Thursday, January 10, 2013

'Butterfly in the Sky'

I'm in need of a new project, something positive to occupy my time and my mind. I truly enjoyed going back through my CD collection last year so was looking for something in a similar vein. An exchange with a friend flipped the switch—I will read more books.

Reading is one of the greatest things to do in life, yet, at my best, I'm a sporadic avid reader. I feel fulfilled and content and accomplished when one book's ending smoothly flows into another's start but, usually, there are huge gaps in my reading life.

Maybe this year could be the year to end all that.

I'm aiming for one book a week but would be satisfied with two a month. My first book for this project is "Grace: A Memoir," by Grace Coddington, creative director of American Vogue. I'll happily take recommendations for what can follow.

Thursday, January 3, 2013

'The Only Baggage You Can Bring'

It took most of the year, but I finally made my way through my CD collection. I've listened to 348 CDs by 138 artists. I relived some of the high and low points of my life by listening to this music. I liked, or even loved, more of the CDs than I thought I would and have no plans to get rid of anything. I do, however, want to buy more, more, more.

I finished off last week with my U2 collection and plan to give those CDs a closer listen, so will likely have more to say about that soon. In the meantime, here's everything that's been filling my ears for the past few months.

The Doors
The Best of the Doors

Guns N Roses
Appetite for Destruction
Lies
The Spaghetti Incident
Use Your Illusion I
Use Your Illusion II

Motley Crue
Decade of Decadence
Too Fast for Love

The Eagles
Their Greatest Hits
Don Henley: Actual Miles: Henley's Greatest Hits

Henry Rollins
The Boxed Life
Wartime: Fast Food for Thought
Rollins Band: Insert Band Here: Live in Australia 1990
Sweatbox
A Rollins in the Wry
Rollins Band: Yellow Blues
Rollins Band: A Clockwork Orange Stage
Big Ugly Mouth/Short Walk on a Long Pier
Think Tank
Live at the Westbeth Theater
Talk Is Cheap Volume 1
Talk Is Cheap Volume 2
Talk Is Cheap Volume 3
Talk Is Cheap Volume 4
Spoken Word Guy 2
Spoken Word Guy
Nights Behind the Tree Line

Tina Turner
Tina Live in Europe Disc 1
Tina Live in Europe Disc 2
Simply the Best

Stray Cats
Best of the Stray Cats-Rock This Town
Brian Setzer Orchestra: Brian Setzer Live
Brian Setzer Orchestra: Guitar Slinger
Brian Setzer Orchestra: The Dirty Boogie
Brian Setzer: Rockabilly Riot! Volume One: A Tribute to Sun Records

NKOTB
Face the Music

The Black Crowes
Three Snakes and One Charm
By Your Side
Lions
Shake Your Money Maker
The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion
Live Circus '95
Croweology

INXS
Elegantly Wasted
Live Baby Live
Shabooh Shoobah
Full Moon, Dirty Hearts
The Greatest Hits
The Swing
INXS
Kick
X
Welcome to Wherever You Are
Listen Like Thieves
Beneath the Colours
Shine Like It Does

Ashley MacIsaac
Hi How Are You Today?

Original Soundtrack
Dazed and Confused

En Vogue
Funky Divas

Poison
Poison's Greatest Hits

Live
Throwing Copper

Patty Smyth
Patty Smyth

The Rolling Stones
Bridges to Babylon
Hot Rocks

Kevin & Bean
A Family Christmas in Your Ass
Super Christmas

Original Soundtrack
Grease

Spice Girls
Spice
Spice World
Geri Halliwell: Schizophonic
Goodbye

Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band
Born to Run
Born in the U.S.A.

Bangles
Greatest Hits

Original Soundtrack
Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion

Everclear
So Much for the Afterglow

Stevie Nicks
The Best of Stevie Nicks: Time Space
Fleetwood Mac: Rumours
Fleetwood Mac: Greatest Hits
Trouble in Shangri-La
Fleetwood Mac: The Dance
The Enchanted Works of Stevie Nicks

Depeche Mode
The Singles 86-98
The Singles 81-85
Dave Gahan: Hourglass

The Red Hot Chili Peppers
Greatest Hits

Alanis Morissette
Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie
Unplugged
Under Rug Swept
Jagged Little Pill
So-Called Chaos
Jagged Little Pill Acoustic
The Collection
Flavors of Entanglement
Havoc and Bright Lights

