April 2009 - Island Music

If you had to go a deserted island -- and I know this is a cheesy ole chestnut of a scenario, but play along, please -- you can only take five CD's…..what would they be? Have you ever had to try and decide which are your favorite CD's (OK or albums) in your collection? I mention albums because I still have nearly a thousand of them, and believe it or not, some labels are still making albums these days. Think about that and I'll give you my five in a bit.

I’ve been pondering of late -- what is to replace the CD? So many stories have been put out there related to sharply declining CD sales, and we have seen the introduction of ipods, hard drives, jump drives, Napster and so much more. More, that is, after the cassette faded to history. I still have several hundred. Most still play as well as when I recorded them, despite the years of poor handling. I still really don't see any perfect medium, especially since they all take up space or require a huge computer to amass any size collection. Anyway, on to my points…

First, a word of caution. You know that favorite Britney Spears "Circus" CD that you just bought and treasure? (What an apt name for a career, by the way.) Well, it isn't going to last forever. No, not at all. If you invest heavily into your own CD collecting (and keep in mind piracy IS illegal and I do NOT condone it) you need to do some research on the net into the "shelf life" of CD media. You will be surprised. In fact, I have certain CD's that I replace a back up each year and use only the back up, not the original. Just a word to the wise -- while CD media may have been a boon compared to cassettes or vinyl, they still have a nasty streak for failing with scratches, grease and age. And, would you agree that the two worst mistakes folks make with CD's are leaving them out of jewel cases and strung all over a vehicle? Not good.

If you value your collection, you must take care of them to get the maximum life. This applies mainly to collectible CD's and ones with pictures. I fully understand that you can reburn tracks that you pay 99 cents for on Napster. That puppy gets expensive quick though.

Now, my five choices to be left on a deserted island with:

1) The Johnson Mountain Boys-At The Old Schoolhouse (Bluegrass Gold)

2) AC/DC-Back In Black

3) Lynyrd Skynyrd-Gimme Back My Bullets

4) Dwight Yoakam-Hillbilly Deluxe

5) Government Mule-Dose

OK, now I'm sure that you won't agree with all or maybe any of my choices. That's OK. But it's a fun thing to do on a restful night for fifteen minutes. You may discover a favorite in those five, or one of your own that you haven't heard in a while and break it out. That's my whole goal, anyway.

Take care of your music collection and then, let it take care of you.