part two!

[lauralh]

Even if you didn't answer about the twenty CDs, just imagine:

You lose your booklet of twenty CDs, and a group of snarky college students find it and make fun of it for their school paper's humor column. What sort of things might they say about you, the owner?

Comments

[vyacheslav.livejournal.com]

"Hey, put "The" in front of your band's name and this guy will buy all of your cd's."

[janietrain.livejournal.com]

Oh, you do that, too? =)

[perich.livejournal.com]

"Man, if I see the guy whose CDs these were, I'm going to yell 'I'M RICK JAMES, BITCH!' at the top of my lungs and then slap him."

(you did say college humor column, right?)

[herbaliser.livejournal.com]

wow, your college humor column sounds worse than mine was.

[janietrain.livejournal.com]

"We found this CD booklet and had to use carbon-14 dating to acurately place the contents in history context".

Yeah, so these are really nerdy college satirists.

[geah.livejournal.com]

Crap! If I had known you were going to do that, I wouldn't have forgotten to get around to making a list.

Warn a guy next time!

[herbaliser.livejournal.com]

well the warning would have missed the fun wouldn't it.

[geah.livejournal.com]

Probably. Oh, well.

[lemur68.livejournal.com]

"This guy must work at a record store. I haven't even heard of 19 of these bands."

[almosttruth.livejournal.com]

"Oh my god, look at all the NIN cd's! Bwahahahahah!! Do people actually still listen to this crap?"

But what are you supposed to do with perfectly good cd's from HS? I haven't the heart to thrown them out or sell em!

College

[pamc.livejournal.com]

is the perpetuation of the childish illusion that what you own says anything about a person. It's stuff, people. It's just fucking stuff.

Re: College

[herbaliser.livejournal.com]

you're no fun!

i was inspired by a friend of mine finding someone's booklet and posting:
"Bob Dylan - Lovesick
Grateful Dead - American Beauty
Eileen Ivers & Immigrant Soul
Jimmy Buffet - Songs You Know By Heart (Margaritaville is the only good one on this)
David Grisman - THe David Grisman Rounder CD
Jimmy Buffet - Living and Dying in 3/4 Time
Edie Brickell & New Bohemians - Ghost of A Dog
Paul Simon - Negotiations and Love Songs 1971-1986
Some Jerry Garcia/Davcid Grisman disc from 1991
Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin, and Paco de Lucia - Friday Night in San Francisco
Frank Zappa - One Size Fits All
David Grisman - Dawg '90
Frank Zappa - Strictly Commercial
Frank Zappa - Joe's Garage Disc 1
Paul Simon - Graceland
Dave Matthew's Band - Busted Stuff
Ani Difranco - Like I said
RUSHMORE Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (I am not parting with this)
The Chieftains - The Celtic Harp
Widespread Panic - Space Wranglers
Frank Zappa - Apostrophe / Overnite Sensation
Los Lobos - Kiko
Bob Dylan - Blonde on Blonde
and of course
Dixie Chicks - Fly

So um, what kind of person do you think owns such a cd collection? I was thinking gay man in mid 40s possibly."

Re: College

[ernunnos.livejournal.com]

I would say late 30s, and not gay, just a geek. I haven't met too many gay guys like Zappa that much. There's a fair chance he's been a member of Society for Creative Anachronism at some point in the past, and an almost certainty that he's still playing D&D. Female characters.

Re: College

[pamc.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry... I'm in a really snarky mood today. Husband is being a moron again.

Actually, I like most of what's on that list. I also know a few geeky programmer chicks who'd be into all of those. And except for the Ani Di Franco, that list could also be that of a Harley biker I know, in his late 20s.

no worries

[herbaliser.livejournal.com]

man, Harley Bikers just aren't the fuckups they were in the 60s, are they?

Re: no worries

[pamc.livejournal.com]

Nope, not at all.

Unfortunately, most of those guys have been killed off by AIDS (there was a HUGE gay Harley population... most of the Hell's Angels, in fact).

What's left is the drug runners (most of the biker gangs, save notably the sober riders), corporate weekend riders, the new kids, and the old Hets.

Re: College

[ernunnos.livejournal.com]

To say that a person's belongings are just stuff is like saying that Michaelangelo's "David" is just a hunk of rock. In a sense it's true, but it's a trivial truth. Whether creating it from scratch or buying it, people put a lot of thought and effort into their stuff. People don't buy stuff at random. Your stuff ends up reflecting your aspirations and priorities.

I've used that information to save my life on any number of occasions.

When riding my motorcycle I can predict what drivers to watch out for by the type of vehicle they drive. Certain makes and models and certain features tell me that the driver is/n't interested in driving, and is/n't likely to drift into my lane with/out looking where they're going.

That's just one small but useful example.

Re: College

[pamc.livejournal.com]

Art is far different than purchased items. Art, as my Philosophy of Human Nature prof explained it, is literally "self expression."

You could tell something about Michaelangelo from his work (hell, he's the guy who invented signing art works). However, I'd argue his work does not reflect or tell anything about his patron.

Car drivers do fall into a pattern of behavior based on what they drive, that's true. However, it still doesn't give you insight into the person. SUVs are so ubequitous now that you can't say "only this type of person drives an SUV."

Does that make sense?

Re: College

[ernunnos.livejournal.com]

I think products are self-expression too. There was an article in Reason magazine (http://www.reason.com/0203/fe.cf.in.shtml) a while back that made a very compelling argument to that effect. The bit about the Stilyagi is particularly interesting.

The point of the various musical countercultures under the Soviets was not simply to hear music. What the authorities never understood, and what many cultural critics in the West similarly don’t understand, is that the fans who inhabit such "vulgar" and disruptive subcultures are not being exploited. It is the fans who are using both the music scene and the paraphernalia that surrounds it for their own expressive purposes. If there is no one to sell them the paraphernalia -- the clothes, the imagery, the recordings -- then the members of these subcultures will not go without it. They will create it themselves.

I see the same sorts of things in the local yardsale and pinup communities. They don't make much of a distinction between stuff they found at a store and stuff they made. If it's "cool" and fits their image, they use it. If it doesn't exist, they make it. Or buy something hand-made from someone else. It's self-expression on either end.

That's why I think you can tell something about the person who patronizes Michaelangelo. Or any other artist. Although the message received by the patron might not be exactly the one meant by the artist, something about that artist's work spoke to the patron. Even if it's just "Wow, it's a Michaelangelo, won't my friends be jealous?"

Of course there are limits, but it's like anything else. The more data you get, the better the picture you can draw. All SUV drivers are not alike, but if you add that it's an early '90s Toyota or a new Escalade, then I can tell you a lot more about them.

Re: College

[pamc.livejournal.com]

Right... but that's the thing. You can't tell if it's I dig this thing I bought or if it's I'm buying this to make someone jealous, or a million other reasons. Just having the information about what CDs a person owns in one CD carrier is not enough information to draw conclusions.

[freyja.livejournal.com]

"if ever there was a definitive collection of creepy artists who could not for the life of them sing, it is this."

not really true though.

[bewing.livejournal.com]

Oh, this guy just flaunts his mellowness, doesn't he -- except for his awful taste in hair metal bands! Eeeeew!

[discogravy.livejournal.com]

"pick a genre and stick to it, guy"

Street Hassle

[satanseviltwin.livejournal.com]

If they were goofballs they would say something like...His nose is so high in the air that the FAA has to give him his own airspace.

However, If they were dedicated students then they would just reprint the lyrics to this song. (http://www.alwaysontherun.net/lou2.htm#s4)