Goal Oriented

When I switched my home computing empire from my dying home-built, full tower PC to my new 24-inch slab o' sex iMac everything went pretty smoothly. I managed to transfer all the files I cared about over, and Google Browser Sync made setting up my new copy of Firefox so easy I was kind of left with a "that's it?!" feeling. I left the PC running, but I haven't had to jump on it yet, so I'm about to rip out the hard drives and toss it. The biggest part of the move from my perspective was my iTunes library. Firstly, let me say yes, I use iTunes. I know some ubergeeks who scoff at such an idea, but I don't know what they are trying to do with their digital music that I can't do in iTunes. Most importantly, I figured out some sweet-ass "smart" playlists that made it easy for me to play the sort of thing that suited my mood at any given moment.

Which brings us to the point.

When I copied my iTunes library to the iMac most of the meta-data came over fine. Things like star ratings, comments, and such all came over without a hitch. The only thing that I lost was last played date, play counts, skip counts, and things like that. I can sort of wrap my head around why this is the case -- It's a new player, so nothing has been played (or skipped) on it.

It bums me out, though. Now my fancy "Favorites" playlist which consisted of 5-star tracks that had been played more than X times and skipped fewer than Y times is completely empty. My "Been a Long Time" playlist featuring 4 & 5-star tracks that hadn't been played in past 3 months (but had been played at least once) is empty. My "Unheard" playlist now has 11,000 songs on it -- and that's only because I've listened to at least 1,500 since making the switch.

And that's the rub. I can't leave it be. I NEED to get this music listened to and back into its proper buckets. I am on a hardcore music binge right now. Even if I don't feel like listening to music, I'll put the iPod on shuffle and not put on the headphones. This strikes me as ... compulsive. I just can't abide the current situation, though.

How would you react? Is it my own fault for working out such convoluted playlists? Should I just be content with putting my iPod on shuffle most days? Should I consider this an opportunity to create some new wacky playlists (already there, honestly).

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Track o' the Post: Rehab from what will probably turn out to be Amy Winehouse's last album, Back to Black, which is still totally worth having, even if girlfriend is a batshit crazy junkie.

Download NiggyTardust

May I humbly recommend that you point your web browsing application on over to Saul William's new album The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust!, which was produced by Trent Reznor (Mister Nine Inch Nails to you) and is available as either a free download in 192Kbps MP3 format or a $5 download that lets you pick between the 192, 320Kbps MP3, or lossless FLAC formats. Now, if you ask me, $5 is just about the perfect price for an audio experience such as this. That's pretty much what I paid for the new Radiohead thing, too. It's even more pleasant when I know the money actually going to the artist.

And not only do you get to feel good about "sticking it to the man" by circumventing the record companies, you'll also get what I consider a rather enjoyable album. (Added bonus: Somehow the MP3s have lyrics/blurbs that show up on the iPod. This is magic to me.)

What's the Meme?

Just a couple quick hits worth noting:

  • This morning I gave Radiohead two British pounds for the digital download of their new album, In Rainbows. They let you pick your own price. I put mine on the low side because I'm only a marginal Radiohead fan (and the album web site is a pain in the ass). It's still more than five times the $0.74 per CD music artists supposedly get from the labels (if they're lucky).
  • Say what you will about the French, they sure have talented news anchors (careful, boobies!).

Amazon Sells Music Correctly

You know what else I like? The new Amazon MP3 Music Downloads thingy, that's what. Prices are roughly similar to iTunes Music Store and there's no DRM whatsoever.

Hotness on a bun. (Y'know... As far as buying music goes. I still say buy directly from the artist if at all possible.)

The boss at Yahoo! Music agrees:

But now, eight years later, Amazon’s finally done what was clearly the right solution in 1999. Music in the format that people actually want it in, with a Web-based experience that’s simple and works with any device. I bought tracks from Amazon (Kevin Drew and No Age), downloaded them, sync’d them to my new iPod Nano, and had them playing in my home audio system (Control 4) in less than five minutes. PRAISE JESUS. It only took 8 years.

8 years. How much opportunity have we lost in those 8 years? How much naivety and hubris did we have when we said, “if we build it they will come�? What did we spend? And what did we gain? We certainly didn’t gain mass user adoption or trust, two prerequisites to success on the Internet.

I'm also still a big fan of Amazon Unbox with its $4 "rentals" that download straight to my TiVo.

That's sexy, too.

You should be stronger than me.

Well, Amy Winehouse is finally going to rehab ("No, no, no!"). Mad props to WWTDD for summing up the story perfectly:

Winehouse, who collapsed last week after taking a cocktail of heroin, ecstasy, cocaine and the horse tranquillizer ketamine, is now thought to be wait did that fucking say "heroin, ecstasy, cocaine and the horse tranquillizer ketamine"?  HOLY SHIT!

...

