Cards and tunes, is there anything else?

The answer to that is "no."

In the realm of things that interest me that is all there is. OK, you can throw baseball in there, but that's implied by "cards." But all that other stuff that I see touted online, the fantasy TV shows, pro wrestling, movies, the hobby of political opining, baby animal videos, food porn, I don't care.

Give me cards and tunes. I can make a life out of that.

Recently, Gavin of Baseball Card Breakdown was looking to downsize his CD collection. That is understandable in this digital age. But I can't say no to new-to-me CDs. I come from an age when looking for the new releases each week at the record store made me as giddy as any time I've ever walked into a card show. Bringing a new record home was epic. I'd carve out a period of time -- usually when the folks weren't home -- to listen to it for the first time.

Then I graduated to college and CDs. Spurred on by the college radio station, WBNY at Buffalo State and especially CFNY out of Toronto, I expanded on my taste for alternative music started in the early '80s by then-edgy musicians like U2, REM, New Order and Tears For Fears by searching out college friendly bands at the Record Theater across from the University of Buffalo campus.

CDs -- those glorious jewel boxes -- were precious. I own many CDs now and have rid myself of only a small number. I can't part with them (and do play them still sometimes), but I also have an attic for storage.

Anyway, Gavin sent me a whole bunch of alternative-ish CDs, many more than I expected, from mainstream to indie. Along with that came a bunch of cards, from Dodgers that I need to straight packing material (Bowman Tampa Bay Rays, really?).

Let's see a few of those:

Gavin, obviously, likes chasing prospects. I like pretty colors. So even if I don't know who the heck the players are, I appreciate the border parallels.

The encased Kaz Ishii I requested a little while ago. The Dodger Konerko came with a few other Konerkos, but that was the only one I needed. The Jesus Martinez is a long-needed Dodger prospect from 1992 Classic. Heck I even have the Piazza from that set already.

Of the non-Dodgers that Gavin sent, these are the ones I can most use. I should really have all of the 1982 Kmart cards by now, but I am guilty of owning like only 7.

Somehow, all four 2017 A&G cards shown here are needs even though I own more than half of the set.

I also received a bunch of 1973 Topps for my set completion task from Gavin's extras. The ones shown fit nicely into my set. The others were a bit rough for joining my collection, but I sure do enjoy crossing off '73s, especially that Bob Veale piece of perfection.

It's not a Gavin card package without a couple of customs and here are two inspired by the two-player rookie explosion this past season. The images look a bit faded because I kept them in penny sleeves while scanning. Gotta  protect the InVestMent.

As usual, it will take me awhile to sort all these cards, but at least I have some new tunes to accompany on my task. Of the CDs I received, I'm probably looking forward to listening to the Jenny Lewis one that I featured at the top of the post. I've always liked Rilo Kiley, one of the most "real" groups I've ever heard.

Here are a few other CDs that I'll probably pop into the earbuds first:

Rilo Kiley - More Adventurous

Probably the group's best album, and one I've never listened to from top to bottom.

Pavement - Brighten The Corners

Back in the early '90s, I was turned on to Pavement by the same co-worker who introduced me to The Tragically Hip. I couldn't really get into Pavement then so I'm looking forward to seeing where I'm at after 25 years.

Various Artists - Deadicated

Again, back in the '90s, it was the rage to get a bunch of bands to play songs by a legendary artist or group and package them into an album. I'm not a Grateful Dead fan, but I love historical tributes like this. Looking forward to it.

Mercury Rev - Deserter's Songs, Limited Edition

I know of Mercury Rev, know their songs vaguely, mostly because they're Buffalo-based. This is the album that saved the band from breaking up and this particular limited version looks most impressive. I can't remember the particulars about it, I may have to go back to Gavin's CD post.

John Coltrane - Giant Steps

When I was in college, I took a music class -- I don't remember the topic -- but we listened to Coltrane for seemingly half the semester. It was so deconstructed that I had a difficult time enjoying it. Jazz wasn't my thing at the time, but I bought a few jazz CDs soon afterward and got into a bit. Gavin sent a few different Coltrane CDs, but this is the big one.

The Amps - Pacer

This is the only CD from the lot that I've listened to already. I liked it quite a bit. I got into the Pixies and Kim Deal's band, The Breeders. I played "Last Splash" relentlessly in 1993. This is the band Deal formed when The Breeders took a break.

The '90s was alternative's heyday with MTV's "120 Minutes" and the post-grunge explosion that thrust alternative bands into the mainstream (you weren't anything if you weren't 'alternative' in 1996).

I started to get away from this kind of music by the turn of the century. But it's naturally in my blood and I can't wait to find some songs to pop into my digital library, as well as play the entire CD top to bottom, of course.

The way we used to listen to music.

While sorting cards.

There was nothing else.