Splinters

I never normally do these, but etc etc.

1. The person who passed the baton to you.
Ana from Out Of The Woods Now. We have a mutual love of Chuck Palahniuk's guts.

2. Total volume of music files on your computer.
30 GB, and there's another 20 GB on the back-up drive. I bought an iPod (2nd generation and twice the thickness than today's models) at the end of 2003 before I left the UK. I ripped my entire 500+ CD collection to put on it and still had room to spare. I've managed to break 2 laptops and a camera in the time I've been away, but amazingly, I haven't destroyed my iPod. Now digital music seems like - well, like there was nothing before digital. But I still remember being somewhat in awe about the ability to store my entire small-wall-occupying music collection on one fag-packet-sized gizmo. More importantly, the Random function let me rediscover my record collection, mixing up and relocating tracks I'd forgotten about. And quite a few I wish I could forget about.

3. The title and artist of the last CD you bought.
Here in Bangkok, CDs are 100 baht a pop (£1.40 / US$2.50) , obviously illegal but so conveniently available on most street corners it's difficult to resist. It means I buy a stack of CDs with every visit, and the economic liberation means I can buy stuff just because I like the look of the cover. I bought Damien Rice's album for that very reason. Turned out to be like an Irish Jack Johnston, which didn't really do it for me. Last proper CDs I bought were Massive Attack's 100th Window in Australia and Leonard Cohen's Dear Heather in Tokyo - a sign of my allegiance to both that I couldn't wait to find a knock-off version. As with all the other CDs I bought, both got given away. Once they're ripped, they become paperweights. I seem to have lost all interest in the physical artifacts of music.

4. Song playing at the moment of writing.
The Fall - Why Are People Grudgeful. On an EP originally bought solely to hear Mark E. Smith's version of "Lost In Music". He didn't let me down.

5. Five songs you have been listening to of late (or all-time favorites, or particularly personally meaningful songs)
Some nameless track from the new Beck album, Guero (ahem); the Psychedelic Furs' glorious cover version of The Smiths' "London"; New Order's "Perfect Kiss" (everything from Substance, actually); Johnny Cash's version of "Personal Jesus" (and the Depeche Mode original); "99 Problems" from DJ Danger Mouse's The Grey Album. If I was going to get into all time favourites I could be here all night, so I will let it go at the entire oeuvres of Leonard Cohen, The Sisters Of Mercy, Nick Cave, David Bowie and Underworld as probably managing to account for 90 per cent of favourite/meaningful songs. For tonight, anyway. Certainly all of whom are responsible for the most stunning gigs I've seen. (Except for PJ Harvey. And Kraftwerk. And...)

6. The five people to whom you will 'pass the musical baton.'
Tom Sizemore - because he's always writes at the end of his blog what he's listening to, so he will find this terminally uncool...but not be able to resist the need to fill it in.

Mark at Ready Steady Book - because he likes classical and that, and can point me in the direction of stuff I've never heard

Nick at Ty Bach - because he used to make all sorts of odd noises emerge from the room below mine - and indeed, was responsible for a good deal of what's on my iPod now

Gary at Kasino - because it'll be amusing if nothing else. Plus it might take his mind off his back.

Emily at Better Than Hamlet - because her lack of posts indicates she's clearly too busy being young and free in Paris. Soon put a stop to that.

More on favourite music:
Spike | Google | Amazon UK | Amazon US | Wikipedia | Open Directory