4 thoughts

 I know have been kind of MIA for awhile. I just needed time away and to think through things. I read your posts from the last few weeks and am following still. Sorry. Anyways...I thought I would give 4 updates for anyone who cares or doesn't. whatever

1. All the flooding and dikes up by my parents place and my hometown, Moorhead, have got me thinking. Do I miss high school classmates? not sure, maybe some of them. Do i care about Moorhead-Fargo? yes for my family and for growing up there. It was a good place to grow up. I just don't want anyone to go through what i did in Katrina.  From that comes the thought that our infrastructure is fucked. We need to get our levees and flood control fixed, knowing that a river will do what it wants so maybe we need to give it room to do that. Next we don't need new roads but our current roads need to be in good shape. Rural america needs access to the internet, cell phones, and emergency services like urban america. These need to be seen not as luxuries but as the new utilities of the 21st century. 

2. I am like the new pitchfork media redesign. I like the connection to streaming the albums they review through lala.com. It makes me able to decide if I like the band more or not by getting a listen first. I can than legally buy the album online. Right now I am streaming the new Yeah Yeah Yeahs album "It's Blitz!" and I am really liking it. I have discovered a few bands this way (Heartless Bastards, Mirah, Melissa Nadler, Fucked Up to name a few) and I think it helps us consumers tell if we like a new band before shelling out $8 to $10 for an album that might be crap. I think i need to but the YYYs album.

3. Another place i test new music, though it is more limited, is from Spinner and Aol Music. They don't have a huge selection but for a major label album it is enough. I am always on the look out for new ways to discover music. I use Last.fm and The Sixty One for finding  new things. I am thinking about getting a Lala.com account.

4. Lastly I am on a mission to hear all of Rolling Stone Magazine's top 500 Albums (link back to my list). I am working towards hearing all the different types of music and things I would never have listened to otherwise. I have about 20% done. There is a lot by artists that i am indifferent too or never had access too. I am not a huge fan of R&B or Soul but like some artists, so they will be a challenge to listen to. I also am not big on Elvis or much country so we will see how this goes but those will probably be the last ones I listen to. I have no end for this goal just going to work through it.

Bonus: I am also trying to listen to more classical music but where to begin. I am thinking of getting a 2TB ext. hard drive with fire wire to play a very large digital collection of music (might end up digitizing all my albums as i hear them and add tons of classical too). Any tips for someone who might have over 200gb of Music that could be accessible?

Those are my thoughts for now but don't expect too much from me.