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The New Flesh

Once again, I have a dilemma that's not really dilemma, and it's definitely not something that's earth-shattering or a huge deal, but it's something that always annoys people: what happens when you buy a book or a CD and only a few months later, you hear a new, updated version is out (or about to come out)? Do you suck things up and buy the thing again? Or do you stand your ground and say no?

The best example of this happening actually involved a friend of mine and Pavement's Slanted and Enchanted. A few years ago, he lost a bunch of his CDs, and one of the CDs he lost (and he bought again) was Pavement's beloved debut album. The sucky thing was, just a couple of months later, Matador announced a two-disc reissue of the album, with remastered sound quality and a whole gorge of bonus tracks. My friend was left out in the cold, so I seem to recall at least offering to burn him a copy of the reissue from me.

Without fail, it seems like whenever you buy something that's been out for a while, once you actually buy it, you hear about an updated version coming soon. And while that can be frustrating, there's some odd coincidence about it. Your imagination and patience are tested.

I remember when I watched the two main seasons of the BBC's version of The Office. Noticing that most shows eventually came out together in a box set, I figured there would come a day. Thankfully that day came near the holidays, so I patiently waited and asked for the set for Christmas. While that was a predictable box set to come to fruition, things are a little trickier with things that have been out for a long time.

Case in recent point, I have a strong desire to read Cronenberg On Cronenberg, a book of interviews with director David Cronenberg on his films. The deal is, the book was published in 1992. Other books in the Director On Director series, like Lynch on Lynch, have been published then republished years later to include newer interviews with the director. The deal is, Cronenberg On Cronenberg focuses on the director's career up to his adaptation of Naked Lunch.

Now, if you know Cronenberg, he's made a lot more movies since Naked Lunch. So, my quandary is this: do I buy a used copy of the now out-of-print edition or just wait for months, maybe years, for a revised edition?

Another factor with the first option is that I really have more interest in knowing more about his movies from the 70s and 80s, aka, the films that made him a recognized and distinguished director. Not to speak lightly of Crash, Spider, or A History of Violence, but I'm very curious about what influences a person to make something like The Brood, Scanners, and Videodrome.

So for now, a fence is sat upon.

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