What is the portion of your neglected music?

My embarrassing figures are around 40% of my CDs and over 70% of the vinyl. Something to think about before rushing to buy more new stuff.

Haim, I sold more than half of my collection last year, for this reason. It was painful, and I regret selling a few collectables, but I do enjoy the peace of mind that comes with a smaller collection. I have about 1000 CDs / downloads, now, growing again with one or two per month on average.

When I ripped my CDs a couple of years ago I found a substantial number of those I’d not played for <insert large number  of> years. And a lesser number of those I didn’t know I’d bought/had no idea what they were.

But my collection is a lifetime’s library, and over that time my tastes ebb and flow and I’d never get rid of anything because my tastes will come full circle (again) if I live long enough.

So from my point of view it’s a non-decision. Though I will say streaming is sorting out my storage issues somewhat!

Nick Lees posted:

My collection is a lifetime’s library, and over that time my tastes ebb and flow and I’d never get rid of anything because my tastes will come full circle (again) if I live long enough.

+ 1

I often think of the film Regarding Henry: and although my therapist says that it is not absolutely necessary to be shot in the forehead by a shop burglar with a .22 to start the terrible journey back to sanity, I ask myself what if? How many things might I discover that I loved, after all?

Probably too much.

I am intending to 'move on' a part of my collection for that very reason.

steve

Nice thread! I can say 90% of my CD collection is neglected for the simple reason that I mostly bought CDs between 1990 and 1992 when I was into alternative rock mostly but during the past 5 years (that I have started again to listen a lot and collect new music) I am at the 80% Level docusi  into classical... 

What is more “disturbing” is that I am struggling to keep up with the new items as well :-) 

Max_B posted:

Nick Lees posted:

My collection is a lifetime’s library, and over that time my tastes ebb and flow and I’d never get rid of anything because my tastes will come full circle (again) if I live long enough.

+ 1

I often think of the film Regarding Henry: and although my therapist says that it is not absolutely necessary to be shot in the forehead by a shop burglar with a .22 to start the terrible journey back to sanity, I ask myself what if? How many things might I discover that I loved, after all?

Max,

I don't know about Regarding Henry but Regarding Haim there is definitely plenty of albums that I should let go and have someone else enjoy them.

First, there are the easy decisions with recordings purchased long time ago that played now do nothing for me and I know that will not change in the future. The second group (which is larger and harder to select) is quality musicians that I have way too much of their work. A good example is Keith Jarrett that I could do with seven of his albums instead of eighteen. Another one is Charles lloyd that I easily get the idea of his music in just five discs instead of the dozen I own . How many variations of Goldberg Variations one needs? Probably Gould's two, a few more on the piano, a harpsichord one and a string arrangement would do. I have quite a few extras to spare.

With me, on top of physical space it is a state of mind, overwhelmed by too much unused stuff lying around me and having a constant urge to lighten up the load. I am reminded of Tim O'Brian's short story "The Things They Carried" about what was found in the pockets of his infantry platoon's fellow soldiers in Vietnam.  A great selection of short stories to read even if you intend to keep all your music.

Good night.

Mostly my CD Collection - around 650. I spent countless hours ripping  the  damn things and now I tend  listen to them  on Tidal. 

Most of my listening time is still spent on my vinyl collection. I don’t have a vast amount compared to some folks here  but I surely treasure the ones I have, in particular  those  which have not been made available to streaming. 

Haim

Thanks for that, "The Things They Carried" has gone onto my reading list for 2018. 

For a significant percentage of my collection the last time they were "played" was when the UnitiServe ripped them  

Olly

Unless the performance is something I won't enjoy, I'd rather not rid of anything.

Just because I haven't listened to a particular album for awhile, that does not mean I don't enjoy it. Collection is like a lending library to me. ( this is why streaming makes sense: certainly it takes up less space )

But you're right. I should get rid of dupes. (I've 5 versions of Roxy Music Avalon ) :/

I listen to strictly physical media and have finite shelf space for my holdings in my listening room. I haven't maxed-out yet, but am becoming equally limited for both CDs and LPs. I have no intention of adding shelf space outside of my listening room. Once my shelving there is maxed, perhaps another couple of years, I fully intend to begin divesting myself of music that I rarely listen to. Why keep it?