Mariah Carey
#1s

Culture Club
VH1 Storytellers/Greatest Moments

Lauryn Hill
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill

Heart Greatest Hits
Greatest Hits 1985-1995

The Allman Brothers Band
A Decade of Hits 1969-1979

Etta James
The Best of Etta James: The Millennium Collection

Hole
Celebrity Skin
Courtney Love: America's Sweetheart

Abba
Gold: Greatest Hits

Carole King
Tapestry
Love Makes the World
The Living Room Tour

Taylor Dayne
Tell It to My Heart
Can't Fight Fate

Sinead O'Connor
I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got
Sean-Nos Nua

Tracey Chapman
Telling Stories

George Michael
Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. 1
Faith

Aretha Franklin
The Very Best of Aretha Franklin: The '60s

The Beatles
Abbey Road
1
Original Soundtrack: I Am Sam
A Hard Day's Night
Help!
Let It Be
John Lennon: The John Lennon Collection
Revolver
Rubber Soul
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
The Beatles (The White Album)
Instant Karma: The Campaign to Save Darfur
Magical Mystery Tour
Past Masters

Various Artists
100% Dance

Janet Jackson
Design of a Decade: 1986/1996

Destiny's Child
Survivor

Bobby Darin
The Ultimate Bobby Darin

Cyndi Lauper
She's So Unusual

Nirvana
Unplugged in New York
Foo Fighters: Skin and Bones

The Pretenders
The Singles

No Doubt
Rock Steady
Tragic Kingdom
Return of Saturn
The Singles 1992-2003
Gwen Stefani: Love Angel Music Baby
Gwen Stefani: The Sweet Escape
Push & Shove

Jewel
This Way

Social Distortion
Live at The Roxy

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Deja Vu

Kylie Minogue
Fever
Body Language
The Best of Kylie Minogue

Blondie
Greatest Hits

Jimmy Eat World
Jimmy Eat World (Bleed American)

The Proclaimers
The Best Of …

Janis Joplin
18 Essential Songs

The Ramones
All the Stuff (And More) Volume Two

The Clash
The Singles

Nelly Furtado
Whoa, Nelly!

Billy Idol
Greatest Hits

The Cars
Complete Greatest Hits

The Osbournes
The Osbourne Family Album

Green Day
International Superhits!
Insomniac
American Idiot
21st Century Breakdown
Uno!
Dos!
Tre!

Weezer
Weezer (The Green Album)
Weezer (The Blue Album)
Maladriot
Pinkerton
Make Believe
Raditude
Weezer (The Red Album)

R.E.M.
In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003
And I Feel Fine … R.E.M. The Best of the I.R.S. Years 1982-1987

The Cranberries
Everybody Else Is Doing It so Why Can't We? (The Complete Sessions 1991-1993)
No Need to Argue (The Complete Sessions 1994-1995)

Van Morrison
Astral Weeks
Tupelo Honey
Moondance

Van Halen
Van Halen
The Best of Both Worlds

Original Soundtrack
Clueless

X
Los Angeles/Wild Gift

Prince and the Revolution
Purple Rain

Norah Jones
Come Away With Me
Feels Like Home

The Vines
Highly Evolved
Winning Days

The Corrs
Live in Dublin
In Blue
Borrowed Heaven
Talk on Corners (Special Edition)
Forgiven, Not Forgotten
Home

John Mayer
Room for Squares
Heavier Things
Any Given Thursday
Inside Wants Out
John Mayer Trio: Try!
Continuum
Where the Light Is: John Mayer Live in Los Angeles
The Village Sessions
Battle Studies
Born & Raised

