a big black bubble on one side where the rubber innertube used to stick out, and the surface had become so worn and smooth that we used to have to throw it shotput style to keep it from slipping out of our hands. But let me tell you, it got used and never sat around in the back of anyone's closet waiting to be thrown out.
So that's why I give a ball every year. You see, in my mind I have this idealized vision of some kid getting this ball for Christmas and getting all the neighborhood kids together and having a game just like we used to do. Realistically, of course, I also know it's far more likely that some poor kid is going to be looking around at all the really cool toys that everyone else got for Christmas and w0ndering why he or she just got this crummy ball.
And I feel bad about that.
Yep, I should donate something else this Christmas. But I keep thinking wouldn't it be great if some kid got a ball for Christmas, and him and his dad went down to the park and started throwing it around, or kicking it around, or shooting a few baskets. Wouldn't any kid get more out of that than some batteries not included gizmo, or some TV show movie deal action figure promo tie-in? Ok, probably not, but then, like I said, I'm an idealist.
That's why I think I'll donate a football this year. Kids don't seem to play much football anymore, and you know, that's too bad because if they did they'd find out that the game is a lot of fun. On a crisp winter day, when there's a bit of a chill in the air, after you've been cooped up inside all day, a football game is...well, if only I could be a kid again. Unfortunately, I'm not a kid and if I went out and played football now I'd probably break every bone in my body, but when you're young it's just about the most fun you can have. My favorite positions were receiver and cornerback, and let me tell you it wasn't like the NFL where all a corner has to do is brush the receiver a little or just look at him funny for a flag to come flying. By our rules, when going for the ball anything short of first degree murder was a-ok by us, and we had some crazy fun. At least it was for me.
Yeah, I'm going to donate a football and who knows, maybe someone will get a game going. Then after I've done my good deed for humanity and dropped it in the barrel I can get back to this business of Christmas. I heard an ad on the radio today where they were seriously suggesting that a Mercedes would make a great gift this holiday season. No kidding. Why not surprise that special someone with a new Mercedes this year.
We've certainly come a long way from frankincense and myrrh.
The Holidays. Bah Humbug! Yeah I know that's not what Christmas is all about, at least not the Christmas they advertise on TV. Christmas is supposed to be about family, and giving, and crowds, and calories, and overlimit credit card balances, and... Ah, enough already. I'm sorry if I'm not in the proper holiday spirit but I'm getting tired, and each year it seems more and more like a chore just to make it through the season. In fact I can see it coming already.
How long will it be, you think, before we start seeing those "news" stories about how we're doing this holiday season? You know the ones I mean.
"Retailers report a slow start to the Christmas shopping season, with sales volume 6% behind what they were this time last year. With Christmas accounting for as much as 60% of total yearly sales, many analysts predict that retailers may see revenue shortfalls of up to a gazillion dollars unless consumers get out those credit cards and start running up the balances. Many consumers, however, continue to watch prices closely and wait for discounts to arrive before they start shelling out the dough."
Geez, they always try to make you feel so guilty about not doing your part to add even more heft to the national debt. But I don't care about that, and I don't mind spending the money either, but I do resent it when the news shows and the commercials and even the politicians sometimes start turning the screws and pressuring already overextended consumers to go out there and spend.
Anyways, that's not what I wanted to talk about. What I really want to talk about is charity. Now I know everyone of us tries to do our part, especially at this time of year, and I guess the one thing that I always feel good about at Christmas time is my annual donation to Toys for Tots. I've been doing it for the past 15 or 20 years or so, but it seems like every year I end up donating the same thing. And that bugs me.
You see, I know that kids want to get the hottest, latest, coolest thing for Christmas, but I never know what the latest, hottest, coolest thing is. I imagine it's probably something electronic, or at least something that needs a battery, or maybe something radio controlled, or something that moves or makes some kind of noise, but I never donate those types of things. I could just donate money, but instead each year I give the same old dull, boring, been-there done-that kind of toy you can imagine.
I donate a ball.
It used to be I'd donate a softball or a football but I noticed that kids today don't seem to be playing much baseball or football anymore, so I usually give a soccer ball or a basketball instead. I know, I know, how b-o-o-o-o-r-i-n-g. But wait a second, I can explain, and it all goes back to (are you ready for this?) "WHEN I WAS A KID." You see, when I was a kid I used to get lots of those cool, fad kind of toys too, and I'd play with them intensely for about a week or two before I'd toss them into the closet and beg my parents for the next cool thing. But a ball was different.
My brother got a football for Christmas once and I swear that thing got regular use for at least the next 6 or 7 years. And not just by my brother, either. Every kid in the neighborhood knew who had the football and whenever it was time to get a game together you could be sure someone would come knocking on our door. I don't know whatever happened to that thing, but after a few years the strings were all broken and tied together in knots, and one of the seams had split open a little so that there was a big black bubble on one side where the rubber innertube used to stick out, and the surface had become so worn and smooth that we used to have to throw it shotput style to keep it from slipping out of our hands. But let me tell you, it got used and never sat around in the back of anyone's closet waiting to be thrown out.
So that's why I give a ball every year. You see, in my mind I have this idealized vision of some kid getting this ball for Christmas and getting all the neighborhood kids together and having a game just like we used to do. Realistically, of course, I also know it's far more likely that some poor kid is going to be looking around at all the really cool toys that everyone else got for Christmas and w0ndering why he or she just got this crummy ball.
And I feel bad about that.
Yep, I should donate something else this Christmas. But I keep thinking wouldn't it be great if some kid got a ball for Christmas, and him and his dad went down to the park and started throwing it around, or kicking it around, or shooting a few baskets. Wouldn't any kid get more out of that than some batteries not included gizmo, or some TV show movie deal action figure promo tie-in? Ok, probably not, but then, like I said, I'm an idealist.
That's why I think I'll donate a football this year. Kids don't seem to play much football anymore, and you know, that's too bad because if they did they'd find out that the game is a lot of fun. On a crisp winter day, when there's a bit of a chill in the air, after you've been cooped up inside all day, a football game is...well, if only I could be a kid again. Unfortunately, I'm not a kid and if I went out and played football now I'd probably break every bone in my body, but when you're young it's just about the most fun you can have. My favorite positions were receiver and cornerback, and let me tell you it wasn't like the NFL where all a corner has to do is brush the receiver a little or just look at him funny for a flag to come flying. By our rules, when going for the ball anything short of first degree murder was a-ok by us, and we had some crazy fun. At least it was for me.
