5 CDs a Week, week 2

CDs of the week, but not in listening order:

1. Jamiroquai, The Return of the Space Cowboy
2. They Might Be Giants, Here Come the ABCs
3. The Cardigans, First Band on the Moon
4. Snow Patrol, Final Straw
5. The Bro Code, disc 1, as read by Neil Patrick Harris

I was really excited when I pulled out this week's CDs. And then I opened up the Jamiroquai case...and the wrong CD was in there.

Back in the day I had a nasty habit of taking CDs out of my player and putting them into the cases of the ones that were replacing them. This made for a very disorganized collection. I don't think it ever got too far out of hand, but I did spend some time one day trying to rearrange everything and get them in the proper cases. Of course, it wasn't a completely thorough job, as I found out last week. It was about 11:30 at night when this happened, and that's about the magical time that if I'm on a mission, I turn incredibly stubborn and become determined to see it through before I go to bed. I went through every single case in the largest pile of CDs in my apartment in hopes of finding the disc...to no avail. O went to bed in the middle of my search--he wasn't about to get involved in telling me to go to bed and give it up for another day, because I probably would've growled (or whined) at him that I'd find it soon. At least he knows me well enough. I eventually became really frustrated and really tired, and tired won out, so I sadly crawled into bed and left the mission of finding the CD for another day. The thing that I hadn't checked that night was a collection of discs that reside under the bed -- there isn't enough room in the living room for them, unless I want to make the place look incredibly cluttered. So I moved some things out of the way, took out the zippered case that holds the CDs, and just grabbed a handful to start through. Luckily for me, case #2 had the CD! Sweet joyful day! I probably would've taken some time to dance around a bit, but I had to get ready for work.

The one thing I'm noticing about listening to the CDs on my portable player: I have to keep turning the volume down. Whenever I've had to switch batteries, or whenever I put in a new CD, the volume level automatically starts at 10 (out of 20, I believe). I usually have to turn it down to 5 or 6 before it feels comfortable coming through the headphones. All the CDs I've listened to on the portable thus far have been actual albums and not burns or mixes, but I'm curious as to whether or not I'll have to turn the volume up on those.

I should say that for all the parents or parents-to-be out there, TMBG's Here Come the ABCs would be a great addition to any kids music collection. The songs were all catchy, informative, and above all else, fun. My favorite is still "L M N O", a funky quirky song to remind kids that L M N and O are four letters, not one. Simple enough, but I kept finding that it gets stuck in my head--not really a bad thing in this regard. While it's perfect for the kids, I think the adults would also find it entertaining.

I got The Cardigans First Band on the Moon not too long after my family first got a CD player stereo (and a computer with a CD-ROM drive). I distinctively remember listening to it on the computer the night I got it being asked immediately by my brother, "Why are you listening to THAT?" Clearly, we had some differences of opinion when it came to musical choices (This also popped up with Jamiroquai--go figure), but I didn't really care about his opinion, though--I liked the music. Of course, the most popular track is "Lovefool" due to the juggernaut of a soundtrack to the mid-90s film version of Romeo and Juliet, but I think there are a few other gems on the album. "Your New Cuckoo" and "Great Divide" are two of my favorites. As I was telling O when we were listening to this over the weekend, I love the fact that the music is so poppy, yet the lyrics tell a different story, one that says, basically, "You're psychologically ruining me!" It's so easy to sing along happily and then have to check yourself when belt loudly, "Baby I was your whore." Whooops. Then the hook brings you back in and you don't care anymore. That's what I always felt, anyway.

The Bro Code spawned from one of my current favorite sitcoms, How I Met Your Mother. Written from the perspective of Neil Patrick Harris' character Barney, this is a collection of rules for "bros". For example: "Article 34: Bros cannot make eye contact during a devil's three-way (two dudes)." It's actually pretty funny to hear it being read out loud. The Bro Code is referenced often in the show, and I'm glad they actually produced a book (and an audio version!) to put all the rules in one place at one time. I was a little late coming to HIMYM, but I think it's very creative in how much they've done outside of the show, including both the audio book and a slew of websites created just because they were mentioned in passing by one of the characters on the show. And, you know, I love the story of the show and the characters created. If you're into some humorous audio books, this one is worth a listen.

I picked up a double-CD set of Jamiroquai's Emergency on Planet Earth and The Return of the Space Cowboy my junior year in college at the semi-annual record and CD sale in Ithaca held at the Holiday Inn. I had just purchased A Funk Odyssey a few weeks before, so finding the double-album box was like finding the diamond in the rough. I nearly flipped my lid! With that purchase, I had in my possession all five Jamiroquai albums (at the time). I believe it was in October of that year when I got it, and I remember going back and hanging out at Isaac's apartment on Cayuga being extremely contented with my find. Sometime that semester I used both of the CDs from the box in an assignment for Advanced Audio in which I analyzed their sound. I love the instrumentation on Space Cowboy. It's a great album to listen to when you want to mellow out, need something a little funky, or have just a slight hankering for some didgeridoo. Listening to it today reminded me of listening to it the October I got it 9 years ago. I can even remember the smells of my dorm room, and how quiet it was on my floor during fall break, aside from the group of friends who also stuck around. It's amazing how a sound, a taste, a smell can trigger so many other sensory memories and instantly transport you to somewhere else. I'm fascinated by it every time and always do what I can to take in the moment, and hope the memory doesn't fade away too easily.

I was thinking today on my walk to work that Snow Patrol's Final Straw seemed to be a perfect fall album. The music starts off very poppy--sunny and happy and hopeful, and as the album progresses it takes a darker, slower, somber turn. Nothing too dark, mind you, but still something there to make you think it's progressing just like the fall--going from warm to cool in a manner that seems to naturally flow. I've always liked listening to the album and remember having it on many times as I stood at the train station waiting to catch the R5 to work in the mornings--it's a funny memory since because I've been getting to work earlier these days, my walk has taken me by the station around the time that the train I used to take is pulling in. Again, I'm being driven by the memories!

I'm beginning to realize that's going to happen a lot during the course of this project. I'm traveling back in time to encounter things I've left long ago. Yes, I'm listening to my CDs, but I'm also bringing back to the front of my mind everything that was going on around me when I had those CDs playing more often. Of course it won't be the same for all of them, but there are plenty in my collection that will jog some pretty interesting memories for me. I'm enjoying delving into it all, and I can't wait to see where next week will find me.

Happy Listening!

Battery tally: Two sets put in this week. One died rather quickly when I found out they were in an incorrect charger to start. That problem's been fixed. Total tally for the projet: 3 sets of rechargeable batteries.