The Big 2 Suck!!!
Monday, November 29, 2004
Have you heard the new "Ladytron - Sugar" yet? I tell ya, its a very catchy song and I have been trying to track down a copy of it. Right now "MC Honkey - Sonnet #3" is on, its one of those bad car commercial type of songs that just repeats the same ole lame loop over and over. While I am on stupid songs, "The Music -Breakin" is on Woxy and it sux. The band name is lame, their denying of any influences and we are an original band is pathetic and his I can't even describe "Uh Oh, Oh E Oh" chorus drives me up a wall. What happened, I thought music hit its rough patch and was on the way back. Where is Death Cab and their revolution of new music?
For those of you in the Detroit area, The Von Bondies are playing the Magic Stick on Sat, maybe Jack will show up and have a repeat of last year's fiasco. The Kills and Blance were this past weekend but I missed that one, check out Kathy's blog www.lalasandhandclaps.blogspot.com for a review.
While I am in the mood to complain, I have found out that I cannot make postings to my blog when I am using my Mac and Safari (Mac's web browser) and IE 5.2 which is the latest IE that works on a Mac. What happens is that I lose all sizing and html capabilities. I had to download Netscape for the Mac which happens to work. I used to hate, well I still do hate Netscape for selling out to AOL the other evil empire besides Microsoft and vowed never to use their products again. Well I am using them and it sucks. On the PC side, I am able to post using IE but have problems with Mozilla Firefox. I tell ya, you can't get away from the big 2, IE and Netscape.
Posted by mardenhill 11/29/2004 01:54:00 PM 3 comments
Digital Only Label
Friday, November 26, 2004
Well Universal is trying to release a digital only record label, I guess how it works is that a band gets signed to it and their music released thru legit pay services. If the bands rack up a certain number of downloads then their cd can be pressed and sold in the stores. I think this is a good idea but why has it taken so long to come to this? Also on the digital music realm, all the record labels are partnering up with peer to peers to provide a legit trading service. The way it stands now, if you buy a song from a legit source and someone else wants that song, they can pay .99c a song and grab it from you. Is it just me or is this the stupidest idea out there. No one is saving any money and there is no benefit from just going to itunes, napster and msn and downloading it yourself. When are these jokers going to understand that the only way you are going to get people on board is to lower the price of a digital download. Emusic has the right idea with .25c a song but the subscription thing is a bit restrictive. You can always buy additional downloads if u go over your monthly allotment but that is just a pain. Emusic is getting better, I keep finding stuff but its still nowhere near the selection that I would perfer. I keep hearing things on Woxy and checking emusic for them but they are not there.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/38392.html
Posted by mardenhill 11/26/2004 11:08:00 AM 1 comments
Going To Town
Well its Friday, the day after Thanksgiving when everyone is up shopping. I am staying behind while the ladies are out, I cannot stand the crowds. This year, stores were opening at 5:30am, whats going to happen next year? That is getting to crazy for me, if you check out drudgereport they have an article about people standing outside walmart waiting for it to open. Give me the internet and I will do my shopping from the convenience of my home.
If you are a fan of the flaming lips, the thrills, grandaddy, beachwood sparks and yes even beluah you should check out the new dios cd. Actually, Ronnie James Dio threated a lawsuit so the band changed the name to dios malos. I have to thank my friend Denise who told me about them. Their debut cd came out in march of 04 and is a great summer record. Lots of arctile and reviews compare it to the beach boys but not like the way the thrills copied them. If you took the sunshine pop and mixed it with a little bit of electronic production you have dios. Its not the best cd of the year, I am still working on what that is but its good enough to check out. I need to get my list together, I should be getting an email from my friend Ted who compiles the best of each year. Btw, if u have signed up for www.emusic.com its listed and can be yours for $3.00.
Maybe this weekend I will gather up my best of and post it for all of you to enjoy. Please post comments or send me emails of your best of list so we can compare and see what everyone is listening to. If you email me a list I will post it.