This story about a porn star called Mia Rose being banned from World of Warcraft for... um... being a porn star is hilarious. Where's the logic in that? Wouldn't you want people to think hot sluts played your game?

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David Allen should be announcing the winner of his tattoo giveaway today. Of course I entered, but I'm really rooting for his mom.

I

Have I mentioned my man-crush on Henry Rollins? I have, haven't I?

When you hear a Stooges track or a Buzzcocks track or a Ramones track or a track by the Fall, or what have you, in a car ad, some people, whenever that happens, I get a letter saying "What a sellout." And I say "no man, we've arrived." The person making that ad grew up on that music. You're no longer confined to interstitial, instrumental music, you're gonna get Iggy Pop and the Teddy Bears singing I'm a punk rocker to sell a car. What would you rather hear? Some wanky keyboard or Iggy and the Teddy Bears? I know which one I'd rather hear, and I just hope they get paid quickly and double scale, because it's about time.

Russell Simmons was pure gold on his show's last episode, too.

21.21% Mainstream

I've become a "scrobbling" addict lately. I'm especially concerned with my last.fm profile accurately demonstrating my overall musical tastes, so I'll tailor my day-to-day listening to try and balance out any temporary flights of fancy I might have (Like the Monkees binge I'm on right now, thanks to Merlin.). Nothing feeds into this obsession more than this Mainstream-o-meter, which compares your top 30 artists with everyone else. My results are skewed due to a couple audiobooks and a few artists that really shouldn't be ranked as high on my list as they actually are currently.

Interesting observations that illustrate an obvious "last.fm users vs. the rest of the real world" bias:

  • Elliot Smith and Sufjan Stevens are more "mainstream" than The Beach Boys.
  • The Beatles and Radiohead are both above 100%, they are so mainstream.
  • Tom Waits, Van Morrison, Elvis Costello and Tori Amos all seem surprisingly low.

(via Brandon's del.icio.us)

Pili Me Ka'u Manu

I'll admit it: I'm a sucker for the ukulele. Yes. Really. From Jake, to Brudda Iz, to Martin Mull... I just can't get enough.

My dear mother knows this about me (nor does she judge), so when she heard about a night of ukulele music at her favorite guitar shop, the Pickin' Parlor in Olde Town Arvada, she pinged me. So it happened that The Wife and I were with our mothers last night taking in a quite enjoyable show centered around that diminutive stringed instrument of the Hawai'ian Islands featuring some local talent.

Uke Night at the Pickin' Parlor

The thing about shows like this that happen at wonderful instrument shops like the Pickin' Parlor, is that they are often accompanied by lessons and workshops. Such was the case this time.

When Mom sent me the email about thee show, I saw the workshop and thought about it for a good ten seconds. The uke is one of a few musical instruments I've fleetingly tried to teach myself, you see. As it turns out, I'm just no good at teaching myself how to play much of anything, musically. When I let my mother know that I had considered it, she went running back to talk to "Uncle" Kit and sign us up for the beginner session.

Despite my musical shyness (based on my years of musical frustration), I had a great time, learned a few nifty things, and my interest in playing the ukulele has been rekindled.

We'll see where that gets me.

Bill & Tom

I've been a big, big fan of a Boston area rock band from the 90's called Buffalo Tom since my college years. Even before I saw them live and had one of my best concert experiences ever. They got some national exposure, but never really hit it huge, so I've always felt like I've known something other people didn't. After B-Tom kind of dwindled and fell apart, lead singer/guitarist Bill Janovitz released a couple of folky solo discs. They were enjoyable but nothing super exciting in my estimation.

Just recently, though, I grabbed his new album with his new band, the Crown Victorias, and I am happy to say Bill is back to his old rockin' ways. In fact, several songs had me so nostalgic for Buffalo Tom that I looked them up and lo-and-behold they have gotten back together and have a new disc coming out! I have yet to hear the new B-Tom, but you should check them out, kids. (Bonus: There's a clip from the Daily Show on the B-Tom site in which Jon Stewart name-drops Buffalo Tom. I wonder if that's why they are back together...)

(Sidenote: The new Tori Amos is also quite good, if you're into the angry chicks - and you know I am.)

WTF Was That?

God I love me some Prince. Check this clip. James Brown calls up Michael Jackson, who does a standard little song and dance. MJ tells James to call up Prince. Prince rides a giant white man to stage and proceeds to get freaky. "Check the crazy guitar solo... No wait, I'm gonna take off my shirt instead. Oh! And microphone stand tricks! I can do some of those!" Effin' awesome.

Best part? JB carrying Prince's shirt over to him after he's done.

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Speaking of surprisingly (but not unpleasantly) unmatched expectations, the April snowstorm I mentioned that was supposed to bring the Denver metro area up to a foot of the white stuff missed us entirely. Don't worry, though, it's fucking shit up on the East Coast, big time.

In which I miss something...

