The Parenthetical is Complete

well it has ended just as it started, with Sigur Rós. i began the cycle last january with ( ) their 2002 release (right) and listened to the 6500+ tracks on my mp3 player straight through until i finished with 'Avalon' the tenth track on Ágætis Byrjun (1999, below).

for the most part i listened to it during my 45 minute commute and played the tracks alphabetically by album. the parenthetical was first, followed by other shapes [such as ellipsis and well, brackets] then numbers, penultimately the alphabet only to settle on and conclude with Á.

this was a great way to listen to music. because you never know what record is coming next. some days i'd hit something i hadn't listened to in years and totally rock it. other days i couldn't wait for a series to end.

example: The Kinks. one of my favorite bands if not my favorite. however they have albums titled alphabetically [and disregarding 'the'] Kinda Kinks (1965), Kink Kontrovery (1965), The Kinks (1964), and The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society (1968). and in the case of VGPS, i have the expanded 60 track 3-CD reissue. So it was a long and kinky week to say the least. i'm sure ray davies or the A&R team thought it was a brilliant idea in the 60s, but even as the most ardent fan i had a hard time getting through it (ditto Beck's Guerro [Expanded w/ Remixes] and Guerolito (both 2005) and the Johnny Cash boxset Unearthed (2003))

it must be noted that there were a few exceptions along the way.

for two weeks i had to take a hiatus to listen to my lines for the play- a huge asset in my memorization. also when we were painting our new place in july i would skip around to different albums to appease the masses (i.e. abbey, emily and their family.) but despite these setbacks, i would resume my categorical mission and pick up wherever i left off.

also, over the last eight months i acquired probably somewhere in the ballpark of 80+ hours of new music. i added these to the album list, though i never backtracked to listen to new ones; only integrated them and traversed the new ones as they arose.

so, what will i listen to on my way home tonight? start all over? i doubt it. probably just put it on random for a while. but i was never a fan of shuffled music. the album as a whole is too important to me. any thoughts?