Music Arcades: Neil Young: Archives Volume 1

On YouTube there's a bunch of videos of fans and others "unboxing" their copies of the long-awaited Archives set. There isn't one of me doing so — for several reasons, principal among which is the fact that I haven't got as far as taking the sealed plastic wrapping off yet.

In this I believe I am not alone. Initially I wasn't going to buy a copy for a while, until I had the equipment to play the definitive blu-ray version, hoping that the price might come down. And, hell, I've been waiting over two decades for what was originally (circa 1987) going to be Decade II, so what's a few more years?

Then word reached me via Guy and Paul that Neil/Reprise/whoever had severely underestimated demand for the extra-expensive and exclusive blu-ray issue. As these things are not cheap to produce, it was possible there would be no 'reprint', and copies were already selling at a premium above the already-nosebleed price on eBay etc. At the time — and this was only a week or two after official release — Amazon.co.uk was out of stock. Fortunately they got a few more, and I snagged one (I guess there may have been a reprint after all, as they're in stock as I write, nine months on, but £60 more than what I paid).

We have a 16-inch analogue TV. Four and a half channels (reception for Channel 5 is barely watchable). We'll get a larger digital one, and a blu-ray player, in the fullness of time, but I'll have more peace of mind about doing so when we can justify it for The Boy rather just for me and Lucy. And the hardware will get cheaper. Until then, the plastic stays on. The last time I mentioned this, I think Guy and Paul had yet to unbox either. So let's just watch the trailer and salivate.