This meme arrives via Steve Gilliard and Lindsay Beyerstein of Majikthise. No one invited me to do this, so I don’t feel obligated to abide by the last item on the list and invite three other people to do the same. Besides, that feels too much like a chain letter. Anyway, here goes:
1. What is the total volume of musical files on your computer?
12,681 in My Music, plus 2,837 in the Live Music folder, plus about 2,000 more that are waiting to be decompressed, tagged, and imported as WMA files. All in all, it’s about 140GB of music.
2. What are you listening to right now?
Kasey Chambers Live at the 2003 Telluride Bluegrass Festival
3. Last CD you bought?
Wilco’s A Ghost Is Born
4. Five songs you listen to a lot and which mean something to you
Ry Cooder, Borderline
I could’ve picked 20 other Ry Cooder songs; this one is melancholy and wise all at once.
Bob Dylan, Blind Willie McTell
“I know one thing – nobody can sing the blues like Blind Willie McTell.”
Mary Chapin Carpenter and Joe Diffie, Not Too Much to Ask
We played this song at our wedding; it still chokes me up a little.
Richard Thompson, Vincent Black Lightning 1952
‘Cause it’s just a damn good story of outlaws and loss.
Steve Earle, Rich Man’s War
Perfectly expresses my feelings about the war in Iraq in less than 3-1/2 minutes.
5. Three people I invite to go next
Go ahead. You try.
Ed Bott 
I guess I should comment on one of these things sooner or later:
35.8 GB, 2,617 files.
Dvorak’s Violin concerto.
See #2 — I bought it earlier today and ripped it to my HD about 20 minutes ago. By the way, Ed, did you get his cello concerto yet? 🙂 Remember: Sony, Yo Yo Ma, NY Philharmonic.
There isn’t any particular five pieces of music that I listen to above others. But if I did, I’m sure that cello concerto would be on the list, along with four other pieces by Beethoven.
Okay, who’s next?
A couple of gigs here and there. Best not to let the RIAA know what you’re up to.
Thomas Hawk’s 5 Star Rated Songs, more specifically at this very instant, You’re So Vain by Carly Simon off of Clouds in My Coffee 1966-1996, Disc One.
The last CD I bought was a basket of about 150 of them all at once from Amobea Records in San Francisco. Too many different things to mention. A couple that stand out: Modest Mouse, Good News For People Who Love Bad News; Gingersol, Eastern; Flatlanders, Wheels of Fortune; Bonnie Prince Billy, Greatest Palace Music; Todd Snider, Near Truths and Hotel Rooms; and The Punkles, Beat the Punkles! and Grandaddy’s Sumday.
Bob Dylan, Desolation Row; Mary Lou Lord, His Indie World; Ween, Sorry Charlie; Bongwater, You Don’t Love Me Yet; Bobby Bare, Rosalie’s Good Eats Cafe
Thanks for the Dylan song. It’s great.
Five songs:
“I Don’t Know Why” – Stevie Wonder / Rolling Stones
“Mr. Soul” – Buffalo Springfield
“Four in the Morning” – Jesse Colin Young (“Soul of the City Boy” version)
“Medley:Monster/Suicide/America” – Steppenwolf
“Hey Joe” – Jimi Hendrix (“previously unreleased alternate version” from the Hendrix box set; not the one from Paris)
I guess I’m trapped in the past. 🙂
A bit over 27 gigabytes. 4820 songs. I’m sifting through approximately 800 vinyl LPs and 300 reels of audio tape for transcription to MP3.
Random Playlist – At the moment, Tommy Bolin – Spanish Lover (from The Ultimate Tommy Bolin Collection)
The Doobie Brothers – What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits.
Steve Morse Band – Eyes Of A Child (I just don’t think there is anyone else on the planet who understands the range of emotion one can get from an electric guitar quite like Steve Morse).
Jon Butcher Axis – Goodbye Saving Grace.
Sue Keller – Wild Women Don’t Sing The Blues (The antithesis of most female torch blues songs).
JRZ System – Stratus (The Billy Cobham classic, which shows that even guys from Nebraska can understand fusion. I’ve heard this song, either by JRZ or Cobham played on the PA system at more concerts than I can remember).
Steve Miller Band – Baby’s Callin’ Me Home/Steppin’ Stone (I dislike 90% of Steve Miller’s music, but his first two albums were pure electric blues magic).