I'm a music listener, not a music collector. Physical media and its associated space constraints serves as a great means to cleanse the lesser holdings. Make room for stuff I'll actually listen to, not just hold on to.

joerand posted:

I listen to strictly physical media and have finite shelf space for my holdings in my listening room. I haven't maxed-out yet, but am becoming equally limited for both CDs and LPs. I have no intention of adding shelf space outside of my listening room. Once my shelving there is maxed, perhaps another couple of years, I fully intend to begin divesting myself of music that I rarely listen to. Why keep it?

I'm a music listener, not a music collector. Physical media and its associated space constraints serves as a great means to cleanse the lesser holdings. Make room for stuff I'll actually listen to, not just hold on to.

I used to (before going 100% download) work to the same principle, except that I moved unplayed cds to the loft on a 'one in one out' basis.

A few years ago I tried to give away all those unplayed cds - about 2,000, mainly jazz - but found it surprisingly difficult. People made appointments to visit and didn't show up, others wanted me to post them out, despite me saying 'collection only'. Eventually a bloke leaving nearby took several hundred, the rest are still in the loft.

Haim Ronen posted:

I don't know about Regarding Henry but Regarding Haim there is definitely plenty of albums that I should let go and have someone else enjoy them.

First, there are the easy decisions with recordings purchased long time ago that played now do nothing for me and I know that will not change in the future. The second group (which is larger and harder to select) is quality musicians that I have way too much of their work. A good example is Keith Jarrett that I could do with seven of his albums instead of eighteen. Another one is Charles lloyd that I easily get the idea of his music in just five discs instead of the dozen I own . How many variations of Goldberg Variations one needs? Probably Gould's two, a few more on the piano, a harpsichord one and a string arrangement would do. I have quite a few extras to spare.

With me, on top of physical space it is a state of mind, overwhelmed by too much unused stuff lying around me and having a constant urge to lighten up the load. I am reminded of Tim O'Brian's short story "The Things They Carried" about what was found in the pockets of his infantry platoon's fellow soldiers in Vietnam.  A great selection of short stories to read even if you intend to keep all your music.

Good night.

Haim,

I'm with you more than it seems. Keith Jarrett is a good example. I think I have more than fifteen discs myself, and I could do with two(*) plus a single track from a Live in Tokyo DVD. Charles Lloyd has just one entry in my collection but I play it very rarely because I don't love the saxophone. But the worst is Brad Mehldau, I only really like one and half of his recordings (not that I only like half of one of it, but I only like it half of the times I play it, while other times I cannot understand it because it just sounds to me like an uncontrollable, yet somehow rigid, stream of musical consciousness) but have way too many. His productions are always bloated sound wise, with big bass and invasive sound. He's a respectable man culturally, and an excellent pianist, but he plays musical notes as he writes his own liner notes: way, way too many.

Sometimes, on the radio, I hear some jazz number and it all seems to exaggeratedly mainstream, foreseeable, academic that I wonder why I ever got interested in jazz to begin with. I gave my copy of Kind of blue to a friend even before having listened to it thoroughly.

The Goldberg Variations: unfortunately, that something ineffable that rules the human things has managed to make poor Gould's 1981 version become an epitome of lifestyle banality, like Apple; people adore it even without knowing why. There wasn't such a thing as Gouldianism, now there is. What's more, the first (1954) and last (1981) version are so antipodal in concept and rendition that I wonder how one can make one with one and the other.

There are CDs that I put on the player and after 30 seconds I'd take off and throw out of the window. I've done it, from my car, a couple of times. Fact is, we own and listen to too much music. Nobody would go to two concerts on the same night, but there are people who post about having spent hours and hours playing music until, as if time had stopped, it was three o' clock a.m. This is not music loving, it is music bulimia and I know perfectly well where it comes from: it's an induced need generated from having a stereo system. Even if you don't really want to listen to some piece, you want to hear the system sounding; and choose not necessarily what you love, but often what you just don't dislike, but makes your gear make the best noise.

60 years ago a man with a stereo wanted the new, unexpected and rare pleasure to listen to Beethoven's Symphonies even without a public concert in the next weeks or within a 50-miles radius: he bought the massive Toscanini complete edition or the Fürtwængler one, and was happy. Now you can have 20 complete editions, and there are people who catalogue them on the basis of duration: 5th Symphony, I movement: Haitink 6'23", Karajan 5'48", Bruno Walter, 6'21".... And so on. And they judge music on this basis. It almost makes me wish that not a single note was ever written.