Yeah, I'm going to donate a football and who knows, maybe someone will get a game going. Then after I've done my good deed for humanity and dropped it in the barrel I can get back to this business of Christmas. I heard an ad on the radio today where they were seriously suggesting that a Mercedes would make a great gift this holiday season. No kidding. Why not surprise that special someone with a new Mercedes this year.
We've certainly come a long way from frankincense and myrrh.
Thursday, November 18, 2004
Everything Old - Just Keeps Getting Older
The death embrace, er merger, of Sears and Kmart has inspired me once again to indulge my predilection for all things fleeting and nostaligic by wallowing in sentimental remembrance of things gone by. I don't why it's so, but the mere idea that the mighty Sears Roebuck and Co. could someday fade into the history books...well, I never imagined it could ever be so.
Yes, with Sears on the ropes I can't help but reflect on how many of the big names from my childhood have gone the way of the Dodo. I really can't count them all. Montgomery Wards, The Emporium, Woolworths, White Front, and Gemco, or lesser names like W.F. Grant & Co, Newberry's, Payless Drugs and Rexall Drugs (not officially dead but a mere shadow of its former self). Hell, I'm even old enough to remember my mother redeeming her books of blue chip stamps down at the blue chip stamp store. It was all such a long time ago.
Of course, many of the old stores didn't expire but merely changed their names or merged and morphed into the big mega institutions we have today. Gas stations, in particular, seemed to follow this pattern. When I was in high school we had 3 gas stations on the main intersection down the street and all of them have disappeared. Let's see, there was a Mobile station, and across the street a Standard station, and on the opposite corner sat a Humble station. They were all what we called service stations back then which meant that they fixed cars as well as pumped gas, and by pumped gas I mean some guy in a greasy blue shirt with a little oval name tag sewed on the fron would pump your gas while you sat in the car. Folks in Oregon or Quebec will know what I'm talking about.
Anyways, Humble Oil became Esso which merged with Mobile and became Exxon Mobile which calls itself Valero, and Standard changed their name to Chevron just like Richfield changed it's name to Arco. Gas stations like to confuse things, don't they. Route 66 stations merge with Phillips and become Phillips 66 which merges with Conoco and becomes Conocophillips, or Mohawk is swallowed by Getty which in turned gets swallowed and is now a part of Texaco, and Gulf Oil...hmmm...whatever happened to Gulf Oil?
Well, everything changes and I'm sure that when I finally shuffle off this mortal coil the world will be nothing like it is today. That's just one of those things that ages a person and makes him wonder "geez, how old am I, anyways?" I know the number but the number doesn't seem right. In fact I read a survey once where they asked people how old would they say they were if they didn't know how old they were. The top answer was around 19 years old, and that sounds about right to me even though I'm sure I can look over my youth and recall daily events from the past that would seem ancient indeed to today's 19 year olds.
I mean, how many contemporary 19 year olds can still remember milk trucks and milkmen? Not many, I bet, but I can still remember the Carnation trucks and Edelweiss Dairy trucks that used to cruise the streets of my neighborhood. Wasn't that a long time ago. A lot of our neighbors used to have their milk delivered, but we always went straight to the dairy to pick ours up. Saved money that way, I guess, and I can still remember going down to Bab's Dairy with my father to buy those big half-gallon bottles (as in glass) of milk. That used to be one of my favorite trips because my Dad would always buy us all Eskimo Pies whenever we were lucky enough to tag along.
Whoa, I'll tell you how old I am. I can even remember when the bakery truck used to come around to our house in Covina to deliver fresh bread and donuts. Man, that goes way back. Big yellow bakery trucks (vans, really) with great big brown donuts painted on the side. Can you imagine that happening today? Or can you imagine buying your fruits and vegetables fresh from the little stalls and open-air markets along the road. Well, they still do that today, I guess, with farmer's markets and such, but when I was a kid no one bought produce at the supermarket when there was so much abundance for sale in the roadside stands. Corn, cherries, watermelon, you name it, and best of all were the strawberries. I remember we always got our strawberries from a bent-backed old japanese woman who ran a little stand down on Berryessa Road. She was about 200 years old, I guess, and not much for conversation, and she used to sell these fresh, juicy strawberries for a quarter a basket. I know, I know, I'm wallowing, but those were the days.
And nowadays, well you get in your car and drive to the local megastore or local megacenter and fill your basket with pre-wrapped, pre-measured, pre-processed, corporate food products that have all been carefully inventoried and barcoded for your convenience. The youngun's take it all for granted of course, but us old crotchety types know that new isn't always better and even if it is, well, it just isn't the same. Heed my words, you new generation, for someday it will be your turn to remember for your children and grandchildren when there used to be a Sears.
The death embrace, er merger, of Sears and Kmart has inspired me once again to indulge my predilection for all things fleeting and nostaligic by wallowing in sentimental remembrance of things gone by. I don't why it's so, but the mere idea that the mighty Sears Roebuck and Co. could someday fade into the history books...well, I never imagined it could ever be so.
Yes, with Sears on the ropes I can't help but reflect on how many of the big names from my childhood have gone the way of the Dodo. I really can't count them all. Montgomery Wards, The Emporium, Woolworths, White Front, and Gemco, or lesser names like W.F. Grant & Co, Newberry's, Payless Drugs and Rexall Drugs (not officially dead but a mere shadow of its former self). Hell, I'm even old enough to remember my mother redeeming her books of blue chip stamps down at the blue chip stamp store. It was all such a long time ago.
Of course, many of the old stores didn't expire but merely changed their names or merged and morphed into the big mega institutions we have today. Gas stations, in particular, seemed to follow this pattern. When I was in high school we had 3 gas stations on the main intersection down the street and all of them have disappeared. Let's see, there was a Mobile station, and across the street a Standard station, and on the opposite corner sat a Humble station. They were all what we called service stations back then which meant that they fixed cars as well as pumped gas, and by pumped gas I mean some guy in a greasy blue shirt with a little oval name tag sewed on the fron would pump your gas while you sat in the car. Folks in Oregon or Quebec will know what I'm talking about.
