meme music look at me me me

I have been passed on the Music Meme. I don't much like these things. I see them closer to chain letters than memes but it was passed on to me by Flop Eared Lucinda Amanda and no man can refuse her. I don't think there's much interesting about my list but I do love peeping at others lists.

Total volume of music files on my computer.
This one surprised me. I don't have an iPod and am unlikely to ever get one. I don't listen to MP3s and I don't listen to music on (off?) my computer. When working I usually listen to talk radio, ABC local or Radio National if I listen to anything. I can't really listen to music and work. If I do listen to music in the office its on my unforgiving but accurate Yamaha NS10's, driven by my suitcase sized but much loved Luxman R-1040. I only tend to have music on my Hard Drive if I'm copying it or converting to Shorten or flac or back to ordinary audio files for burning to CD.
So I expected to have about zero. Imagine my astonishment to find I have 15GIGs - if you count the Dylan film "Eat the Document".

It's mostly stuff I haven't removed after burning or converting. I'm currently converting from flac the Merle Haggard 3 disc set "Tulare Dust Live" Fillmore Auditorium, SF 1995 - partly 2 discs of tributes to Merle from the likes of Tom Russell, Marshall Crenshaw, Billy Joe Shaver, with the last disc by Merle Haggard with the Strangers. I have listened to a bit of it on headphones to check, especially a few times "Sing Me Back Home"

I noticed I have also downloaded a bunch of film and video clips from Captain Beefheart, available legally here, which will stay on the HD. Also I have a failed download of Scott Walker Rare Tracks which doesn't play. The only MP3s I have are one of Van singing "Wild Side of Life" which I couldn't find anywhere else and a bunch of MP3s of my brother's son's songs, which I don't listen to ever much. My brother lives in Scotland and occasionally plays in a Pogues tribute band. I notice I also have an MP3 of that famous phone call between Jeff Kennett and Andrew Peacock in which they do a lot of naughty serious swearing about John Howard. I'll never scrub that.

The last CD I bought. [Two sets at the same time]
Lucinda Williams Live at the Fillmore 2 CD set $24.95 at JB

Madeleine Peyroux, Careless Love 1 CD. I got this because I thought the version of Careless Love swung like very few songs do. I only listened once or twice and gave it away as a birthday present. I think it's a good album but apparently going on local reviews and this report she isn't too confident live.

Song playing right now
ABC Radio News theme to be truthful right now. Or what ever crap talk radio throws up. I did listen to Merle Haggard doing Sing Me Back Home live earlier. I had to listen to Slipknot yesterday as part of a request to understand what my son's jazz / death / skate punk / Hendrix / Dylan/ jam band is about. My young niece played me some Beatles, Oasis, Jet the other day as a favour.

Five Songs I Listen to A lot
I tend to listen to whole albums. But I often just plop on the odd single track.

Those Three Days - Lucinda Williams - all versions
Just Out Of Reach of These Two Empty Arms - Solomon Burke - Country Soul
Shoppin' For Clothes - The Coasters - I love it especially for the King Curtis sax bits.
Mona Lisa - Aaron Neville and then switch to Nat King Cole's version
Elvis - bootleg and outtakes from the comeback TV show
Heartbreak Hotel - Mary Coughlan
Hey Joe and (She's a) Mixed Up Shook Up Girl - Willy De Ville LIVE

I dunno. Really - I play albums, Western Swing anything, Bob Wills, Milton Brown. I play Tom Waits, Van, Miles, Thelonious Monk, Nasrat Fateh Ali Khan, Sex Mob especially Diaspora Soul live, Bob, Neil, Frank Sinatra, lots of sung Requiem Masses, Opera, Gospel, Blind Boys, Sam Cooke, Zydeco , Cajun, Charlie Christian, Astrid Gilberto, Django and Stephane, Jonathan Richman, Johnny Cash - I dunno - anything etc etc etc . I often listen to Guy Clark "Old No 1" all the way through. It might be my favourite. As I've mentioned before I have 967 favourite albums at least. Same with James Talley's "Got No Bread, No Milk, No Money, But We Sure Got A Lot of Love."

[Last night I remembered I do in fact play single songs a bit.] A few more:

Somewhere Over The Rainbow / Wonderful World - Israel 'Iz' Kamakawiwo'ole. A seamless melding of two familiar songs into one. In this case the whole is much more than the sum of the parts. Brother Iz had one of the sweetest voices on the planet. You have to order in this stuff from Hawaii, but its fast and reliable.
September Song - by Sinatra, Lou Reed, almost anyone. Thanks Kurt Weill.
Pressure Drop - Toots & The Maytals. One of those songs to dance to, be uplifted, transported and understand the meaning of life. I'm sure it means something but a glance at the lyrics will only confuse you. Mysterious magic.
Oh and of course, Fairytale Of New York. But doesn't everyone.

Is that nearly 5?

I think I'm supposed to pass this on. I can't think who to. It occurred to me I'd like to see the whole Troppo Crew do a list each. I would really look foward to a long argument between Kath & Kel, Martha & George, Jen & Ken and how each others list annoys them. I also wonder about what Geoff Honnor listens to, Don Arthur, Nic Gruen and all the rest. They are a funny old bunch but lovable.

I sometimes wonder what Gummo might be listening to.