I am aware that in twenty more years I could love something I now hate, but the hypothesis dies the moment it is born: I have no idea that I'll be alive in twenty minutes. So, please, get rid of everything you don't wish to keep, with the same freedom and happiness with which you'd buy something. I promise I'll do.

M.

(*) Live in Tokyo 1996 and The melody at night with you

Similar to some previous posters, I would estimate that about 40% of my CDs have not seen the (laser) light for at least three years. Sometimes, when being indecisive about what to listen to, I either deliberately try to choose something with a slightly thicker layer of (mainly metaphorical) dust on it, or I have been known to generate a series of random numbers to break the indecisiveness - first a number to choose which rack to go to, then one to choose the shelf, then one to choose the disc and sometimes also one to choose the track.

Being aware of the issue, I have been considering listening to my entire collection from soup to nuts - every disc, every track in some sort of logical order. Hoping to rediscover some old favourites or, I daresay, find some tracks I've never heard before. If I ever get around to it, I might list it as a thread on the Music Room with some thoughts along the way.

On the classical front, I've never quite understood the desire to own multiple recordings of the same work. For more than 99% of the classical pieces in my collection, I've only ever wanted one recording of it. Having said that, it has sometimes been the case that I've replaced a recording I didn't like with one I did, but in those cases, I've never kept the first one.

Mark

Max_B posted:

The Goldberg Variations: unfortunately, that something ineffable that rules the human things has managed to make poor Gould's 1981 version become an epitome of lifestyle banality, like Apple; people adore it even without knowing why. There wasn't such a thing as Gouldianism, now there is. What's more, the first (1954) and last (1981) version are so antipodal in concept and rendition that I wonder how one can make one with one and the other

 

I keep both for strictly for a historical purpose. I prefer his later *slower* version than his sensational trail blazing debut album but comparison back to back is fascinating to listen to.
Same token in spite I don't much care much for Van Cliburn, I  own a copy ( actually copies: mono and stereo version :/ ) of his Tchaikovsky PC1 LP, the first classical LP to become Platinum in the US for strictly for a historical reason.

kuma posted:

Unless the performance is something I won't enjoy, I'd rather not rid of anything.

Just because I haven't listened to a particular album for awhile, that does not mean I don't enjoy it. Collection is like a lending library to me. ( this is why streaming makes sense: certainly it takes up less space )

But you're right. I should get rid of dupes. (I've 5 versions of Roxy Music Avalon ) :/

In the cases where you have different recordings of the same work, do you still listen to all of them? Or do you always play your favourite recording? If the latter, why keep the other versions?

The same question applies to the case where you have multiple copies of the same recording. In this case, surely you play the version which sounds best on your system? So why haven't you sold on the lesser copies?

I'm not trying to suggest that you should be rid of the versions you don't play; I'm just trying to understand why you've kept them, because I find myself in the same situation (for several pieces of music). I do still play and compare the several different recordings I have of Wagner's ring cycle, but on the other hand, despite having at least half a dozen different recordings of Richard Strauss's four last songs, I only ever play the Schwarzkopf, which IMHO conveys the greatest emotion. But I wouldn't want to be without the Norman, nor any of the others to be honest.

I'm not sure there's really any cure!

Clive B posted:

In the cases where you have different recordings of the same work, do you still listen to all of them? Or do you always play your favourite recording? If the latter, why keep the other versions?

The same question applies to the case where you have multiple copies of the same recording. In this case, surely you play the version which sounds best on your system? So why haven't you sold on the lesser copies?

I'm not trying to suggest that you should be rid of the versions you don't play; I'm just trying to understand why you've kept them, because I find myself in the same situation (for several pieces of music). I do still play and compare the several different recordings I have of Wagner's ring cycle, but on the other hand, despite having at least half a dozen different recordings of Richard Strauss's four last songs, I only ever play the Schwarzkopf, which IMHO conveys the greatest emotion.

Clive,

I culled a lot over the years but yeah I still have a way to go! I have been giving away the ones I don't like. But I am bound to *hoard* multiple performances due to various artistic interpretation where I can very much appreciate. Let's say in the case of Goldberg Variations, I enjoy, Gould, Kempf and Tharaud equally for different reasons. But you're right I should get rid of the original Gould '81 vinyl release because the latest Analogue release clearly surpasses in terms of fidelity than the digital LP.

