2003-08-19 - 12:02 p.m.
I've been doing research the last couple of weeks at work.
Since I don't have to answer phones, I can sit and listen to music while I work. I consider this to be a very good thing. Since the public library has an Internet-accessible catalog, I've been nosing around for new and intriguing things to keep me entertained while doing payment histories and drafting letters.
So far I've been spinning Fatboy Slim, Cornershop, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Matthew Sweet, and a weird little disc called "Saturday Morning Cartoons". About ten years ago, somebody got the idea to have a bunch of pop artists record old cartoon theme songs. Some bands have faded into oblivion (who here remembers the Toadies, or Dig? Anybody? Neither do I.) while others are still with us. We got Liz Phair, Matthew Sweet, the Butthole Surfers, the Ramones, Sublime (Hong Kong Phooey as reggae? Sheesh!), and the Violent Femmes track recently resurfaced in a cellphone commercial. It's a tasty little disc.
Of course, this is a continuation of my long-standing affair with libraries. I remember getting my very first library card at the age of six, and getting books from the Bookmobile. That was back when they had these machines that photocopied the title page of the book when you checked them out, and little cards with the due date stamped on them. Heaven help you if you lost one. It was a great way to preview stuff; if you didn't like something you could always give it back, no harm done. I'm a book fiend, but I really didn't buy many books. If I wanted to read something again, I'd just look for it at the library.
In high school I really started working the record collections hard. I picked up a huge classic rock fetish from somewhere, and I made it my mission to track down all the Styx and Queen albums I could. I was also checking out comedy albums by the crateful; mostly Bill Cosby, a fair bit of Justin Wilson, and one memorable find, "Great White North" by the McKenzie Brothers. You know the one: the one where Geddy Lee helps them record a number one single and they mangle the "Ten Days of Christmas".
Now I go to the library once every few days to pick up new requests and hunt down something new to read. I've been finding little gems in the video collection now, especially kid's stuff. A couple weeks back I found an animated film called 'The Adventures of Prince Achmed". It's the first full-length animated feature ever made, dating to 1927 and done entirely with silhouettes. It was decidedly trippy stuff. Who needs satellite TV when you've got a library card?
I can't wait until the Professor gets her own card…
