Compulsive Disassociative CD Collecting Disease (CDCDCD)

[mc ukrneal]

I have now gone 3 months 1 week without buying any CDs. But the current Presto Classical sale of Regis CDs for $5 each is really testing my determination!

I had just made it to 3 months and 2 weeks, when I crashed and burned. I cannot say I am upset, since it was a set high on my list. Thus, my new streak is at 2 days. Here's hoping I can beat the earlier streak...(if you guys let me!)...

[snyprrr]

Every time I hear a fine disc, I get ideas for at least two more discs I need to hear to explore this further. Hearing a Handel opera incites me to hear them all, and what abour Porpora and Bononcini? Hearing the fine Carl Vine symphonies gets me wondering "what else has he written equally fine?" and "what about his contemporaneous Australinn colleagues, in what setting did these symphonies occur?

And thus starts a journey ending in.....you all know what.

I'm more into this side of collecting and listening, than the endless search for new (and different) versions of works I know.

The Russian Doll Theory of Record Collecting, yes, I know it well!

[snyprrr]

HELP!-
I'm gettin' my ass kicked here!



Everytime I order something, I feel like I just got punched in the stomach. Ouch!

To be honest, I have so totally shored up so many loose ends, that I've been pretty well able to convince myself that every new purchase (if there is one) is "Cream", and a Luxury, which, honestly, it is. I say that I have all I could wish, and I can take a break and just listen, and...blahblah...

Why I feel like I can't relax here is beyond me. Maybe I've just got myself caught up in an Ebay cycle (which I have)?



I have 3 categories of music:

1) early music - 1800

2) 1800-1899-1950

3) 1950 - present

I feel like I have my bases covered. Maybe it's just that I can't figure out which cd to put next to which cd?

Free Downloading isn't the answer, for me, either, because I just don't want to spend so much TIME doing this. Oy, it's like sooo much a part of my life right now.

i practically feel like that stereotype of grubby, adult diaper wearin, sitting in front of the computy endlessly just looking over Personal Vanity Options (PVOs), like some kind of spiritual mastubation.

It may not be that true, but I feel it.



I have so many "hobbies" lined up that I just can't get to because I'm in an endless search for Astonishing Moments (AMs), which, of course, I have more than heart could want.

But, I'd also like to have sex,...and, I think,...that's maybe...that's why I could probably stand to do something else! Oy!

haha,... anyhow ( )...

I have just pretty much spent my wad, and I'm kinda having a shopping spree hangover,... feelin THAT feelin...

ANYONE??

Really,...I'm not even getting that much lately, it's just that so much of the cheap stuff has been taken care of, so that only expensive things remain (unless they just happen to show up on Ebay for cheap (and no one drives up the price)).

RANT OVER.

[snyprrr]

oh horrors! ,... I was the last to post, and here I am again.



I'm having "ate just one too many" syndrome.

I have all heart could wish,... why am I blue?



I'm just not that interested in spending $$$ like this any more. I just got a super rare disc for $35 (wooo, what a bargain! ), and then, of course, like clockwork, it appears brand new on ebay for $5!

y'know? ,...anyway, gotta stay grateful, right?

I mean, if THIS is what I'm complaining about, then,....haha, right??



I did finally sell some stuff on ebay,... that felt good, and i need to remember that (ooooh, thaaat's why i'm sad,...i haven't tranferred the funds yet!!)

POST OVER.

[Sid]

I'm not in the league of some collectors here (I've only got about 300 classical cd's), but I am now developing a similar thing to the CDCDCD with classical concerts. There's so much on here in Sydney, we're spoilt for choice. So I have to spend my money wisely & also not get "music overload." The more concerts I go to, especially of works that I am highly familiar with, the more return I get from the music. But I have to be careful not to get overloaded, otherwise it glosses over me, and I absorb very little. I have an unfortunate tendency in life (and in some aspects of classical music listening) to be either too involved (emotionally, intellectually, analytically, etc) or not involved at all and therefore detached. But the best thing about concerts for me is that they force me to be in the "here and now," and pay attention to the music in a more detailed way than I might be when listening to a recording...

[snyprrr]

I'm not in the league of some collectors here (I've only got about 300 classical cd's), but I am now developing a similar thing to the CDCDCD with classical concerts. There's so much on here in Sydney, we're spoilt for choice. So I have to spend my money wisely & also not get "music overload." The more concerts I go to, especially of works that I am highly familiar with, the more return I get from the music. But I have to be careful not to get overloaded, otherwise it glosses over me, and I absorb very little. I have an unfortunate tendency in life (and in some aspects of classical music listening) to be either too involved (emotionally, intellectually, analytically, etc) or not involved at all and therefore detached. But the best thing about concerts for me is that they force me to be in the "here and now," and pay attention to the music in a more detailed way than I might be when listening to a recording...

hmmm, yes, I can-can see that you are aware of the changes taking place. Scary, ain't it?? Haha,....seriously though, yes, there is an absorbtion critical mass, very good point!

Hey, we here at CDCDCD are here to help no matter what your music consummation problem may be!