Ryan Adams
Gold

Linda Rondstadt
The Very Best of Linda Rondstadt

BBMAK
Sooner or Later

Ashlee Simpson
Autobiography
I Am Me
Bittersweet World

Robbie Williams
The Ego Has Landed
Escapology

Daniel Lanois
Shine

P!nk
M!ssundaztood

Television
Marquee Moon

Simon & Garfunkel
The Best of Simon & Garfunkel

Sheryl Crow
The Very Best of Sheryl Crow

Neil McCormick
The Ghost Who Walks

The Pogues
The Very Best Of …

Pearl Jam
Ten

Lionel Hampton
Golden Vibes/Silver Vibes

Various Artists
Metal Mania -- Stripped

Natasha Bedingfield
Unwritten

Damien Rice
9
O

Original Soundtrack
Saturday Night Fever

The Dave Brubeck Quartet
Time Out

KT Tunstall
Eye to the Telescope

Corinne Bailey Rae
Corinne Bailey Rae

The Partridge Family
The Very Best of The Partridge Family

Pat Benatar
Greatest Hits

James Blunt
Back to Bedlam
All the Lost Souls

Dusty Springfield
Dusty in Memphis

Squeeze
Singles

Donovan
The Essential Donovan

Nina Simone
Nina Simone's Finest Hour

Billie Holiday
Billie's Best

Blink-182
Greatest Hits

Madness
Ultimate Collection

Kaiser Chiefs
Employment
Yours Truly, Angry Mob

Aerosmith
Young Lust

Bob Marley
Legend

Original Soundtrack
Once

Fall Out Boy
Infinity on High
From Under the Cork Tree
Take This to Your Grave
Evening Out With Your Girlfriend
My Heart Will Always Be the B-Side of My Tongue
**** Live in Phoenix
Folie a Deux
Believers Never Die

Violent Femmes
Violent Femmes
Why Do Birds Sing?

Amy Winehouse
Back to Black
Frank
Lioness: Hidden Treasures

Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers
She's the One

The Kinks
The Story of The Kinks

Adam Ant
The Essential Adam Ant

A New Found Glory
From the Screen to Your Stereo
From the Screen to Your Stereo Part II

Oingo Boingo
Oingo Boingo

Fergie
The Dutchess
Black Eyed Peas: The E-N-D

Original Soundtrack
Dirty Dancing: The Collector's Edition

The Ruse
Midnight in the City

Michael Jackson
The Essential Michael Jackson

Robert Plant & Alison Kraus
Raising Sand

Bryan Greenberg
Waiting for Now
We Don't Have Forever

Glee
The Christmas Album

Bloc Party
Various

Young the Giant
Young the Giant

She & Him
A Very She & Him Christmas

Adele
19
21

Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello With Burt Bacharach: Painted From Memory
The Very Best of Elvis Costello
My Aim Is True (Rhino reissue)
Elvis Costello and The Attractions: All This Useless Beauty (Rhino reissue)
Spike (Rhino reissue)
When I Was Cruel
This Years Model (Rhino reissue)
North
Elvis Costello and The Attractions: Armed Forces (Rhino reissue)
Elvis Costelo and The Attractions: Trust (Rhion reissue)
Elvis Costello and The Attractions: Get Happy
Elvis Costello and The Attractions: National Ransom
Elvis Costello and The Attractions: Punch the Clock (Rhion reissue)
Original Soundtrack: De-Lovely
Elvis Costello & The Imposters: The Delivery Man
Elvis Costello Live With the Metropole Orkest: My Flame Burns Blue
Elvis Costello and The Attractions: Imperial Bedroom
Elvis Costello & Allen Toussant: The River in Reverse
Secret, Profane & Sugarcane

Madonna
Erotica
The Immaculate Collection
Original Soundtrack: Evita
Ray of Light
Something to Remember
True Blue
Like a Prayer
Bedtime Stories
Madonna
Live a Virgin
Music
You Can Dance
I'm Breathless
GHV2
Original Soundtrack: Who's That Girl
American Life
Remixed & Revisited
I'm Going to Tell You a Secret
Confessions on a Dance Floor
The Confessions Tour
Original Soundtrack: Vision Quest
Hard Candy
Sticky & Sweet Tour
Celebration
Glee: The Power of Madonna
MDNA (clean and deluxe versions)

U2
The Best of 1980-1990 & The B-Sides
Rattle and Hum
All That You Can't Leave Behind
Achtung Baby (Original and Super Deluxe Edition reissue)
The Joshua Tree (Original and 20th Anniversary reissue)
Zooropa
War (Original and Reissue)
October (Original and Reissue)
The Unforgettable Fire (Original and 25th Anniversary reissue)
Boy (Original and Reissue)
7
Pop
Wide Awake in America
Under a Blood Red Sky (Original and Reissue)
Passengers: Original Soundtracks 1
The Best of 1990-2000 & B-Sides
Original Soundtrack: Moulin Rouge
How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
U2 18: Singles
No Line on the Horizon (original and deluxe)
Original Soundtrack: Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark
Various: Every Mother Counts