Do you have too many CDs?

[Mark]

I've just been thinking about what rationale I use in order to select CDs for culling. It goes like this:

Multiple performances of works I adore stay in my collection ... no matter how terrible. I like to have them on hand for comparison.

Multiple performances of works I merely like continue to be amassed until I think I have sufficient. It's not an exact science: three is usually the magic number. Sometimes I get no more than a single recording. Only the very worst interpretations are (potentially) at risk of culling. At the same time, if I find just one performance of such a work that totally blows away the competition (IMO), all other versions are DEFINITELY* for the chop.

Everything else falls into the, 'It's nice enough but I wouldn't cry if it was destroyed by fire' category. These discs get played and enjoyed from time to time, but if I tire of any of them and need the space, then I cull on the basis of how good I think the work is overall, how much I like the recorded sound (and/or the performance), and how often it gets played.


*The only way a work might escape death is if its coupling is an interesting rarity or something rather pleasant that I wouldn't want to lose. And even in this last instance, there are always CD-Rs ...

[Dancing Divertimentian]

Pedestrian you say, oke explain that to me on pure musical/technical grounds. For in my long listening history, haven't found one recording that is just that.

Well, Harry, I have to disagree with you, here. It's true you, yourself, haven't encountered a pedestrian performance but I certainly have.

Two recordings stand out to me as particularly pedestrian: the Alban Berg quartet in Lutoslawski's string quartet (EMI) and the Beaux Arts trio in Shostakovich's Op.67 piano trio (Philips).

What makes them pedestrian? Well, to me there is an audible disconnect with the emotional and stylistic content of the music. In other words, each ensemble seemed entirely out of their element, here, with no identification with the composer's idiom.

It made me wonder just why they even attempted recording music they obviously had no affinity with.

Not to say this is your experience, Harry, but in my experience pedestrian recordings do happen.

[Christo]

Reminds me of a joke by one of very favorite comedians, Mitch Hedberg: "I don't have a girlfriend, but I know a woman who'd be mad at me for saying that."    

American [Jewish??] humour, no doubt - always remarkably similar to the German attempts in that direction :-)

[George]

American [Jewish??] humour, no doubt - always remarkably similar to the German attempts in that direction :-)

Not sure of his nationality, but he was damn funny.

[Christo]

Not sure of his nationality, but he was damn funny.

Tell us more!

[George]

Tell us more!

MORE!!

[Christo]

MORE!!

(Say no more)

[Solitary Wanderer]

Culling is diffucult for me.

If I end up with a few titles that are redundant then I generally give a few away to people who might enjoy them.

I trade them sometimes at a store in town but you don't get much in return. They also offer a credit system, but their stock is everything except classical [well, a VERY small selection] so the credit is kinda worthless.

So, I try to be as careful as possible before making the purchase so that its usually worth keeping.

Having said all that, Marks point about 'maturing tastes' is very relevant to me as my musical journey is very much an evolving experience so the titles I enjoyed years ago rarely get played now. I have a bunch of pop/rock comps that could get the heave-ho  

[George]

Culling is diffucult for me.

me too.

So, I try to be as careful as possible before making the purchase so that its usually worth keeping.

Yes! I get more and more particular as I go on in my collecting. 

[Mark]

"Kill your babies!"

Advice given to me when I began as a writer. Never be precious - you can always do better.

A principle I suppose I've subconsciously applied to CD ownership/culling.

[George]

"Kill your babies!"

Advice given to me when I began as a writer. Never be precious - you can always do better.

A principle I suppose I've subconsciously applied to CD ownership/culling.

And one I hope you don't take too literally? 

[Mark]

[George]

[orbital]

I have never culled. There is no more storage space left, so they are piling up on top of each other now. At one point though, I am pretty sure I will not keep any CD's anymore.

[BachQ]

Insofar as "music is discovery" (which it is), one can never have too many CDs ..........

[Ataraxia]

With Spotify, I don't really need to buy them anymore...but I still do.

My cupboards are well packed!

[Karl Henning]

Insofar as "music is discovery" (which it is), one can never have too many CDs ..........

Wow, last post was more than five years ago.

[Leon]

Yep, I have too many CDs.  I want to get rid of them, but it is time consuming trying to sell them.  I have a feeling that when it is time for us to move I am just going to throw them in a dumpster along with the books.

[Ataraxia]

Yep, I have too many CDs.  I want to get rid of them, but it is time consuming trying to sell them.  I have a feeling that when it is time for us to move I am just going to throw them in a dumpster along with the books.

I'll be right over...

[jwinter]

Yep, I have too many CDs.  I want to get rid of them, but it is time consuming trying to sell them.  I have a feeling that when it is time for us to move I am just going to throw them in a dumpster along with the books.

You might at least consider dumping them off at the local library or senior citizen's center, or even a charity like Goodwill or a local church -- they might be able to raise a little money, and there's always a chance that your castoff bit of Mozart might end up as someone's first taste of it, and bring some happiness into the world.  Worth a shot!