In the past year, I've pursued a music server solution. I loaded about one-third of my CD collection on the server and then decided to give it a rest and just enjoy. And I've discovered a couple of things about myself:
As expected, I am listening to stuff in my collection that I haven't listened to in years. It's so easy to just give something a try. And I often play the entire library on shuffle while I'm doing other things, so I'm getting re-exposed to stuff. This is very positive.
I've also discovered that I have a lot of music in my collection that I have no interest in listening to, and I can comfortably say that I never will.
In the all-vinyl days, I was more likely than not to listen to an entire album side in one sitting. With CDs and remote control, I've tended to be more selective, which has fueled a sort of ADD behavior of listening to only a few tracks, or skipping to the next if I grow impatient with a particular song. With the music server, I find this ADD pattern is exacerbated. It's like endless channel surfing. It has it's plusses, but on balance I don't like what's become of my relationship to recorded music.
I'm coming to realize that, for pure music enjoyment, my preferred relationship is the radio. I've never played a lot of tapes or CDs in the car because that's when I listen to radio; and that's how I discover new music. I prefer DJ radio, commercials and all, to what I've heard of satellite radio. I like the human connection.
Sonics aside, with Internet radio there are now plenty of good stations within my grasp. If I think about being able to choose between WWOZ, a few classical stations I've found, some college stations, and several others, I begin to wonder what else I need. So long as I could put in a CD of KOB or several dozen other staples when the mood strikes, I'm not sure I need to "own"most the stuff I have. I prefer the never-ending surprise of others' programming choices, the discovery of new stuff, and the re-discovery of old favorites.
So I'm letting this percolate for a while before doing anything rash. But the thought has occurred: sell the entire system and replace it with something better suited to listening to MP3 streams. Sell most of the music collection, too.
As expected, I am listening to stuff in my collection that I haven't listened to in years. It's so easy to just give something a try. And I often play the entire library on shuffle while I'm doing other things, so I'm getting re-exposed to stuff. This is very positive.
I've also discovered that I have a lot of music in my collection that I have no interest in listening to, and I can comfortably say that I never will.
In the all-vinyl days, I was more likely than not to listen to an entire album side in one sitting. With CDs and remote control, I've tended to be more selective, which has fueled a sort of ADD behavior of listening to only a few tracks, or skipping to the next if I grow impatient with a particular song. With the music server, I find this ADD pattern is exacerbated. It's like endless channel surfing. It has it's plusses, but on balance I don't like what's become of my relationship to recorded music.
I'm coming to realize that, for pure music enjoyment, my preferred relationship is the radio. I've never played a lot of tapes or CDs in the car because that's when I listen to radio; and that's how I discover new music. I prefer DJ radio, commercials and all, to what I've heard of satellite radio. I like the human connection.
Sonics aside, with Internet radio there are now plenty of good stations within my grasp. If I think about being able to choose between WWOZ, a few classical stations I've found, some college stations, and several others, I begin to wonder what else I need. So long as I could put in a CD of KOB or several dozen other staples when the mood strikes, I'm not sure I need to "own"most the stuff I have. I prefer the never-ending surprise of others' programming choices, the discovery of new stuff, and the re-discovery of old favorites.
So I'm letting this percolate for a while before doing anything rash. But the thought has occurred: sell the entire system and replace it with something better suited to listening to MP3 streams. Sell most of the music collection, too.