Heavenly Music

Music is heaven, you know that? Today I heard it in action.

I am the proud owner of an older pick up truck (Yay, Nissan!). It’s been a faithful vehicle, but what has failed recently, besides aging brakes replaced for $450, is my car stereo. It wasn’t the factory-installed system, but a decent CD player with radio. Well, it was once decent.
When I discovered the joys of iTunes and the ability to rip, mix, and burn new CDs I was in music heaven. I can listen to Doris Day and then an Aerosmith song? Prince can play and then an opera aria? Man, is that heaven!

Of course, your CD player has to play those CDs. A few years ago my CD player in the truck every once in a while started skipping over CDs and then getting picky about the CDs I put in. Sometimes I’d have to forward to song number 2 or 3 or 7 or 10 before it played and I learned to burn a sacrificial song as number 1 (it would end up as number 7 on another CD). Some CDs wouldn’t play at all. I’d switch to the FM radio when it got too persnickety. Meanwhile, if a CD managed to play at all in the player I’d keep it there for weeks at a time. Sometimes I could only hear a few songs before it would spit out with an error message. Sometimes I couldn’t get it to play at all. The frustration was when it would be playing fine and then I’d drive over a bump and, oops, no more listening to the CD. Remember when I could listen to the radio when I had to? Well, the FM radio went kerblooey after one nasty thunderstorm.

Today I sprang for a new CD player for my truck. Oh my, I’m in heaven. The CD plays! It doesn’t skip! I can listen to the first song on the CD! Ella Fitzgerald burst forth singing “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore.” With my new remote control I could listen to song 2: Sam Cook’s “Another Saturday Night,” then it was “Burning Down the House” by Talking Heads. I drove down Lonetree where all the road construction is – no skipping.

Yee haw! I’m telling you, it’s heaven, ‘cause I’m in the clouds at the thought of all the new CD mixes I can burn for my upcoming trip to Phoenix.