Friday, November 30, 2007

Frictional Friday: Or - Why I'm Not Throwing My Record Collection Out

THE FRICTION IS ALL in my head. I have to make things plain for Monday when Evilstein the landlord has vowed to send in henchmen to rip out my window and replace with double glazing. Which is fine. But why wait till the cusp of December to do it?

Mother Hubbard gave me some records - maybe 80 or 100 discs - from her housemate to sell a couple of months ago. She said I could keep the money. Which was very generous of her, I thought. They are mostly ex-library copies of classical music so they're all plasticked up and covered in stickers, barcodes, stamps and lengths of tape. So I doubt I would get much more than 50p each for them if I did try and sell them...

They're stuff like "Emmanuel Chabrier: Piano Music (complete). Rena Kyriakou, Piano," - Camden Libraries. And "Ghena Dimitrova - Puccini Arias" - including O Mio Babbio Caro - Holborn Library.

I do not want to sell them as I've always wanted a classical music collection. And vinyl (especially from an old analogue master) can actually sound warmer, better than CD. I don't see why I should chuck these just because I've no turntable at present and Evilstein will think they're "clutter".

Even my Tubular Bells (it's all vinyl), I was told might only make £3 on Ebay. Though the person telling had a vested interest in keeping my expectations low as he deals in music...

No I want to keep this collection. One thing I always wanted to do on getting clean (if I ever manage it) would be to learn aout classical music. Like most people I know loads of tunes from television adverts and films but hardly know what any are actually called. Or who they're by!

I think Katherine Jenkins, who's only in her early 20s, has a fantastically rich, mature voice. Partly this is bc she's a mezzo and so has a mellower, deeper range anyhow. It's a shame for her that most of the best repertoire was written for the more prized (yet so very often simply shriller) soprano voice. Miss Jenkins says she actually smashed glass once by hitting a top A, a story she repeats on the Ready Steady Cook Ave Maria clip that's still in my sidebar.

Maybe some modern composer will be inspired by Miss Jenkins's unique talent and write some new arias specially for her. Surely the era of modern "serious" music having to consist of discordant orchestras' tortured wailings - like hearing tuning up on a bad LSD trip - has now passed. And finally we can have great tunes back again. Like in the eras of Beethoven, Schubert and Brahms... So what if we live in an age of nuclear threats, terrorism and climactic destruction? Doesn't mean the music has to be ugly too!

Well no big news of anything today. I'm getting ready to see my Mum tomorrow.

No more roboscandal. I thought Itchy had escaped again last night. But it was just me nightmaring...

I'm off now to do some of my memoirs. I have to wrok out where this book is going (not that I don't obviously know my own lifestory. I have to plan it out a little now. All I was doing thus far was simply scribbling off the top of my head!)

Have a cheery weekend everyone!

PS Isn't that Sushibar Clip classic~?!?

Today's Vid:
Katherine Jenkins: I Vow to Thee My Country

11 comments:

  1. Hiyeeeee! I am from Toronto, Ontario CANADA....brrrrrrrrrrrr. I am Katarina's friend (Sleepymaniac who is on your blog roll). I have been lurking around these parts for sometime, I don't have a blog of my own, just because I would rather not, however, I am very interested in bloggers in general, hence, the creepy lurking.

    I have been reading your blog for awhile now and it's always interesting. Given what you are going through I think it takes an incredible amount of guts to put it all out there for everyone to soak up. Just the fact that you are able to be analytical about your situation puts you leaps ahead of others. Keep that in mind and don't give up on yourself, you sound like you are too interested in the world to do that....Have a good one!

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  2. I love classical!!! How are you these days?

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  3. Just put them all in a box, throw a cloth over it and pretend its a table!

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  4. Eileen: I don't think it's creepy anyway you haven't been lurking all the time if you've commented. I often float past blogs not saying anything. Only when I go on an official "hop" do I spray messages everywhere and see if anyone gets back to me... I hope being analytical means I can stop. I've been in rehab/treatment twice and was the worst person in there. Not that I'm saying my habit was worse just I was... out the door within a week both times!

    Naomi: pretty good thanks. Not much NRG though

    Vi Vi: good idea! I might well do that!

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  5. Geldwood -

    I treasure my vinyl collection (about 600 with some duplicates) I have two top flight turntables (one a Technics MK-3 the other a Gemini TT-04. Even though many of my albums are scratched the sound quality is seemingly better that the CD (digital) versions of the same albums.

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  6. Hi - thanks for stopping by...but I am in no way responsible for the video in that post...I found it via b3ta.om...maybe I should have said that months ago, damn my lack of web ethics...

    ...and as for restaurants not booking Westerners, I think that's more to do with them not being Japanese...although in three years I've only been refused twice.

    Keep the CD's - all music is brilliant, espeially when it's free.

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  7. BB: I think vinyl sometimes IS better than CD. CDs are said to be "crisper" than their old analogue equivalents...
    I believe the reason so many old tape decks are of such frankly dreadful quality from the late 80s/early 90s is that they wanted people to replace with CDs and so made them tape-eaters deliberately! Many thanxx 4ur comment...

    SLP: what a name! ... I only heard that thing about the restaurants on one prog on BBC Radio 4's breakfast show... they sound like they were talking outta their backsides... well the sushiya clip was an excellent find anyhow! Do come back and I'll hajimemasho some more nihon-go soon!

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  8. How can someone give 80-100 disks? I couldn't bring that much. Plus you should listen it.

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  9. I took them home in an old ladies' style wheely trolley and not alll at once!

    I know I should listen but I don't have a record player and to be perfectly honest could do without the added clutter a turntable would entail....

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