Anyways, Humble Oil became Esso which merged with Mobile and became Exxon Mobile which calls itself Valero, and Standard changed their name to Chevron just like Richfield changed it's name to Arco. Gas stations like to confuse things, don't they. Route 66 stations merge with Phillips and become Phillips 66 which merges with Conoco and becomes Conocophillips, or Mohawk is swallowed by Getty which in turned gets swallowed and is now a part of Texaco, and Gulf Oil...hmmm...whatever happened to Gulf Oil?
Well, everything changes and I'm sure that when I finally shuffle off this mortal coil the world will be nothing like it is today. That's just one of those things that ages a person and makes him wonder "geez, how old am I, anyways?" I know the number but the number doesn't seem right. In fact I read a survey once where they asked people how old would they say they were if they didn't know how old they were. The top answer was around 19 years old, and that sounds about right to me even though I'm sure I can look over my youth and recall daily events from the past that would seem ancient indeed to today's 19 year olds.
I mean, how many contemporary 19 year olds can still remember milk trucks and milkmen? Not many, I bet, but I can still remember the Carnation trucks and Edelweiss Dairy trucks that used to cruise the streets of my neighborhood. Wasn't that a long time ago. A lot of our neighbors used to have their milk delivered, but we always went straight to the dairy to pick ours up. Saved money that way, I guess, and I can still remember going down to Bab's Dairy with my father to buy those big half-gallon bottles (as in glass) of milk. That used to be one of my favorite trips because my Dad would always buy us all Eskimo Pies whenever we were lucky enough to tag along.
Whoa, I'll tell you how old I am. I can even remember when the bakery truck used to come around to our house in Covina to deliver fresh bread and donuts. Man, that goes way back. Big yellow bakery trucks (vans, really) with great big brown donuts painted on the side. Can you imagine that happening today? Or can you imagine buying your fruits and vegetables fresh from the little stalls and open-air markets along the road. Well, they still do that today, I guess, with farmer's markets and such, but when I was a kid no one bought produce at the supermarket when there was so much abundance for sale in the roadside stands. Corn, cherries, watermelon, you name it, and best of all were the strawberries. I remember we always got our strawberries from a bent-backed old japanese woman who ran a little stand down on Berryessa Road. She was about 200 years old, I guess, and not much for conversation, and she used to sell these fresh, juicy strawberries for a quarter a basket. I know, I know, I'm wallowing, but those were the days.
And nowadays, well you get in your car and drive to the local megastore or local megacenter and fill your basket with pre-wrapped, pre-measured, pre-processed, corporate food products that have all been carefully inventoried and barcoded for your convenience. The youngun's take it all for granted of course, but us old crotchety types know that new isn't always better and even if it is, well, it just isn't the same. Heed my words, you new generation, for someday it will be your turn to remember for your children and grandchildren when there used to be a Sears.
Tuesday, November 16, 2004
What Have I Wrought This Ill-Gotten Day
I didn't buy Half-Life 2 just to look at the box, and yet there it sits. I'm going to install it, I know, but right now I'm not sure if that's such a good idea. I haven't eaten supper yet, nor finished the laundry, and I still have this book I just started and would like to finish before this new game consumes me. Oh the wasted days and wasted nights, the early morning's I'll forget to sleep as I push further and further into the story, unable to leave my computer until I find what lies beyond the next door or down the next passageway. I've been through this all before.
For those of you who don't have any idea what I'm talking about, Half-Life 2 is the sequel to Half-Life, a computer game considered by many to be the best ever made. Psshaw, I hear y0u say, a computer game, what's wrong with you man, to which I say psshaw back at you, not all computer games are alike. You know you can't judge the entire movie industry because of something like "From Justin to Kelly", and you can't judge the entire computer game industry because of something like "Pokemon" either.
Anyways, back in the day Half-Life and it's various add-ons consumed many, many hours (far too many, I'd say) of my life, and now the sequel is here and I get this sinking feeling that it's going to start all over again. That book I was reading, forget about it. Those things I needed to do around the house, huh, give me a break. But I went and bought the thing so I'm already half-committed, you might say. Went right down to Fry's and stood in line in front of a couple of other old farts like myself who just so happened to be holding copies themselves, and there we were at the counter, three of us all in a row plunking down our $60 bucks on the same stupid game. I've never been one who likes to swim with the other fish and I can't say I much cared for it, but it was kind of strange to see 3 middle-aged guys all standing at the counter with copies of Half-Life 2 in our hands.
Maybe you had to be there.
Needless to say I probably won't be blogging for a while. Hard as that may be for all who may be reading this, I fear I'm about to become cut-off like an astronaut orbiting the dark side of the moon, out of radio contact and venturing into the unknown recesses of space. Yes, I can hear the outcry "you must keep blogging", but destiny calls and I must answer. How strange that I should have journeyed for so long and so far only to end up here again in front of my computer. Fact is stranger than fiction isn't it, but then again
I've got a game to play.
(See you on the other side)
I didn't buy Half-Life 2 just to look at the box, and yet there it sits. I'm going to install it, I know, but right now I'm not sure if that's such a good idea. I haven't eaten supper yet, nor finished the laundry, and I still have this book I just started and would like to finish before this new game consumes me. Oh the wasted days and wasted nights, the early morning's I'll forget to sleep as I push further and further into the story, unable to leave my computer until I find what lies beyond the next door or down the next passageway. I've been through this all before.
For those of you who don't have any idea what I'm talking about, Half-Life 2 is the sequel to Half-Life, a computer game considered by many to be the best ever made. Psshaw, I hear y0u say, a computer game, what's wrong with you man, to which I say psshaw back at you, not all computer games are alike. You know you can't judge the entire movie industry because of something like "From Justin to Kelly", and you can't judge the entire computer game industry because of something like "Pokemon" either.
