Low note.

Music I was talking to someone online not that long ago and we had the 'How much music have you got on your hard drive?' conversation. Checking WinAmp I realised I had twenty-six hours of music on here, all ripped from my perfectly legal cd collection. I then checked how much space that was using. Sure enough, nearly 30 gig. No wonder my computer was slow and prone to crashing and not shutting down properly. It was bloated.

I thought about the pros and cons of having my entire music collection on my computer. Apart from being able to play tracks randomly and being able to create compilations really easily. Couldn't think of any. So over the past few days I've removed all the music from my computer. Not deleted it. Decanted it to some DVD-Rs just in case I ever do buy an ipod or have a larger hard disk. My computer is much healthier. It takes a full 30 seconds less to start up and I don't think it's hung since the contents dipped back below five gig.

Recently I took my music collection out and it's now in a bookcase in easy reach of my hand. And I really enjoy taking out the shiny disc, dropping it into the cd drawer of the hifi and waiting those few tentative moments before it plays. I'm enjoying the flow of an entire album again, the musical journey from a to z. I suddenly understand the joy of commercial compilations, how the really good ones have been produced by producers who care about the music and the order in which its played. If only WinAmp could learn that it's a no-no to segway from the Pet Shop Boys into Howard Shaw no matter which end of middle earth you're looking at.