[Verena]

HELP!-

I have so many "hobbies" lined up that I just can't get to because I'm in an endless search for Astonishing Moments (AMs), which, of course, I have more than heart could want.

Hey snyprrr,
I enjoyed your post. 
As for the quoted passage, that's EXACTLY how I feel: I'm in endless search for "Astonishing moments". I wonder whether this is also what other CDCDCD sufferers are looking for?
I think one paradox for us is that, as lovers of music, we are in the almost unique position to be able to "buy" some of these astonishing moments (or so it seems), given we treat them as what they are - rare moments that have to be cherished. But the very possibility of buying "great moments" may be the germ of the disease. We want to have more and more of these rare moments, but the more we own, the less we are in a position to appreciate them - and so they lose their uniqueness. And we are left craving for "more" (which exacerbates the problems even further, of course). I'd venture to say that the typical CDCDCD sufferer is in danger of losing quality for quantity - in music (for the reasons indicated) and ultimately in other matters, too.
Sounds very serious, though it's not really intended as such 
Verena

[Sergeant Rock]

I'd venture to say that the typical CDCDCD sufferer is in danger of losing quality for quantity

There's the rub: how do you know you have a quality recording without hearing a great many recordings? And how do you hear a great many recordings properly without owning a great many? I got into an argument in another forum with a guy who, I thought, rather arrogantly insisted that no one needs more than one version of any work and that he only buys and owns the best. When I asked him how he knew which to buy without first hearing all or at least many recordings, it got rather nasty 

A personal example. It took 19 tries before I finally found a fully satisfying Mahler 5. Up until that point I'd followed "expert" recommendations, bought all the famous Fifths but always felt cheated. It was finding (in a supermarket) and buying on a whim (for 4 Euro) Neumann's Leipzig Fifth, a recording I'd not even heard of then, that finally produced nirvana  0:)  And if I'd stopped at 18?

Sarge

[Verena]

There's the rub: how do you know you have a quality recording without hearing a great many recordings? And how do you hear a great many recordings properly without owning a great many? I got into an argument in another forum with a guy who, I thought, rather arrogantly insisted that no one needs more than one version of any work and that he only buys and owns the best. When I asked him how he knew which to buy without first hearing all or at least many recordings, it got rather nasty 

A personal example. It took 19 tries before I finally found a fully satisfying Mahler 5. Up until that point I'd followed "expert" recommendations, bought all the famous Fifths but always felt cheated. It was finding (in a supermarket) and buying on a whim (for 4 Euro) Neumann's Leipzig Fifth, a recording I'd not even heard of then, that finally produced nirvana  0:)  And if I'd stopped at 18?

Sarge

Sarge, you have a point here! Incidentally, I also agree re the Neumann Mahler 5 

[mc ukrneal]

There's the rub: how do you know you have a quality recording without hearing a great many recordings? And how do you hear a great many recordings properly without owning a great many? I got into an argument in another forum with a guy who, I thought, rather arrogantly insisted that no one needs more than one version of any work and that he only buys and owns the best. When I asked him how he knew which to buy without first hearing all or at least many recordings, it got rather nasty 

A personal example. It took 19 tries before I finally found a fully satisfying Mahler 5. Up until that point I'd followed "expert" recommendations, bought all the famous Fifths but always felt cheated. It was finding (in a supermarket) and buying on a whim (for 4 Euro) Neumann's Leipzig Fifth, a recording I'd not even heard of then, that finally produced nirvana  0:)  And if I'd stopped at 18?

Sarge

I don't entirely agree, but neither do I agree with someone who tells you how many versions to buy. Let's me get this out of the way up front - you go ahead and buy as many as you want (and Mrs. Rock allows of course - I don't want to get on her bad side!  )

But I do believe that one (good) version will satisfy most people. And I no longer think it critical to get the 'best' one. I think most people know when they have a quality version even if they know little - the musicians play as a group, the notes are correct and in tune, etc. On top of that, you know a quality recording if it moves you in some way. And here is where I disagree with you - I don't worry about 'astonishing moments'. If you have a recording that satisfies you, you'll get a whole lot of them, If you get fixated on the 'best version' or the 'one' version, you will spend a lot of time listening to lots of different versions of the same thing. Though some people get a lot of pleasure out of the search and the finding.

I, on the other hand, enjoy searching out new music rather than listening to many versions. That said, over time, one naturally has the opportunity to listen to more versions of the same piece.

And if you had stopped at 18, you still would have gotten pretty close to nirvana I think, which is more than some people ever do. And here, I would add that when I don't like a version of something I keep buying it until I do, though I've never had to go through 18 tries to do it. I bought Tureck's version of Bach's WTC - didn't like it, so bought Richter. I'm much happier. Maybe there is am even better version out there, but I am not inclined to spend lots of money to find it knowing I am pretty happy with what I have.

[vandermolen]

Just received my 25th CD version of Walton's First Symphony 

[mc ukrneal]

Just received my 25th CD version of Walton's First Symphony 

Great! You can tell me (all of us) which ones you liked most, thus saving us lots of money!   I've recently been thinking about him as I have virtually none of his music.