Anyways, back in the day Half-Life and it's various add-ons consumed many, many hours (far too many, I'd say) of my life, and now the sequel is here and I get this sinking feeling that it's going to start all over again. That book I was reading, forget about it. Those things I needed to do around the house, huh, give me a break. But I went and bought the thing so I'm already half-committed, you might say. Went right down to Fry's and stood in line in front of a couple of other old farts like myself who just so happened to be holding copies themselves, and there we were at the counter, three of us all in a row plunking down our $60 bucks on the same stupid game. I've never been one who likes to swim with the other fish and I can't say I much cared for it, but it was kind of strange to see 3 middle-aged guys all standing at the counter with copies of Half-Life 2 in our hands.
Maybe you had to be there.
Needless to say I probably won't be blogging for a while. Hard as that may be for all who may be reading this, I fear I'm about to become cut-off like an astronaut orbiting the dark side of the moon, out of radio contact and venturing into the unknown recesses of space. Yes, I can hear the outcry "you must keep blogging", but destiny calls and I must answer. How strange that I should have journeyed for so long and so far only to end up here again in front of my computer. Fact is stranger than fiction isn't it, but then again
I've got a game to play.
(See you on the other side)
Wednesday, November 10, 2004
Laura Takes A Gentleman Caller (or Two)
Phew! Thank God that John Ashcroft guy is finally gone. Guess we can all breathe a little easier now. No need to worry about secret arrests, secret courts, or secret trials. Nope, it's morning again in America, and we are free to speak our minds without fear of being labeled a traitor or a terrorist. Well I'd personally like to take this time to say once and for all that as far as I'm concerned John Ashcroft was a great big weenie-head and the country can now count its blessings that he's finally...
Ooops, sorry. Excuse me for a minute, I think there's someone at the door.
"Good evening sir, is Mr. Anthony Myers at home."
"I'm Mr. Myers, can I help you?"
"Good evening Mr. Myers, we're from the Justice Dept. My name is Officer Frank and this is my partner Officer Jack. Mind if we come in and ask you a few questions?"
"Uh, no, come on in. No, wait, could I see some identification first? Ok, that looks right. Come on in."
"Thank you. Mr. Myers, Agent Jack and I are special agents assigned to the special anti-terrorist unit of the U.S. Department of Justice and we're currently canvassing homes in the area looking for possible signs of terrorist activities in your neighborhood. "
"Terrorists, in this neighborhood? Do you have any particular suspects in mind?"
"No, no, just routine. We've been talking to people throughout the country and"
"Excuse me, can I take your coats?"
"No, we're fine. Like I said, we've been talking to various people around the country about"
"You think I might be a terrorist?"
"No, we didn't say that. But if you wouldn't mind answering a few questions...I promise we'll be as brief as possible."
"No, I don't mind. I've got nothing to hide. Ask away."
"Fine, Mr. Myers. Perhaps before we get started you wouldn't mind removing your shoes and socks."
"My what? My shoes and socks?"
"Yes sir, that's correct. As you may know we at the justice department have developed certain, uh, shall we say...terrorist profiles over the years, and one of the things we've noticed is that terrorism seems to be linked with unusually long toes. If you don't mind, we'd like you to remove your shoes so that Agent Jack here can take some measurements. It's strictly routine."
"I don't know, that's seems a little kinky to me."
"Please sir, if you don't mind."
"Ok, sure. Measure away. Like I said, I've got nothing to hide."
"Fine sir. Agent Jack, would you please?"
"Now, Mr. Myers. It has come to our attention that you have made some threatening remarks about the Attorney General lately. Is this true?"
"Threatening remarks? You mean like calling him a 'great big weenie-head'?"
"Exactly. Now Mr. Myers, did you in fact say that about the Attorney General? Did you in fact make a post on your blog calling him a 'great big weenie-head'?"
"Mmmmaaaybeeee...."
"Is that a yes or a no, sir?"
"Sure, I might of said that. But it was a joke. Honest."
"A joke" (long pause) "Sir, would I would be correct in calling you a liberal?"
"No, I'm an American, and just what are you trying to imply?"
"I'm not implying anything, sir, I'm just asking questions. So when you say you are an American does that mean your not a traitorous piece of liberal scum?"
"Huh?"
"Let me ask you another question Mr. Myers. Who did you vote for in the last election?"
"That's none of your damn business!"
"I see. Tell me, Mr. Myers, would I be mistaken in believing that those who don't cast a proper vote to save America from the terrorist threat are, in actuality, our enemies? And if I am not mistaken, then wouldn't it certainly be 'my business' to know how you voted in the last election?"
"I voted for Arnold, ok. There, see, I'm no traiterous liberal scum."
"Ok, Mr. Myers, we'll leave it at that. Tell me, is that an empty yogurt container I see sitting in the waste basket over there."
"Where, over there. Yeah, Yoplait yogurt. I eat it everyday. So what?"
"You eat french food everyday. Like french food do you? Maybe you like french people too, huh? Maybe you'd rather be living in France and cavorting with all those yellow-bellied french socialist scumbag arteestes and intellectuals than living here in the good Ol' USA with us plain old Americans? Isn't that right?"
"What are you talking about? I've never been to France in my life."
"Then explain the yogurt."
"The yogurt?"
"The Yo-Plait, s'il vous plait. Comprendez-vous?"
"It's yogurt, for crying out loud. I bought it at the supermarket."
"It's french yogurt."
"Actually, I think it's American yogurt. And anyways, if I'm not mistaken yogurt is turkish, not french, right? Turkey is our ally, aren't they. Hell, they're part of NATO, aren't they?"
"Hmmm, sounds french to me, but whatever you say. Still, I really hate the french. All a bunch of queers if you ask me. By the way, you're not..."
"Not what?"
"You know, Gay Paree and all that. You're not that kind of frenchie are you?"
"What kind of frenchie, is that?"
"Nevermind, although it would fit the profile. But, like you say, you're not... Like girls, do you?"
"Yes I do, especially the fleshy parts. What has that got to do with..."
"Ok, ok, just asking. No reason to get defensive. Still, it does fit the profile."
"How 'bout you, Agent Frank. You and Agent Jack seemed awful chummy when you walked in the door. You like girls?"
"I'm married."
"Yeah, I'll bet."
(tense silence)
"Ok, let's have a look at that computer. Where is it?"
"Computer? What computer?"
"Let's not play games here Mr. Myers, you know which computer I'm talking about. The one you use to post threatening and highly treasonous, I might add, statements about the Attorney General of the United States of America. May I see it please?"
