G'day synbyn,

I think you have touched on a good and valid point ... admittedly, one dear to my own heart. In these days of mind-bogglingly vast collections of "downloaded" music all living in a small, off-whitish tablet with some sort of minimalist control knobs and bars - I'm assailed by people who can't comprehend that I don't want to plug into a seamless stream of aural wallpaper.

I try to explain that a skillfully laid out set of songs ... perhaps the recording of a well constructed concert bracket - or the definitive songs of an historical event or cause ... is far more than the sum of its parts. The two sides of an LP - separated by, at least, the time it takes to flip the record and drop the needle - could constitute a perfect 'dose' of the music of one subject ... event ... group ... whatever. Adding everything else they ever recorded (let alone everything anyone else has recorded, in the same broad slot of the download site) only subtracts from what may have been perfection.

All this apart from trying to explain that the music percolating in my brain, of its own accord, is just as interesting ... perhaps more germane to my next gig ... and far better for my soul! It's nice to have "Definitive Collections" - if only for complete reference - but the "ideal" length, for me, to listen to one group or subject, is often much less than can be shoehorned onto a CD ... and I admire artists who have the guts to issue CDs that are the right length for the songs or subject ... not counted our like so many of Birdseye's Frozen Peas!

Regards,

Bob