One of the things I started doing over the weekend was cleaning out some closet space. As I was moving things around I ended up finding boxes of old receipts. Of course the first question that comes to mind is, how long do I have to keep them. I called my mom and then did a little search on google. Seems safe to say I’ve got a couple of years that I can get rid of. Kind of liberating actually. When you let go of things you don’t need.
I wonder how freeing it is to let go of everything. I had a good discussion about a similar thing yesterday. I also have had a friend by the name of Grant Baciocco who once had a blog about 600 things. Where he attempted to par down his life to only 600 possessions. That’s a pretty hefty pursuit, especially if you know Grant. In checking his 600things.com site I can see there have been no updates since Dec. of 2007. I’m thinking he didn’t make the goal. But it was a nobel effort.
I’m paring down as I’m sure many of us are. Looking at things to get rid of. What we consider essential is unique to each of us. I know that I wouldn’t want to unload my guitars. I’ve only had a couple in my life that I have sold, but I did that because they weren’t the quality that I wanted. All the ones I have now are a quality I want. Of course that could change.
I’m not ready to unload amps just yet, but I have played with some of the future of where live sounds will go – the computer. Robert and I recorded a whole slew of material for a library CD and in leu of amps we used Guitar Rig and Amplitube. It fit the genre we were working. There’s still something to be said for micing a speaker that moves air, but I will say some software is getting very good at reducing the clutter needed in a studio or in a life.
Thinking of boxes from my formative years (who am I kidding, I’m still formating), I can remember my dad having boxes of Playboys. It was a thing where I knew where the stash was. So I’d sneak a peek at the issues. Looking for the inevitable – centerfold. I don’t know who invented the idea of the centerfold, but I think Playboy certainly perfected the idea. Of course I’m silly enough to admit that I didn’t read the articles. I liked the eye candy. To this day though, I’ve never purchased a Playboy or any other magazine. I much prefer live females over pictures, and while centerfolds are pretty to look at, my taste in what I find desirable is a bit different.
I don’t know if my dad ever got rid of those magazines, and I have no desire to ask. But I know that in digging through his music collection I’d find this song that you’re hearing now – Centerfold. One has to wonder if a band like this would get signed in today’s environment. If you find the video you’d see their image is odd. But then image wasn’t the driving factor for this music. It was the song itself. Despite it’s older vibe, it’s still a fun song to bop to. One can’t help but wanting to sing along to the nah nah nah’s. It’s catchy.
What other reason do you need on a monday to get a song? I’m willing to bet if you’re not familiar with this song, you’ll still be humming the melody in an hour or even later tonight, then you’ll go to bed pissed that you haven’t bought it yet. So go buy it now and save yourself the anguish.