"Why do you want to see it? It's just a computer."
"I'm afraid we'll have to take it in for evidence."
"Take it in? My computer? When will I get it back?"
(silence)
"You can't just come barging in here and take my computer. I have important files on that computer."
"I see, and what kind of files might that be?"
"Important ones, you know. Financial data, and things like that. Say, you aren't going to look through my files are you?"
"That would be the general purpose, yes. We'll need to do a thorough forensic examination of the contents of your hard drive."
"But wait..."
"Mr. Myers, will you please show us the computer. I'm afraid we won't be leaving here without it."
"Ok, ok, but first I should tell you something. Uh, you might some files, you know pictures."
"What kind of pictures are we talking about, sir."
"Pictures, just pictures, that's all. You know, naked barbie pictures, but I can explain. You see I'm doing some research"
"Uh-huh, just as I thought. You about done there Jack?"
"Toes look a little long, Frank."
"Ok, that does it. The toes, the yogurt, the naked barbie picture, it all adds up. Sir would you mind getting your coat. You'll be coming with us."
"Coming with you, where?"
"We'd like to ask you some further questions."
"No, I'm not going anywhere. Not until I talk to a lawyer."
"There's no need to talk to a lawyer, sir. It'll just be a few questions."
"I'm not answering anything until I talk to a lawyer."
"Sir, if you've got nothing to hide then there's no need for a lawyer, is there?"
"Sure there is. What if this thing goes to trial, then what? I'll need a lawyer then, won't I?"
"There's not going to be a trial, sir."
"No trial? What are we gonna do? Just sit around the courtroom and watch you and Agent Jack make goo-goo eyes at eachother?"
"There won't be any court, sir."
"No lawyer? No court? No trial? Say, what is this?"
"Sir, we live in dangerous times. The terrorists can strike anytime and the Attorney General feels that we don't have time to waste on all the lawyer tricks and legal mumbo jumbo. I think the American people, the true patriots anyways, feel secure in knowing that our government is wasting no time in sending terrorist scum like you straight into the penitentiary where you belong."
"But I'm not a terrorist."
"The toes, Mr. Myers, how do you explain that?"
"But I'm not a terrorist."
"The yogurt, the big weenie-head remark. How do you explain those Mr. Myers?"
"But I'm not a terrorist."
"The barbie pictures"
"Ok, I said I could explain that. Look, I'm not a terrori"
THIS BLOG HAS BEEN TERMINATED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE BY ORDER OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. ALL PERSONS HAVING BUSINESS WITH THIS BLOG OR WITH THE AUTHOR HEREOF SHOULD CONTACT AGENT FRANK AT THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, WASHINGTON, D.C., OR JUST BOOKMARK THIS PAGE AND AGENT FRANK WILL BE SURE TO CONTACT YOU.
Phew! Thank God that John Ashcroft guy is finally gone. Guess we can all breathe a little easier now. No need to worry about secret arrests, secret courts, or secret trials. Nope, it's morning again in America, and we are free to speak our minds without fear of being labeled a traitor or a terrorist. Well I'd personally like to take this time to say once and for all that as far as I'm concerned John Ashcroft was a great big weenie-head and the country can now count its blessings that he's finally...
Ooops, sorry. Excuse me for a minute, I think there's someone at the door.
"Good evening sir, is Mr. Anthony Myers at home."
"I'm Mr. Myers, can I help you?"
"Good evening Mr. Myers, we're from the Justice Dept. My name is Officer Frank and this is my partner Officer Jack. Mind if we come in and ask you a few questions?"
"Uh, no, come on in. No, wait, could I see some identification first? Ok, that looks right. Come on in."
"Thank you. Mr. Myers, Agent Jack and I are special agents assigned to the special anti-terrorist unit of the U.S. Department of Justice and we're currently canvassing homes in the area looking for possible signs of terrorist activities in your neighborhood. "
"Terrorists, in this neighborhood? Do you have any particular suspects in mind?"
"No, no, just routine. We've been talking to people throughout the country and"
"Excuse me, can I take your coats?"
"No, we're fine. Like I said, we've been talking to various people around the country about"
"You think I might be a terrorist?"
"No, we didn't say that. But if you wouldn't mind answering a few questions...I promise we'll be as brief as possible."
"No, I don't mind. I've got nothing to hide. Ask away."
"Fine, Mr. Myers. Perhaps before we get started you wouldn't mind removing your shoes and socks."
"My what? My shoes and socks?"
"Yes sir, that's correct. As you may know we at the justice department have developed certain, uh, shall we say...terrorist profiles over the years, and one of the things we've noticed is that terrorism seems to be linked with unusually long toes. If you don't mind, we'd like you to remove your shoes so that Agent Jack here can take some measurements. It's strictly routine."
"I don't know, that's seems a little kinky to me."
"Please sir, if you don't mind."
"Ok, sure. Measure away. Like I said, I've got nothing to hide."
"Fine sir. Agent Jack, would you please?"
"Now, Mr. Myers. It has come to our attention that you have made some threatening remarks about the Attorney General lately. Is this true?"
"Threatening remarks? You mean like calling him a 'great big weenie-head'?"
"Exactly. Now Mr. Myers, did you in fact say that about the Attorney General? Did you in fact make a post on your blog calling him a 'great big weenie-head'?"
"Mmmmaaaybeeee...."
"Is that a yes or a no, sir?"
"Sure, I might of said that. But it was a joke. Honest."
"A joke" (long pause) "Sir, would I would be correct in calling you a liberal?"
"No, I'm an American, and just what are you trying to imply?"
"I'm not implying anything, sir, I'm just asking questions. So when you say you are an American does that mean your not a traitorous piece of liberal scum?"
"Huh?"
"Let me ask you another question Mr. Myers. Who did you vote for in the last election?"
"That's none of your damn business!"
"I see. Tell me, Mr. Myers, would I be mistaken in believing that those who don't cast a proper vote to save America from the terrorist threat are, in actuality, our enemies? And if I am not mistaken, then wouldn't it certainly be 'my business' to know how you voted in the last election?"
"I voted for Arnold, ok. There, see, I'm no traiterous liberal scum."
