Volkher Hofmann
Volkher Hofmann is the author and sole proprietor of livingwithmusic.com, deus62.com and all affiliated sites.
Cancer and Music
Yes, I’m one of those that have encountered cancer well before it was supposed to happen. Twice. And, yes, I’m not as bad off as other people, but having cancer really screws with your psyche, even if you want to prevent it from doing so. I have no idea if there are any readers left [...]
Claude Williamson: ‘Round Midnight (1956)
It’s funny to see how much mail I get via this website from people who hope that I can help them out with this or that. Funny, because I’ve never considered myself to be someone who knows all that much about music in general and various artists and bands in particular. I am a listener, [...]
Remove those annoying CD stickers!
Many moons ago, in my series about collectors’ nightmares, I wrote about those absolutely annoying American stickers at the top of each CD. I have no idea why they are on there, but I can easily think of reasons. Maybe Americans are so lazy that they need to be able to read the title of [...]
Vrrrooom (Site Update)
Considering the posting speed of the past years, I’ve done a virtual Speedy Gonzales since January 1st, getting this site switched over to a new framework and tweaking it here and there. This is just a quick update to also let those readers who access this site via a feed reader know about some changes [...]
Elusive Reissues I: Dinah Washington and Siegel-Schwall
As a collector, one develops all kinds of techniques to keep track of things one believes one still needs. Of course, if you bring the world and the universe into the equation, hardly any of these purchases can be adequately justified, but we all have that constant itch that there is something missing, a disk [...]
A Video Trip Down Memory Lane
Now that the new site, which isn’t really in its final form yet, is up, I thought I’d try something a little different. As you could tell if you visited this site here instead of reading it via a feed reader of your choice (and I do make full feeds available to facilitate that), I [...]
And now what?
It’s that time of year again to take a step back and have a quick glance at the one that just passed. I didn’t really need an incentive for that because when I returned home from my Christmas holidays. I had to admit to myself – while looking at the piles of CDs I had stacked up on top of my shelf system, on the floor next to it and at one that had amassed next to my stereo – that my collection had once again outgrown the available space for it.
Yes, I could have crammed everything in that I had bought, especially those larger recently-added items that are so often virtually thrown out of stock at wildly reduced prices around the end of one and the beginning of a new year, but filling up every nook and cranny of my shelf system(s) isn’t really the most intelligent way of going about things. As I have several sub-collections strung together shelf after shelf, I need space in-between the various sections and at strategic spots inside of each section to be able to add new items as I go along.
Going “Elemental” … in 70 Minutes!
A very happy new year to all you faithful readers, if you happen to be “Google noise” or not. For me, personally, 2009 was a good year in regard to getting some excellent new releases, reissues and awesome boxed sets and I do certainly hope that 2010 won’t fall far behind. If you are reading this via your feed reader of choice you should maybe drop by quickly to have a look at the new livingwithmusic.com. Yes, new (once again).
Shortly before the Christmas holidays, which I spent with my parents in our rather cold and rainy former capital, I was literally tripped up by “Elemental”. Sounds mysterious, but it wasn’t. While desperately searching for a Wordpress theme that is updated regularly, has a rock-solid base and good support, “Pro Theme Design”, the makers of “Mimbo Pro”, suddenly popped up on my screen and, to be quite honest, a small 454px x 284px partial screenshot of “Elemental” hooked me before I had a chance to breathe.
Sony botched the “Miles Davis: Complete Columbia Album Collection”
Although the various Amazon sites around the globe are ripe with absolutely crushing reviews of an otherwise great collectors boxed set,”Miles Davis: The Complete Columbia Album Collection”, I have to add my two cents as well.
I have seen some badly-produced reissue boxed sets in my life, simply because I seem to be buying too many of them, but this one really is the icing on the cake. One could argue that for a reasonably low price, customers shouldn’t complain that much, but collectors being a larger part of the target audience for this one (despite the fact that collectors already have most of the Miles Davis they’ll ever need), Columbia/Legacy went out of its way to ruin this one.
Observations 10-2009
It’s been a while, sadly enough, but if you have followed the erratic course of this website over the years, it probably didn’t come as a surprise at all. Real life just has a way of continually getting in the way all the time, especially if you have both a stressing day job and an extended family rife with illnesses and diseases. We’re all not getting younger and, boy, ain’t that the truth. What I used to pile onto my desk for a night’s worth of work today takes me a week and my energy line seems to have someone leeching off it continuously. At the moment, when I seem to have the time to sit down and write or update this or that, I’m just too tired, throw on some mindless BluRay disc … and pass out before the studio’s logo has had enough time to pop up on the screen.