Google Gunk

For all the railing I did against Google in a now deleted post, I return with the realization that the Internet for my purposes is basically a Google infusion. Even if I swear off the cloud storage and replace its app store, the virtual world is entangled by its APIs (think of its Maps usage across platforms), tracking, fonts—CLEARLY, I cannot participate online apart from Google for either I use it services or I dwell even MORE by actively avoiding it!

I suppose Google avoidance is an unrealistic expectation—sans roaming the world aboard a boat or a backpack across the Alaskan wilderness! But, who can be an adventurer?

And yes, I'm typing this in Google Docs and I'm about to sign up to extend my Google One usage to pull some usage off of my local resources while ALSO uploading FLAC's to YouTube Music—for FREE.

...and I'll be plopping a ridiculously low $30/year for 200 TB of cloud space. See how they can get ya?

Music

While in the past, I've disliked renting music from YouTube Music, preferring Spotify, but I do LOVE its option to upload music. I only wish its interface allowed for greater customization as an album driven approach for a large collection can be a bit...taxing. But, this is a common gripe and should not obscure the main point: streaming my CDs!

And while I no longer have my CD collection from the '90s, back when each 800+ album was, in the style of Cusack's High Fidelity, lovingly discovered, purchased and categorized, today, a collection can be built FAST with eBay—like 400 CDs in a single day! For $90! OK, before you think I've time traveled to an Eastern European store following the fall of communism, I gotta say that it's been a grab bag approach. I didn't know what I'm going to get; all I knew was that it was gonna be a LOT of it! I went with 100 CDS of jazz and 100 of classical with no cases or artwork. Additionally, there were 200 more of anything under the tent BUT with its artwork and case. This shotgun approach netted me with some good stuff:

• Bon Jovi's 2-CD Greatest Hits: the Ultimate Collection, Have a Nice Day and Crush
• 3 Springsteen CDs
• Counting Crows's greatest hits
• Seal's 2-cd, Best 1991-2004
• Garth Brooks The Hits
• a couple of Michael Bublé albums

I was stoked to find Morcheeba's Big Calm, something I used to listen to in the evenings a LONG time ago and ecstatic to find U2's All That You Can't Leave Behind, an album that was a mainstay in my truck in 2001. I also got U2's Pop which was less thrilling except that in contrast from when I bought it back in the day, my favorite track no longer skips. I even managed to get an Elvis album and another sampling from Sun.

There were a few duplicates, like 3 copies of Hootie & the Blowfish's Cracked Rear View and a couple of No Doubt's Rock Steady, an album that features a song that will forever be a soundtrack to that early 2002 vibe. I didn't get much junk though I have 3 Lady Antebellum albums.

But, I cannot express my ecstasy in running across the soundtrack to the original Blade Runner.

The jazz selection wasn't as inspirational. However, I do own 5 Kenny G albums now! And hey, glad to see Harry Connick Jr. including When Harry Met Sally—oh, and a soundtrack to another Meg Ryan movie, City of Angels. Regarding the classical content, I don't really know what I have, but I like everything. My basic strategy was that I knew that there were no wild swings with it: I can receive anything that as long as its well-produced, it'll win. I won't necessarily cherish it, but I won't hate it either.

Sadly, I don't even have a favorite classical composer. Sadder still, I have a favorite classical song, something I can't say for other genres! And yes, it's Debussy's Clair de Lune, which likely speaks for my love of the Ocean's movie franchise.

Now, I'm ripping to flac, uploading to YouTube Music for conversion to streaming while also uploading to Google One to free up my hard drive. I'm actually throwing cases out, something which I thought I'd never do...well, I still wouldn't if it's a long time favorite.

Overall, I'm pretty pumped about this approach to finding "new music." OK, so it's old stuff...but I'm old, so I kinda like it! It's fun to suddenly run across a traveled album and having the nostalgia of a memory unfurled.