"Ok, Mr. Myers, we'll leave it at that. Tell me, is that an empty yogurt container I see sitting in the waste basket over there."
"Where, over there. Yeah, Yoplait yogurt. I eat it everyday. So what?"
"You eat french food everyday. Like french food do you? Maybe you like french people too, huh? Maybe you'd rather be living in France and cavorting with all those yellow-bellied french socialist scumbag arteestes and intellectuals than living here in the good Ol' USA with us plain old Americans? Isn't that right?"
"What are you talking about? I've never been to France in my life."
"Then explain the yogurt."
"The yogurt?"
"The Yo-Plait, s'il vous plait. Comprendez-vous?"
"It's yogurt, for crying out loud. I bought it at the supermarket."
"It's french yogurt."
"Actually, I think it's American yogurt. And anyways, if I'm not mistaken yogurt is turkish, not french, right? Turkey is our ally, aren't they. Hell, they're part of NATO, aren't they?"
"Hmmm, sounds french to me, but whatever you say. Still, I really hate the french. All a bunch of queers if you ask me. By the way, you're not..."
"Not what?"
"You know, Gay Paree and all that. You're not that kind of frenchie are you?"
"What kind of frenchie, is that?"
"Nevermind, although it would fit the profile. But, like you say, you're not... Like girls, do you?"
"Yes I do, especially the fleshy parts. What has that got to do with..."
"Ok, ok, just asking. No reason to get defensive. Still, it does fit the profile."
"How 'bout you, Agent Frank. You and Agent Jack seemed awful chummy when you walked in the door. You like girls?"
"I'm married."
"Yeah, I'll bet."
(tense silence)
"Ok, let's have a look at that computer. Where is it?"
"Computer? What computer?"
"Let's not play games here Mr. Myers, you know which computer I'm talking about. The one you use to post threatening and highly treasonous, I might add, statements about the Attorney General of the United States of America. May I see it please?"
"Why do you want to see it? It's just a computer."
"I'm afraid we'll have to take it in for evidence."
"Take it in? My computer? When will I get it back?"
(silence)
"You can't just come barging in here and take my computer. I have important files on that computer."
"I see, and what kind of files might that be?"
"Important ones, you know. Financial data, and things like that. Say, you aren't going to look through my files are you?"
"That would be the general purpose, yes. We'll need to do a thorough forensic examination of the contents of your hard drive."
"But wait..."
"Mr. Myers, will you please show us the computer. I'm afraid we won't be leaving here without it."
"Ok, ok, but first I should tell you something. Uh, you might some files, you know pictures."
"What kind of pictures are we talking about, sir."
"Pictures, just pictures, that's all. You know, naked barbie pictures, but I can explain. You see I'm doing some research"
"Uh-huh, just as I thought. You about done there Jack?"
"Toes look a little long, Frank."
"Ok, that does it. The toes, the yogurt, the naked barbie picture, it all adds up. Sir would you mind getting your coat. You'll be coming with us."
"Coming with you, where?"
"We'd like to ask you some further questions."
"No, I'm not going anywhere. Not until I talk to a lawyer."
"There's no need to talk to a lawyer, sir. It'll just be a few questions."
"I'm not answering anything until I talk to a lawyer."
"Sir, if you've got nothing to hide then there's no need for a lawyer, is there?"
"Sure there is. What if this thing goes to trial, then what? I'll need a lawyer then, won't I?"
"There's not going to be a trial, sir."
"No trial? What are we gonna do? Just sit around the courtroom and watch you and Agent Jack make goo-goo eyes at eachother?"
"There won't be any court, sir."
"No lawyer? No court? No trial? Say, what is this?"
"Sir, we live in dangerous times. The terrorists can strike anytime and the Attorney General feels that we don't have time to waste on all the lawyer tricks and legal mumbo jumbo. I think the American people, the true patriots anyways, feel secure in knowing that our government is wasting no time in sending terrorist scum like you straight into the penitentiary where you belong."
"But I'm not a terrorist."
"The toes, Mr. Myers, how do you explain that?"
"But I'm not a terrorist."
"The yogurt, the big weenie-head remark. How do you explain those Mr. Myers?"
"But I'm not a terrorist."
"The barbie pictures"
"Ok, I said I could explain that. Look, I'm not a terrori"
THIS BLOG HAS BEEN TERMINATED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE BY ORDER OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. ALL PERSONS HAVING BUSINESS WITH THIS BLOG OR WITH THE AUTHOR HEREOF SHOULD CONTACT AGENT FRANK AT THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, WASHINGTON, D.C., OR JUST BOOKMARK THIS PAGE AND AGENT FRANK WILL BE SURE TO CONTACT YOU.
Monday, November 08, 2004
Music in the Digital Age
That was my dream, you see. After spending all these years building up my collection of LP's, cassettes and CD's, I dreamed of someday gathering all that music together and storing it on my computer. How simple it would be. No more fishing around looking for albums, trying to remember where I put that tape - all I would have to do is punch up the album or song on my computer and hit the play button and I'd be set to go.
Then, about 5 years ago, the digital music revolution happened, and my dream was within sight. All of a sudden it was possible to rip that CD or capture an analog stream, digitize it and store it on my hard drive and jukebox software soon followed making it possible to sort and organize all those digital music files and track them through one central database. This was exactly the thing I'd always wanted to do.
So I started.
Now, it's 5 years later, and I've managed to get around 700 albums spread over about 5800 different tracks all stored on my hard drive. Better yet, not only can I access them on my PC but also on a little portable device I carry with me everywhere I go as well. That's something I never could have imagined 5 years ago, even though now I can't see how I ever got along without it. It would be tempting to invoke the old warning "be careful what you wish for...", but frankly, I think the whole digital revolution, at least when it comes to music, has been a godsend for all the music lovers out there.
There are 2 reasons I'm bringing this up. The first is that I've just finished doing an extensive overhaul of my music library. It took me at least 20-25 hours to do, but it needed to be done. The whole thing had just become such a mishmash of methods and tagging styles that I needed to bring everything together under one unified system. That's the german in me, I guess - you know, above all there must be ORDER, but there was a practical side as well. The way I tagged my tracks 5 years ago was radically different from the way I tag them now, and it was just getting too hard to search through my library and find what I was looking for. With experience comes knowledge, they say, and I've learned a lot over the years about the best way to organize music.
