My latest Amazon purchase (burning a Coinstar gift coupon) included three CDs, all released in 2007 or 2008. I could have downloaded the MP3 version more cheaply, but surprisingly I also could have ordered an LP version of each album. This was especially surprising for Chamber Music: James Joyce, a somewhat obscure collection of indie-rock interpretations of Joyce’s love poetry.  (Turns out that Joyce’s sappy and overwrought poems make great lyrics for pop songs.) 

I had heard that vinyl LPs are making a comeback, and I actually considered getting the LP versions. We recently received the stereo system that my father-in-law took to college back in the day, as well as his collection of Elton John, Neil Diamond, and Doobie Brothers records. We also got the full 4-record set of Jesus Christ Superstar, which sounds awesome on LP. But I went with the CDs instead, an only slightly less obsolete medium, since it would be easier to get the tracks onto the iPod.

I also wanted to get a cheap copy of the actual book Chamber Music, but apparently it’s out of print. But I could download a Kindle version, which for the first time ever made this die-hard bibliophile think that an e-book reader might be a cool thing to own. I decided I’d just get a copy of the book from the library, but I liked the incongruity of rocking out to the new Portishead album on my father-in-law’s dusty old record player, while clicking through a slick e-book edition of James Joyce’s 1907 book of poems.