I don't own the Ring Cycle, but for Tristan, I am keeping Lenny ( by far my fave! ) and Furtwangler (Flagstadt's voice even tho Schwarzkopf was substituted for the high Cs ) sets for different reasons. ( I KNOW I should get rid of Bohm and Kliber sets but I meant to give one more try to see...)

kuma posted:

I don't own the Ring Cycle, but for Tristan, I am keeping Lenny ( by far my fave! ) and Furtwangler (Flagstadt's voice even tho Schwarzkopf was substituted for the high Cs ) sets for different reasons. ( I KNOW I should get rid of Bohm and Kliber sets but I meant to give one more try to see...)

Although I've not heard Bernstein's recording, I don't think you should get rid of Kleiber and Böhm - they have different strengths, but I find emotion in both.

Clive B posted:

I don't think you should get rid of Kleiber and Böhm - they have different strengths, but I find emotion in both.

See what I mean?

I find both Price and Nilsson no match for Flagstadt. :/

Kollo has no sex appeal and overall beautiful orchestration let down by dry emotionless voices. Plus I think Kliber had a better performance than this I feel as he seems just not all there on this all studio bound recording.

Bohm, IIRC, starts out great but  I certainly can do without Nilsson's hard voice on Isolde Liebestod. Orchestra sounds spotty and doesn't have Bohm's usual flow.

But it's been a while since I have heard both recordings so I should give one more try to see what you are on about.

You are not helping! 

P.S. Lenny and Bohm's Tristan are polar opposite. Lenny's set also has an advantage soundwise.

It might sound embarrassing but for me it's 99% of cds and 100% of the vinyls mind ya I don't play any of my records these days.

Finally I do listen to music ova my smartphone quite a bit nowadays!

i have a couple of Perry Comatose LP albums that i constantly neglect a lot  

Debs

Something I have been doing lately is running my streamer on random mix, and it is surprising how some cuts show up that you either wonder why you ever bought it (check the rest of the CD song list) or that are one you hadn't heard and like. Sometimes, it even comes down to having to guess who it is you have on, or which album of someone if you know but can't place it.

One way to use streaming to knock the dust off some selections...and I have a lot of dust on some things.

.....having ripped about 1000 CD's over the past 6 months, there are definitely many I may never find the time to play again. So I definitely have ignored and mostly will continue to ignore a large percentage of music that I physically own.

Musical interests change over time is one factor. I believe the most influential factor (for me) of why I may not search through my existing inventory is the ability to access an unlimited amount of artists across the globe because of streaming services such as Spotify and Tidal. Also the ability to explore complete or almost complete catalogues of musicians. In the past it was limited to what I may have purchased, but now can access catelogs for a monthly subscription fee and find the quality to be excellent.

Change is constant......

kuma posted:

Same token in spite I don't much care much for Van Cliburn, I  own a copy ( actually copies: mono and stereo version :/ ) of his Tchaikovsky PC1 LP, the first classical LP to become Platinum in the US for strictly a historical reason.

I browsed through my LPs to look for it, I thought I have it but I was wrong: I have his Schumann Concerto, with Fritz Reiner. Actually, I have I believe all Reiner's recordings on LP, including a few rare things like his Bach's Brandenburg Concerts when he still was in Pittsburg. I started in 1975 and in a few years I found everything. The oldest and rarest things (a couple) were stolen in some house, for collection reasons... Art asks its toll. 

Max_B posted:

 Actually, I have I believe all Reiner's recordings on LP, including a few rare things like his Bach's Brandenburg Concerts when he still was in Pittsburg. I started in 1975 and in a few years I found everything. The oldest and rarest things (a couple) were stolen in some house, for collection reasons... Art asks its toll. 

max,

Is this it? If so, I have the No.3-6. His no. 5 & 6 are my favourite. ( I have not located No.1&2 locally yet ) These are probably released in the 1950. ( recorded in 1949 ) Mine are glossy blue label which meant that it's one of the first reissue LP pressing from the 78s. These were recorded at Columba's famous 30th street studio and sounds great.

And yes. this vinyl is a keeper.