I took my iPod and threw it in "the drawer"...

"The drawer", located in my modest but eclectic kitchen, is reserved for the "dead items", pens that don't write, lighters that don't light, (18)2/3 rd or more used rolls of tape, those little holders you use when you eat corn on the cob (I don't), old silverware, and now an iPod Nano. Excluding the iPod, why would I have a drawer filled with these items? It's not like the pens or the lighters are somehow going to magically rejuvenate themselves. Or will they? Here's a typical exchange on any day. "M(that's what I call my girlfriend), I need a pen". "I don't have one" she quips. Then the hunt to find a pen will, without fail, will lead me to "the drawer". Grabbing one of the fifteen black medium points' that take up residence, I try to write with it...nothing. Then I shake it...nothing. This is where I have a choice; take the six steps to the trash and throw the pen away...or don't. I always choose the latter, tossing the pen back into "the drawer". Sometimes I get lucky; one will have enough juice to get you where you need to be. One side note, all new pens are kept in the second bedroom/office. The office also contains my laptop and desktop. This is the 21 st Century; I don't free hand my writing (see desktop/laptop) I do free hand notes that I make...in the kitchen. You can analyze the stupidity of this situation but don't...your head will explode. The tape situation is even worse, I go to "the drawer" to find tape, look at one, somehow deduct the roll of tape won't be enough, toss it back in, and go grab a new roll (also located in the office/bedroom).

I'm detouring a bit, sorry. Where was I, oh yes, some back story leading to the iPod being put into solitary confinement. Before I moved to Denver in January, that last time I was here was ten years ago. I moved to Colorado Springs when I was 11 and stayed until I graduated from Colorado College in '97. Then I took "the midnight train going anywhere" (Thanks to Steve Perry for that one). That anywhere was Los Angeles. Ten years later, I return. Not with my tail tucked between my legs, but an overwhelming relief to be out of the succubus of Los Angeles. Having been back only a couple of months we went on a little walkabout. That little walkabout lead us to probably the greatest place a fan of music can go...

Wax Trax on 13 th Ave.

The same kind of joy a crack head feels when walking into a crack house, I had the same jubilation. I forgot about this place but I guarantee it will become dangerous. This is the kind of place that could ruin your life, your relationships, and cause poverty. Thankfully, my girlfriend is as equally an audiophile as I am, so we can ruin our lives together spending money on vinyl and hard to find imports. Over the course of four hours, we ran around like kids in the McDonalds playhouse. Remember that scene in Ferris Bueller where Cameron stares at the painting in the museum? I had the same look staring at their used CD collection. I felt like....well, like a crack head in a crack house.

I walked out with a Clash live CD, the new Arcade Fire, and the CD by Elvis Perkins. It was a good day for sure.

When I got home I saw my IPod resting comfortably on my kitchen counter, and it struck me that going to a record store and hunting down priceless artifacts was a tradition that I put away. I've been downloading music for the last few years, and no, not the legal kind. If the RIAA showed up at my doorstep, someone's career would be made and lets leave it at that. I grabbed the Nano and put it away for good. I truly missed the joy of record hunting and I plan on recapturing it.

Thank you Wax Trax...you are both my savior and will ultimately be my enabler.

Addendum: Cut to the next day, sad to report as I sat in the office/bedroom working on a script, my girlfriend leans over to tell me she has just downloaded some bootleg live Cure from a concert they did back in '84. There are a couple of songs she wants to listen to while going out to run or walk or whatever...

I go to "the drawer" and pull out the IPod. Note to self, the computers goe in there next. I can learn to do things on a typewriter, or possibly free hand, with my many black medium point pens.