I've been a music junkie most of my life, especially focusing on Sountracks/BGM's (Background Music) for movies and Tv shows. Over time I accumulated a decent sized collection of tapes and later CD's. However, probably in the last ten years or more, I've bought less and less and I found it harder and harder to find time or the easy means listen to the music.
For several years at the job, it wasn't a viable option to have a radio or CD player. I used to be in one of those open cubes in the middle of the hallway, right by the restrooms with tons of traffic. (Can you say ew?) And between writing, marketing, conventions, and life in general, listening to the stuff at home was also difficult. (Nope, I am not one of those that can normally write while listening to music. Darn.)
Work location improved and the radio/CD player brought to the office. But then it was a matter of actually remembering to bring the CD's. Worrying about pausing, changing them out, taking home,bringing more, etc.
There was a solution. One I had been eyeballing for a year or two. Well, I finally caved! I am now the owner of an IPOD! With a wondrous 8 Gigabytes of space so I can cram as much music into the thing as I can possibly want. A cheap $30 stand with speakers lets me rock away at work without having to use the earphone. And it has been fabulous! No more commercials from the radio, a shuffle option so it keeps things fresh and surprises me with tidbits, option to play an album straight through if I get a craving. Sweet!
Of course like with all things in my life, I did have to go through a learning curve. The iTunes software is not the most intuitive and figuring out on how to get items listed on the PC software side and then figuring out whether to sync or have it only load new things or what not (some options it seems to deal with better than others...drove me nuts for a bit). And of course there's making sure to find the time to bring the CD's over to the PC and have it record the songs so you can have them in the Ipod. Something simple to do, but harder to arrange.
Have gotten some done though! So I now have 829 pieces of music to listen to. And it's not even the tip of the iceberg. It's been so nice to listen to some old favorites and some new tunes/tracks! The organ intro to Sweeny Todd is awesome! (Got it for Christmas!) It sent goosebumps all over the place. (The Star Wars theme does the same thing to me as well as a few others!)
What the Ipod is also giving me is an opportunity to try out new composers as well. Just recently I dug around for some info on Chris Lennertz, one of the two main composers for the TV show Supernatural (what? You didn't actually think this wouldn't somehow get back to my obsession, did you? Shame on you! :P). Mr. Lennertz has definitely been around the block and I was quite surprised to read that I had run across his work before - the show Brimstone for one. He's got several sample MP3's at his site to give you a feel for his great skills and versatility. He's done a lot of work on TV, Film, and videogame soundtracks. What I have been listening to is definitely working his work way up there with my other favorites, John Williams, Danny Elfman, John Barry, and Jerry Goldsmith. Go Chris!
Next on my list to check out is Jay Gruska - Supernatural composer #2! Bwahahahaha!
May your days too be filled with music and song!
Gloria Oliver
http://www.gloriaoliver.com/
Unveiling the Fantastic
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