My obsession…

Lately, and by that I mean like the last twelve months, I have been obsessed with owning as much music as possible. I originally wanted to own every album ever made, but money, storage, and a certain “over-the-topness” put an end to that endeavor. Instead, I have become addicted to iTunes Store, and the mp3 download section of Amazon.com. I mean seriously…my spending has gone up by about a thousand percent. I have a few simple rules when downloading music:

1. NEVER use Limewire, or any other peer-to-peer file sharing site. Not just because I want to avoid viruses and the like, but because I actually buy in to the whole if you aren’t spending a little money you ARE stealing….not good.

2. Always strive to diversify. I have a rather eclectic collection by this time with styles ranging from zydeco and bluegrass to jazz and classical (and everything in between). I have yet to get traditional Jewish music, Eastern cultural folk songs, and some Eastern European traditional styles.

3. Never buy more than five albums per day (roughly fifty bucks). This is the hardest rule to stick to. One day I spend sixty, and I felt totally guilty. So fifty bucks sounds better to me. Don’t get me wrong; I am not rich. I don’t spend fifty dollars EVERYDAY, but usually I will after payday.

4. Try to always get as much album info as possible. I feel bad that the CD market is going to squat, but mp3 downloading is soooo much more convenient. To compensate for snubbing the CD industry, I have tied to put in a little more effort and collect as much information about the artist, album, band, or what have you. iTunes has added digital booklets with some of their albums, so it has become even easier.

5. Know what it is your downloading. The worst thing to do is browse through these monolithic websites. You will tend to buy without purpose. I try to always have a plan before I go into buying new music. That way, I know what I am going to do with the music when I buy it, and it helps ensure that I will actually listen to the music I buy.

I am proud of my collection so far. It has really shaped my composition over the past year. I have been listening to a lot of different classical music, and that has shaped the way I teach.