LISTS FOR 2006

I'm a big fan of lists.  I make them all the time and I use them to track such things as music I listen to, books I read, movies I watch, etc.  At the end of the year I usually post the results of some of these activities.  If such things bore you, then please skip this post.

In 2006, I burned a total of 602 CD-R's.  Most of these were from music downloads or reburning discs I'd ripped to my laptop prior to coming to Thailand (easier than carrying too many CD's in my luggage).  Perhaps a hundred were for trades or gifts for friends (way down from my usual sharing activities).  Some of these were actually VCD's of downloaded television shows or video clips from my digital camera.  During the same period, I burned 76 DVD's — some were full-length movies, some downloaded bootleg concerts, and many were archives of lossless (FLAC or SHN music downloads) and digital photos.

I also finished reading a paultry 25 books.  This is WAY DOWN from my usual annual average of 75; there were several years in a row when I topped a hundred — I'd been keeping track of books read since 1977(!) but lost that database in a computer crash last year.  I attribute the low amount of reading to living in such a beautiful (and hot — I can't read when it's too warm) location where there's always something to do (not to mention having a family that commands so much of my full attention).  Most of the books I finished last year were rather dry teaching manuals or grammar tutorials; I only read two or three novels and one short story collection but I intend to rectify that in 2007.

I did, however, find time to watch 201 DVD's, mostly full-length movies and music concerts.  In this count, however, are episodes of TV shows on DVD (mostly Desparate Housewives and Battlestar Galactica).

And, most dear to me, in 2006 I listened to some 418 full CD's.  This doesn't count the numerous songs heard (not always fully paid attention to) via the shuffle mode or playlists on my iPod.  I only count those discs I pay attention to and listen from the first track to the last.

Let's take a closer look at what I was listening to.  As always, there was great variety in my musical choices over the past year.  Looking at the last ten albums I played doesn't give a full indication of this variety, but it is a start:

• Gary U.S. Bonds  Live at Hammersmith Odeon, London UK 1981


• Alanis Morissette  Live at CHUM City Building, Toronto ON 11/8/98


• The Beatles  Live at Fulton County Stadium, Atlanta GA 8/18/65


• Pink Floyd  Live at Wembley Empire Pool, London UK 11/16/74 (2 discs)


• The Beatles  Love (2006)


• Kevn Kinney's Sun Tangled Angel Revival  Comin' Round Again (2006)


• Maria McKee  Live: Acoustic Tour 2006 (2006)


• Bruce Springsteen & The Max Weinberg 7 And Friends Holiday Show  Live at Convention Hall, Asbury Park NJ 12/8/03 [newly "released" soundboard — disc 1 only]


• Gazpacho  Firebird (2006)


• Marillion  The Jingle Book (2006 fan club CD)

For the record, I listed to more Marillion than any other artist — a whopping 55 discs (only one of these was a "repeat" as I listened to the Christmas CD twice).

A few other "most played" artists were:

• Bruce Springsteen (18)


• Eric Clapton (14)


• Neil Young (14)


• Peter Gabriel (11)


• Jefferson Airplane/Jefferson Starship (11)


• Pink Floyd (9)


• Santana (9)


• The Beatles (8)


• Genesis (8)


• Keane (8)


• Los Lonely Boys (8)


• Yes (8)


• Fleetwood Mac (7)


• U2 (7)


• Roger Waters (7)


• Jethro Tull (6)


• Rush (6)

Although there were a few "double plays", there was ONLY ONE CD that I played three times:

• Los Lonely Boys  Los Lonely Boys (2004)

I still have A LOT of unheard music resting on my harddrive and shelves.  I plan to (try to) get caught up listening before downloading any more (VERY difficult to do when my high(er) speed connection does work!).  I also want to have more repeat plays of favorite albums in 2007; I often opt for something new to play rather than something I can listen to over and over and still enjoy (it is absolutely criminal that I only played Dark Side Of The Moon ONCE in all of 2006 and that was back in July!).

Well, Happy New Year.  I'm off to eat some lunch...and perhaps start a new list.  Those bored by lists can now return ;-)