Catching sticks

Hey! I am no dog bringing back sticks! But I'll respond to this musical trans-channel request anyway since it looks like fun.

1. How many Gigabytes of music do you have on your computer? According to iTunes' last count, it's 26.07 Gigs, equivalent to 12.1 days of music or 4001 "songs" (which in my case is usually not quite correct - you'll see why later).

2. What's the latest CD you bought? The last one to arrive from Amazon was Sax at the Opera, which is a very odd title for a collection of all time classical hits played by a sax ensemble. Good times!

3. Which song did you listen to when catching the stick? They were playing Shostakovitch's Jazz Suite Nr. 2 on on my preferred station!

4. List five songs which mean a lot to you or which you listen to frequently. Woah, tough one, that! The simplest answer would be to give you the top five of the play count in iTunes, but that wouldn't be right. Soooo ... but let me first tell you that I don't consciously listen to pop music, so that "genre" doesn't mean a lot to me. That out of the way, No 1 would have to be Beethoven's Kreutzer-Sonate for its incredibly passionate interaction between violin and piano. Representing Glenn Gould's universe of Bach recordings without having to pick any particular one, I would choose his witty chamber piece So you want to write a fugue? as #2. But it's getting worse! Arvo Pärt's Passio, performed by the Hilliard Ensemble at Durham Cathedral has left a lasting impression on me. So, that would be #3. #4 goes to He was despised from Händel's Messiah. And finally as well as becomingly, The End by The Doors as #5. So there! Gosh, I forgot Brad Mehldau, Sarah Vaughan, E.S.T., Dave Brubeck, Ella F., Miles D., Bill Evans, Björk, Jamiroquai ... sorry!

5. Who's next to catch the stick, and why? That's not so difficult! Joel to give him someting to think about during those long flights, and because we haven't really discussed music before. Tomi Z. because I'm interested in his producer's point of view & influences, and last, but not least, Byron because he introduced me to Joni Mitchell. Damn - another important omission!!

So guys, have a go!