Friday, November 14, 2008

Burning the Midnight Oil


I’ve got a stack of books in my room that weighs more than my car, just waiting to be read. Yet I keep going back to the same books, over and over again. They comfort me, for no apparent reason. And it‘s strange, as these aren’t the sort of books that make many people feel good about themselves. Albert Camus’ The Stranger... George Orwell’s 1984... Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome

This week’s offender? Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. And it got me thinking… Not that I should burn the pile of crappy books I’ve read recently. It got me thinking about the burning of media in general. Like, if I could just burn all copies of certain records, maybe I could make the world a better place.

Would anyone really mind if I gathered up every Midnight Oil record, dumped them somewhere in Montana, and set them on fire?

Would it be a great travesty if no one had to read another Dean Koontz novel after I jettison the lot into space?

Would there be an outpouring of grief if every existing copy of Magnolia “magically” fell from the sky and broke upon impact with the ground?

Okay, maybe you’re a huge Midnight Oil fan who reads Dean Koontz and considers Magnolia to be their favorite film. I understand fully. I have the Labyrinth soundtrack on vinyl. Sue me. What media would you like to see just disappear tomorrow morning, and how would you like said media to be dispatched?

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