Disc Compact

Negotiating the Dense and Boorish Clots, Or Shopping for Music: The Physical Fetish

I promised to provide an accounting of my gifts, and they'll follow in a moment. But as you peruse the list and see a huge number of CDs, you'd do well to read the article linked above, in which Brian James explains the reasons why, in this digital age, he continues to hoard so many albums complete with their artist-chosen tracklists and cover art. It may help you understand why I spend so much time, money, and thought on the little silver circles. He closes thus:

Years of thought and emotion are documented there in stacks of plastic and aluminum. As I've moved to new apartments and new cities and new states, my music collection may be the only thing that makes me feel that where I happen to be is home. It's unwieldy to be sure, but when I look at it as the metaphor that it is, its bulk and continued growth are not burdens to me, but comforts.

I can really relate to that.

Without further adieu, the promised gift-blogging:

'Twas quite a good Christmas for me, both personally (I got to see a great many friends, had two pleasant days with family, and capped Christmas with The Aviator) and in terms of gifts. Among them:

DVDs:

• The first three seasons of Seinfeld on DVD
• Return of the King, extended edition on DVD

CDs:

• Rilo Kiley, More Adventurous
• The Honeydogs, 10,000 Years
• Diana DeGarmo, Blue Skies
• Beyond the Sea soundtrack
• Elton John, Elton John SACD
• Elton John, Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy SACD
• Beck, Sea Change SACD
• Dogs Die in Hot Cars, Please Describe Yourself
• Neko Case, The Tigers Have Spoken
• Iron & Wine, The Creek Drank the Cradle
• The Beta Band, The Three E.P.'s
• The Decemberists, Her Majesty the Decemberists
• Bob Dylan, The Bootleg Series, Volumes 1-3

Books:

• Susanna Clarke, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell
• Bob Dylan, Chronicles, Volume One

And also:

• A subscription to Blender
• A food processor
• New black pants
• New black socks
• A new dress shirt
• A new Eddie Bauer sweater
• A new Amazon.com reviewer rank: As of today, 6307 and climbing!

If you'd like to hear about any of these, let me know and I'll review them. Hope your holiday was happy!