Is it just me, or is Bloc Party absolutely worthless? Both albums they've come out with (that I've known about) have gotten all kinds of indie nerd buzz, but I just flat-out hate 'em. It confuses me, because they tend to get lumped in with stuff I like a lot (The Shins) or a least a little (Arcade Fire). And yet, I just want to punch them every time I listen to them. The entire emo scene has nothing on the whining done by these douches.

There. That feels better.

Oh, and Happy Birthday to Miracle Ed! Someday soon he might get out of the Army.

Big Men Can't Spin

Oh, but they can! If you had told me, I never would have believe that Shaquille O'Neal could ever do a windmill spin. I wouldn't believe he could have done it when he was young and strong, much less at his current age (he's two months younger than I am) and decrepitude (he's starting to get the Kareem Shuffle thing going).

Well done Shaq!

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Totally unrelated YouTube silliness: My generation's answer to Ian Anderson -- The Beatboxing Flautist (doing the Mario Bros. theme, no less).

Grammy Thoughts

  • Sting can no longer sing the unsingable parts in "Roxanne". Suck.
  • Prince was wasted introducing Beyonce.
  • Dixie Chicks?! Gads.
  • I love me some Wyclef. He and Shakira were actually a highlight.
  • The tiny in-audience stage was a horrible idea. At least as far as giving/receiving awards goes.
  • Gnarls Barkley did a boring slo-mo version of "Crazy", but it's worth mentioning for the apparent choir, which seemed to be made up of astronauts. OMG LOL!
  • Far too much Eagles by Carrie Underwood and Rascal Flats. Dear lord make it stop.
  • RIAA: "We will destroy these children if you don't stop pirating our music!" What? He actually didn't mention piracy? Huh...
  • Who the hell was that dancing for the James Brown thing? And I guess that was Mr. Brown's original cape dude...?
  • The "My Grammy Moment" thing wasn't even tragic. I suppose all the contestants were already in the record industry pipeline.
  • The DIXIE CHICKS?!?!? Huh...
  • Never really pictured Chris Rock as a RHCP fan. Then they won best rock album for that snoozer of theirs. Guh.
  • Oh, come on now... The Dixie Chicks?!?! SERIOUSLY?!?!?

Scatter Shot

Man, I keep wanting to do a conherent post one of these days, but whatever...

  • Brozo turned me on to the Amy Winehouse, and holy shit is she good! (She uses the lyric "What kind of fuckery is this?" How genius is that?) She may also be a train wreck, which adds some flavor. Lots of vids on teh YouTubes.
  • The Rocky Mountain Rollergirls have announced their 2007 schedule. Good times for cheap, right there.
  • Rod and I still swap snarky emails about the 24, but it's just not the same as our old Tuesday IRC chats. I still think I need to set up a BBS or something. I miss my boys (and my Boo).
  • That football games was crazy, eh? Good for Peyton. He can stop whining now. The commercials sucked eggs, generally, though I give the win to CareerBuilder. And Prince doing Hendrix doing Dylan for the halftime show... Surreal.
  • My BU Ice Dogs are in the Beanpot final again. They shut out Northeastern yesterday and will meet arch-rivals, BC, next Monday.
  • Check out this Desperate Astronauts soap opera. The details of it are awesome.
  • Ryan O'Neal has quite a soap opera going on in his family, too. The money quote: "He hit his own girlfriend in the head."
  • Hang on... The name of Turner Broadcasting's ad agency is "Interference, Inc."?! No wonder they dig on the guerilla marketing!
  • As far as iPod cases go, these little honeys are super hip.

There's probably more in the buffer, but that's all I can be bothered with for now.

Hugs & kisses.

Good Things

A categorized list: Hip Hop

Geek

  • Firefox 2.0 is out and seems worth the update. I do suggest getting the Tabbrowser Preferences extension, because I hate those tab close buttons on every tab. The inline spell checking is worth the price of admission, though.
  • Outside.in (from Steve Berlin Johnson) is interesting, but I'm not sure it turns me on just yet. Not a whole lot of content for my neck of the woods so far.

TeeVee

Music To Be Disgruntled To

And all-time favorite track of mine, "Ship Of Fool (Save Me From Tomorrow)" by World Party, came on the iPod today, and the lyrics just kind of hit me:

Avarice and greed are gonna drive you over the endless sea They will leave you drifting in the shallows Drowning in the oceans of history Traveling the world, you're in search of no good But I'm sure you'll build your Sodom like you knew you would Using all the good people for your galley slaves As your little boat struggles through the warning waves But you don't, pay

You will pay tomorrow You're gonna pay tomorrow You're gonna pay tomorrow

Oh, save me, save me from tomorrow I don't want to sail with this Ship of Fools, no, no Oh, save me, save me from tomorrow I don't want to sail with this Ship of Fools, no, no

I'm guessing Brozo might get the connection.

Quick Hits