too much music?

i'm a connoisseur of music.

back in the 80s, when tapes and records were the dominant form of music, my parents help me buy at least 50 cassettes and 50 records - not much, but hey, i was a kid and when i really wanted to listen to music i just turned on the radio.

back in the 90s, when CDs reigned supreme for me, i had somewhere between 350 and 400 of them, all bought and paid for.

now, with digital music the dominant form, i count in terms of how many songs i have - which, on my ipod, happens to be 9050. this is not the TOTAL number of songs i have, as i've got at least another 1000 waiting on my computer, but we'll go with the number on my ipod for now.

some have told me that 9050 songs is too many songs. how can i possibly listen to and appreciate them all? i just have them to have them, right?

wrong. i just like music.

however, it's times like this when i feel that yes, maybe i do have a few too many songs.

last week i went on a downloading spree and picked up albums from artists that i hadn't looked up in a few years. one of these was a favorite of mine back in the 90s, Better than Ezra.

they put out an album a few years ago that i thought i either totally missed or just wasn't interested in buying - see, for me, if a band doesn't evolve their sound in 3 records or less i'm usually not going to go buying a 4th, 5th, or 6th record... it all just ends up sounding the same.

anyway, i downloaded this latest Better than Ezra album and just got around to listening to it tonight and guess what?

i can't tell if i already own it or not.

unfortunately my ipod isn't here for me to check (left it at work) so i can't simply eliminate the doubt, but here's the gist of it: the album sounds familiar and i know at least one of the songs on it (i found myself singing along). now, this familiar sound could just be the fact that i own 3-4 Better than Ezra albums already and the song i knew was a single... or it could mean that i already have this album.

either way, it might mean i've got too much music.

- kawitchate