So that's what I want to talk a little about tonight. Sort of a short primer on tagging music files for the classical music lover who is looking to get started on digitizing his or her collection(and I say classical music lover because tagging all other forms of music, be it pop, rock, jazz, whatever, is pretty self-evident - classical music is another story). So here are a few nuggets I can pass along.
1. Be consistent. Whatever method or system of tagging you choose, be absolutely rigid and consistent in applying it to your tracks. I can't overemphasize this enough. That's how I got into trouble and that's why I've spent all these days and hours cleaning things up. Unfortunately, it's hard to know what system is best when you're first starting out, and that's why it's best to start small and be picky about how you do things. Believe me, those little inconveniences you suffer when your collection is only a couple of hundred tracks will become major pains in the ass when your collection starts to grow into the thousands. And once you find the system you like, never deviate from it. That way, even if it's not the most perfect system, you'll always know how to find your music.
2. My system. Here's an interesting little tape I found in one of my dresser drawers. "Andras Schiff playing the Mendelssohn Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 with Charles Dutoit conducting Symphonieorchester des Bayersichen Rundfunks". Now, that's a mouthful. So what's the problem, you're saying, just tag it. Well, here's the problem.
There are lots of music players and jukeboxes out there for the computer, and while they are more alike than similar, they are not all exactly alike. When you add in portable MP3 players things get a little more complicated, and the fact is that there are only 4 fields that you can truly count on to work across all software and all players, those fields being Track Name, Artist, Album and Genre. There's not much you can do with Genre, so in reality there are only 3 fields you can work with when tagging a song or album. So let's try the Mendelssohn.
First is the track name. It would seem obvious to most anyone that the track names are the ones you find listed on the album cover, right? In this case that would be (1) Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor, opus 40 Molto Allegro con fuoco (2) Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor, opus 40 Andante and (3) Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor, opus 40 Presto: Molto Allegro e vivace. Well there's your tracks 1, 2 and 3, right? No, no, no, my friend, not so fast.
What you might not know is that most music players and hardware players play tracks in alphabetical order, not track order. What does that mean? Well in this case it means if you tagged your tracks as they're shown on the album cover then the alphabetical order would be the second movement first, the first movement second, and the third movement third. Somehow, I don't think that's what you had in mind, is it?
So for track name I always use the system (Album Name)-(track no.)-(track name). This insures that no matter what player or device you use, the tracks will always sort first by Album Name, then track number, and lastly by track name. In other words, for any given album the tracks will playback in track order.
Have I lost you yet?
The next tag is for Artist Name, and here's another problem that they don't face in pop world. Who is the artist? Is it the composer Mendelssohn, the pianist Schiff, the conductor Dutoit, or the orchestra? Hmmm, didn't think about that did you? Well, here's where you have to make a decision. My decision, reached after much trial and error, is always to list the composer under the Artist Name field. I find this makes it much easier to find things on my portable player. When looking for the Mendelssohn Piano Concerto No. 1, it's just simpler to look under "Mendelssohn" than trying to remember the soloist or the of the conductor.
The next tag is Album Name and again, this would seem to be self-evident. Just enter the name of the album. Unfortunately, if you remember my method for tagging Track Names (album-track no.-track name) then you see that it can become pretty unwieldy to use long album names like "Andras Schiff playing the Mendelssohn Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 with Charles Dutoit conducting Symphonieorchester des Bayersichen Rundfunks" in every track name. My solution is to only include as much inf0rmation as is absolutely necessary to identify the track. In this case I called the Album "Schiff-Mendelssohn Piano C 1 & 2", which tells me everything I need to know when searching through a long listing.
Of course, that's just my system and it doesn't really matter what system you use as long as you're consistent.
3. Never, ever accept the information you get from the CDDB. As you may know, when you rip a CD most ripping software looks up the CD information for you from services that go under the general description of CDDB (CD DataBase). These work fine for pop music, but they are horrendously, stupendously, unbelievably inaccurate for most of the classical CD's I've ripped, and the reason is simple - everyone's got their own system. Use the CDDB to get what information you can, but always be sure to go back through the fields and edit them according to the rules you have set out.
4. Opera. Tagging Operas used to be a major pain for me until I finally arrived at my foolproof system. I won't go into details but it is as follows: Track name - (conductor)(track name), Artist-(composer), Album name-(Opera name),(principal singers). Beautiful, isn't it? In just 3 fields I've managed to list the name of the opera, the composer, the conductor, and the principal singers. Really, all the info you need to know at a glance. So, for example if I see Track name-Bonynge Preludio, Artist-Verdi, Album Name-Rigoletto, Sutherland, Pavarotti, Milnes, I know exactly which Opera I've got, which conductor, and which singers. Not a bad system if I do say so myself.
Well, that's all I can think of right now. Not much of a primer, I know, but maybe I'll add to it as I think of new things.
Oh, wait a minute, I said are 2 reasons I'm talking about digital music tonight, didn't I. I almost forgot. The second reason is this.
This is a screenshot I took from Windows Media Player 10, and just shows you what is possible in the digital age. I know it's not a very good picture, but what it shows is a Barbara Bonney CD of Schumann Lieder playing on my computer. If you look closely you'll see that not only does it play the music but it also shows the Album Name, the track name, the artist, the album cover and the english translation of the lyrics at the very bottom of the screen. Trying getting all that from your CD player.
I always dreamed of something like this, and here it is.
That was my dream, you see. After spending all these years building up my collection of LP's, cassettes and CD's, I dreamed of someday gathering all that music together and storing it on my computer. How simple it would be. No more fishing around looking for albums, trying to remember where I put that tape - all I would have to do is punch up the album or song on my computer and hit the play button and I'd be set to go.
Then, about 5 years ago, the digital music revolution happened, and my dream was within sight. All of a sudden it was possible to rip that CD or capture an analog stream, digitize it and store it on my hard drive and jukebox software soon followed making it possible to sort and organize all those digital music files and track them through one central database. This was exactly the thing I'd always wanted to do.
So I started.
