Music
Originally posted 2005-03-16 16:06:45
I listen to the same CD over, and over, and over again.
. . . Even better than the real thing . . .
It’s U2’s Ach Tung, Baby, and it blends plaintive wails with blistering beats. It rocks. It’s one of my favorite CDs. By one of my favorite groups. And I just keep listening to it.
. . . Even better than the real thing . . .
I actually own hundreds of CDs. They’re all lined up in a stylish, sturdy rack. And yet they just sit–while I listen to Ach Tung, Baby.
. . . Even better than the real thing . . .
Am I this obsessed with this CD? Am I this obsessed with U2?
No.
I made the egregious mistake of purchasing, two or three years ago, an RCA Lyra RD1020.
. . . Even better than the real thing . . .
I saw it at Wal-Mart for less than $80 US. Other MP3 players at that time were about $150 US. I just couldn’t resist a bargain.
. . . Even better than the real thing . . .
The player works great, too. It holds approximately one album, has great battery life, and sounds good enough for my untrained ears. Putting music on it, however, wreaks great pain. Why? First, it’s Windows only, which means I must boot my (slow) Windows laptop to put anything on it. Second, the only way to put music on the player is through MusicMatch. Now, I have nothing against MusicMatch. I even bought it once (I think it was version 7). I happily used it to listen to CDs, rip CDs, record CDs, and listen to Internet radio.
. . . Even better than the real thing . . .
I guess they decided that my $19.99 hadn’t sated them, however, and they came gunning for more money. They automatically downloaded version 8 to my machine, and every time I sneezed they popped up a dialog box urging me to upgrade to version 8 (for $19.99 more). Then, my version 7 stopped working altogether–I don’t know why–so I had to install version 8. I opted for the free version, and in so doing subjected myself to a barrage of exhortations to buy the full version. Repeatedly. Constantly.
. . . Even better than the real thing . . .
Now, I’m up to free version 9 (as I recall, it was a forced upgrade, but I might be misremembering that), and the thing crawls on my P4 1.4/512MB/Windows XP laptop. Click and wait. Click and wait. Changing the music on my MP3 player represents a 30 minute proposition. I’d chuck the thing and buy an iPod Shuffle or a NOMAD MuVo, but the RCA Lyra works just fine, and I can’t bring myself to throw it away.
. . . Even better than the real thing . . .
And so I listen to Ach Tung, Baby.