[snyprrr]

Hey snyprrr,
I enjoyed your post. 
As for the quoted passage, that's EXACTLY how I feel: I'm in endless search for "Astonishing moments". I wonder whether this is also what other CDCDCD sufferers are looking for?
I think one paradox for us is that, as lovers of music, we are in the almost unique position to be able to "buy" some of these astonishing moments (or so it seems), given we treat them as what they are - rare moments that have to be cherished. But the very possibility of buying "great moments" may be the germ of the disease. We want to have more and more of these rare moments, but the more we own, the less we are in a position to appreciate them - and so they lose their uniqueness. And we are left craving for "more" (which exacerbates the problems even further, of course). I'd venture to say that the typical CDCDCD sufferer is in danger of losing quality for quantity - in music (for the reasons indicated) and ultimately in other matters, too.
Sounds very serious, though it's not really intended as such 
Verena

Remember how that New Discovery was so special last week (month, year), and,...now?

I FIGHT... to KEEP those moments special. If one of those moments begins to lose its luster, I seriously have to ask whether I have merely lost MY luster!! However, many times, a quick listen will restore me: "Oh yes, it's as great as I remembered."



All of a sudden this Thread has taken a turn from the Problem, to the Solution. Good job!



I was even trying to limit myself to free downloads, ha, but I'm just too computer illiterate,...and,.....uhm,.....LAZY (yea, THAT!)!!

I will say, for myself, just hearing a snippet on amazon does wonders for curing me of "what's it sound like?". I used to have to buy all this unheard stuff (and then somehow return it later! ), but now, if I get a wild hair, I can usually just hear a clip and go, "oh, is THAT all it was?".

My imagination is usually greater than most unknown composers can deliver!

Right now i'm in a place where I think I know what any new given thing is going to sound like,...I'm in a place where I believe that there is nothing new for me,...I mean, what ELSE can they do "to" a String Quartet?? I don't feel the "need" to know right now, and I'm thankful!

RULE #1: Always, always be grateful for what you already have.



Now, I have business to attend to (see next post!)...

[snyprrr]

It took 19 tries before I finally found a fully satisfying Mahler 5.

Just received my 25th CD version of Walton's First Symphony 

BOTH OF YOU!! You are sooooo grounded. Now go to your rooms!

How are the Newcomers to this 12-Step Program supposed to get hope when... when...



ohhhhh, wherrre did I go wrong??

[vandermolen]

Great! You can tell me (all of us) which ones you liked most, thus saving us lots of money!   I've recently been thinking about him as I have virtually none of his music.

Here's a review of my favourite version, but if you want a modern recording the new one below is excellent (Mackerras and Thomson also made fine recordings)


http://www.classicalsource.com/db_control/db_cd_review.php?id=8209

[prémont]

There's the rub: .. how do you hear a great many recordings properly without owning a great many?

Good point.

A personal example. It took 19 tries before I finally found a fully satisfying Mahler 5. Up until that point I'd followed "expert" recommendations, bought all the famous Fifths but always felt cheated. It was finding (in a supermarket) and buying on a whim (for 4 Euro) Neumann's Leipzig Fifth, a recording I'd not even heard of then, that finally produced nirvana . And if I'd stopped at 18?

When I acquire dozens of recordings of some works, I do not look for or expect to find the ideal interpretation - actually I do not think it exists - , no, I do this multiple collecting in order to widen my horizon as to the music, and even if I can be said to prefer some recordings to others, I listen to all of them and enjoy them regularly.

[Verena]

Just received my 25th CD version of Walton's First Symphony 

I don't have a SINLGE version of this symphony. I guess that means I don't suffer from the CDCDCD after all! YEAH!!  I can now  buy my (ahem) 20th version of Handel's Messiah without a fraction of self-doubt  (can't I  )

[snyprrr]

Here's a review of my favourite version, but if you want a modern recording the new one below is excellent (Mackerras and Thomson also made fine recordings)


http://www.classicalsource.com/db_control/db_cd_review.php?id=8209

This is a Thread of Recovery, and you have turned it into a Den of Reviews!!

[Sid]

hmmm, yes, I can-can see that you are aware of the changes taking place. Scary, ain't it?? Haha,....seriously though, yes, there is an absorbtion critical mass, very good point!

Hey, we here at CDCDCD are here to help no matter what your music consummation problem may be!

"Absorbtion critical mass" is a good phrase. I'm beginning to find that "less is more." There is a lot of stuff out there, and it is not possible to digest everything that you hear. It's better to not bite of more than one can chew. Now, have I stated enough cliches? Anyway, my ultimate aim is to know a bit about the pieces and composers whose music I have on cd, to be deep rather than superficial, and listen to the music in a way that I can not ony enjoy it but also understand it (kind of interpret it in my own way). I want to be a bit familiar with not only what's going on in the music, but also about what was going on in the composer's life at the time he/she composed it. It's more enriching for me in that way...

[Mirror Image]

I definitely suffer from this disease as many do here. I'm a pretty hardcore collector. I own around 7,000 classical CDs. I'm not sure if this number is good or bad, but I know I'm running out of room to store them all!