Now, it's 5 years later, and I've managed to get around 700 albums spread over about 5800 different tracks all stored on my hard drive. Better yet, not only can I access them on my PC but also on a little portable device I carry with me everywhere I go as well. That's something I never could have imagined 5 years ago, even though now I can't see how I ever got along without it. It would be tempting to invoke the old warning "be careful what you wish for...", but frankly, I think the whole digital revolution, at least when it comes to music, has been a godsend for all the music lovers out there.
There are 2 reasons I'm bringing this up. The first is that I've just finished doing an extensive overhaul of my music library. It took me at least 20-25 hours to do, but it needed to be done. The whole thing had just become such a mishmash of methods and tagging styles that I needed to bring everything together under one unified system. That's the german in me, I guess - you know, above all there must be ORDER, but there was a practical side as well. The way I tagged my tracks 5 years ago was radically different from the way I tag them now, and it was just getting too hard to search through my library and find what I was looking for. With experience comes knowledge, they say, and I've learned a lot over the years about the best way to organize music.
So that's what I want to talk a little about tonight. Sort of a short primer on tagging music files for the classical music lover who is looking to get started on digitizing his or her collection(and I say classical music lover because tagging all other forms of music, be it pop, rock, jazz, whatever, is pretty self-evident - classical music is another story). So here are a few nuggets I can pass along.
1. Be consistent. Whatever method or system of tagging you choose, be absolutely rigid and consistent in applying it to your tracks. I can't overemphasize this enough. That's how I got into trouble and that's why I've spent all these days and hours cleaning things up. Unfortunately, it's hard to know what system is best when you're first starting out, and that's why it's best to start small and be picky about how you do things. Believe me, those little inconveniences you suffer when your collection is only a couple of hundred tracks will become major pains in the ass when your collection starts to grow into the thousands. And once you find the system you like, never deviate from it. That way, even if it's not the most perfect system, you'll always know how to find your music.
2. My system. Here's an interesting little tape I found in one of my dresser drawers. "Andras Schiff playing the Mendelssohn Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 with Charles Dutoit conducting Symphonieorchester des Bayersichen Rundfunks". Now, that's a mouthful. So what's the problem, you're saying, just tag it. Well, here's the problem.
There are lots of music players and jukeboxes out there for the computer, and while they are more alike than similar, they are not all exactly alike. When you add in portable MP3 players things get a little more complicated, and the fact is that there are only 4 fields that you can truly count on to work across all software and all players, those fields being Track Name, Artist, Album and Genre. There's not much you can do with Genre, so in reality there are only 3 fields you can work with when tagging a song or album. So let's try the Mendelssohn.
First is the track name. It would seem obvious to most anyone that the track names are the ones you find listed on the album cover, right? In this case that would be (1) Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor, opus 40 Molto Allegro con fuoco (2) Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor, opus 40 Andante and (3) Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor, opus 40 Presto: Molto Allegro e vivace. Well there's your tracks 1, 2 and 3, right? No, no, no, my friend, not so fast.
What you might not know is that most music players and hardware players play tracks in alphabetical order, not track order. What does that mean? Well in this case it means if you tagged your tracks as they're shown on the album cover then the alphabetical order would be the second movement first, the first movement second, and the third movement third. Somehow, I don't think that's what you had in mind, is it?
So for track name I always use the system (Album Name)-(track no.)-(track name). This insures that no matter what player or device you use, the tracks will always sort first by Album Name, then track number, and lastly by track name. In other words, for any given album the tracks will playback in track order.
Have I lost you yet?
The next tag is for Artist Name, and here's another problem that they don't face in pop world. Who is the artist? Is it the composer Mendelssohn, the pianist Schiff, the conductor Dutoit, or the orchestra? Hmmm, didn't think about that did you? Well, here's where you have to make a decision. My decision, reached after much trial and error, is always to list the composer under the Artist Name field. I find this makes it much easier to find things on my portable player. When looking for the Mendelssohn Piano Concerto No. 1, it's just simpler to look under "Mendelssohn" than trying to remember the soloist or the of the conductor.
The next tag is Album Name and again, this would seem to be self-evident. Just enter the name of the album. Unfortunately, if you remember my method for tagging Track Names (album-track no.-track name) then you see that it can become pretty unwieldy to use long album names like "Andras Schiff playing the Mendelssohn Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 with Charles Dutoit conducting Symphonieorchester des Bayersichen Rundfunks" in every track name. My solution is to only include as much inf0rmation as is absolutely necessary to identify the track. In this case I called the Album "Schiff-Mendelssohn Piano C 1 & 2", which tells me everything I need to know when searching through a long listing.
Of course, that's just my system and it doesn't really matter what system you use as long as you're consistent.
3. Never, ever accept the information you get from the CDDB. As you may know, when you rip a CD most ripping software looks up the CD information for you from services that go under the general description of CDDB (CD DataBase). These work fine for pop music, but they are horrendously, stupendously, unbelievably inaccurate for most of the classical CD's I've ripped, and the reason is simple - everyone's got their own system. Use the CDDB to get what information you can, but always be sure to go back through the fields and edit them according to the rules you have set out.
4. Opera. Tagging Operas used to be a major pain for me until I finally arrived at my foolproof system. I won't go into details but it is as follows: Track name - (conductor)(track name), Artist-(composer), Album name-(Opera name),(principal singers). Beautiful, isn't it? In just 3 fields I've managed to list the name of the opera, the composer, the conductor, and the principal singers. Really, all the info you need to know at a glance. So, for example if I see Track name-Bonynge Preludio, Artist-Verdi, Album Name-Rigoletto, Sutherland, Pavarotti, Milnes, I know exactly which Opera I've got, which conductor, and which singers. Not a bad system if I do say so myself.
Well, that's all I can think of right now. Not much of a primer, I know, but maybe I'll add to it as I think of new things.
Oh, wait a minute, I said are 2 reasons I'm talking about digital music tonight, didn't I. I almost forgot. The second reason is this.
This is a screenshot I took from Windows Media Player 10, and just shows you what is possible in the digital age. I know it's not a very good picture, but what it shows is a Barbara Bonney CD of Schumann Lieder playing on my computer. If you look closely you'll see that not only does it play the music but it also shows the Album Name, the track name, the artist, the album cover and the english translation of the lyrics at the very bottom of the screen. Trying getting all that from your CD player.
I always dreamed of something like this, and here it is.
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