The End

Back on December 15, 2006, I set out to document something I've been doing for about the past 15 years: listening to my entire CD collection (some 2,500 discs) in descending order of their total time, longest to shortest. The first CD was Disc 2 of the X Marks the Pedwalk retrospective Experiences, clocking in at 79 minutes, 54 seconds. The project officially ended yesterday afternoon with the shortest CD I own, The Courtyard & Jerusalem by Current 93, registering 8 minutes and 17 seconds.

Counting vacations and other distractions, the whole thing took me slightly under 10 months to complete, a period during which I managed to blog every day, not counting those pesky vacations spent out of town. Some days it was a drag to write (and probably to read), and some days I looked forward to it. It'll be a relief not to feel obligated to it anymore, but I'm sure I'll miss it.

For you--and I don't know how many of "you" there are--I hope reading this was at least somewhat entertaining. At the very least, if we share musical tastes, maybe the obsessive lists of artists and their releases turned you on to someone or something you hadn't heard before or didn't know existed. If even one of you was motivated to buy something you saw described or listed here, it would all have been worth it to me. I love all the artists' music listed here, and I'm happy to support their continued existence.

I've written extensively about the compact disc in this blog--its history as well as its waning status as a means of delivering music. And what that might mean for independent musicians, especially in the industrial/ambient/avant-garde/exprimental genre. And what it might mean for someone who's invested a great deal of time and energy--to say nothing of money--into collecting CDs and fetishizing them as objects that deliver music, sure, but also something more: an expression of the artist beyond simply the song. You can listen to, say, Wappenbund, but how much of the pleasure of getting something new from that willfully obscure band is in the strange and elaborate packaging and artwork? Buying it on iTunes just wouldn't be the same thing. (And don't even try to talk to me about "ripping" the music using BitTorrent.)

So what now? I'm still thinking that through. One thing I think I can state for sure: The mission I set out to accomplish has in one way succeeded, but in another way has completely failed. Yes, I've managed to stick this out and document one entire run-through of my collection. But the stated aim was also to cure me of the obsessive need to listen to my CDs this way. And I know that didn't happen.

Sometime soon, perhaps on October 1 or sooner, I'll print out a new list, one that includes all the new CDs I bought this past year, and start all over again. As kooky as it is, I've come to like it. And I feel adrift without it. Hell, I feel that way right now, and I only finished the list yesterday.

And what about this blog? Not sure. I might continue to post here about music or other stuff, but not every day. Or I might just leave it alone, as a testament to this project. You'll just have to visit to find out.

For now, a huge thanks to anyone who's bothered to read this and especially if you came back for repeat visits to see what new nonsense I'd managed to post. You deserve some sort of medal. If you care to leave comments or questions, I'll be happy to read them and respond. I'd love to know what you thought about the blog or the project. Or if you know of music you think I'd like, based on what you've seen here.

Bye for now.

-Total Time