If you are drawing a blank on what came out back in january check out this link and it should help you a bit.
http://rapids.canoe.ca/cgi-bin/jmr/mon_release/JAN-2004
Posted by mardenhill 11/26/2004 09:44:00 AM 2 comments
Deep Shag
Wednesday, November 24, 2004
I was listening to WOXY whilst ripping cds and the strangest thing happened. I was ripping Luscious Jackson and Deep Shag came on, now that is wierd seeing that I havn't listened to them in a long time and at the moment of me ripping the cd they are on the radio. I think its telling me something, but I am not sure what yet. Its the same with the ipod, you hit shuffle on it and the song that u are in the mood to hear happens to come up. This does not happen everytime but it happens often enuff to take notice.
Now for all your pretentious coffee drinkers out there that need to have fresh beans and grind them before drinking, check out www.coffeepeople.com for some good stuff. They are a west coast coffee chain that is way better than starbucks. I would say they are better than caribu for those of you familiar with that shop. The Yemen Mocca Java, Breakfast Blend and Black Tiger are fanstastic, you will only be able to order off the net if you are not out west.
For those of you traveling today, be prepared for delays across the nation. Flights are backed up and the midwest is covered in a nasty storm. It has been raining all morning and as we head out this afternoon its just a couple degrees from turning to flurries. Fun stuff I tell ya.
Now if you can keep a secret, I will let u know what is up and coming on the ipod scene. Rumor is there will be a flash based player after xmas, probably in january. This would be smaller in space than the mini, think along the lines as a gig in size and be probably under $200. Is it worth it, no but even though Apple has the market in HD based players, they lose ground when flash are factored in. I recommend getting a normal ipod if you are in the market for one but it is nice to know that Apple will soon rule the world in music technology. I have tested and studyed most mp3 players out there and none of them come close to the ipod in looks, simplicity, and use.
Posted by mardenhill 11/24/2004 10:34:00 AM 0 comments
Too Handsome To Be Homeless
Monday, November 22, 2004
If you havn't decided what wine you plan on serving or taking for Thanksgiving, I recommend the Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc, its fantastic with lots of exploding fruit up front and a great crisp finish. It retails for about $17 but you can find it at Costco for $13.50 and World Market for $14.99. I am also taking a Ravenswood Red Zin, they can be found everywhere and not expensive at all. I have a couple inexpensive Moscato di Asti's, I can't remember the names but they are great.
Have I said how much I like the Kim Crawford? I'm telling ya, check it out, you will not be disappointed. BTW, it scored a 91 from Wine Spectator.
http://www.kimcrawfordwines.co.nz/
Going back to U2, I just found this news on www.pollstar.com
Bono Gets A Job
Riding high on the wave of hype for its new album, U2 will kick off a world tour this spring. No dates are confirmed yet, but the trek is expected to start in Florida in March and include 35 shows Stateside before heading overseas.
The Irish rock veterans will play around 30 European stadiums before returning for another 35-date arena run in the U.S. Japan is next on the itinerary, followed by Australia, where the band will reportedly do an eight-date run.
Rumored opening acts include Snow Patrol and Scissor Sisters.
U2 typically does one monster tour every few years. Its last trek, in 2001, spanned nine months and grossed $143 million with all shows sold out.
The group's new album, How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb, is scheduled for release November 23rd in the U.S
All I have to say is they better get some dates together, Erika and I are planning an East Coast road trip in the spring and I do not want to miss U2. I saw them last on the Achtung Baby tour back in '92 and I think its about time I see them again.
Posted by mardenhill 11/22/2004 10:19:00 PM 1 comments
Royal Explosion II
finish off the insCheck out the link below, I know the pro family groups are way out there but this is going too far, its the Disney cloud controversy all over again.
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/11/afa/172004c.asp
Other than that,if you missed the Pixies this past weekend in Detroit you missed an excellent show. They played for about 1 hr 15 minutes non stop. They said hello after the 2nd song and didn't say much until the encore. It was music non stop and was full of great songs to sing along to. They ended with Gigantic which was very cool.
Tomorrow the new U2 comes out and so far pitchfork has given it a 6.9. I was very suprised that they gave it that high of a rating, I was expecting a 4 maybe 5 from them. With that said it must be a decent cd if pitchfork is willing to give it a somewhat generous review.
I am still ripping cds, I am up to cd 125, only about another 900 or so to go. I should find a way to post a countdown clock on the blog that would be soo cool. The new mac is working great, I got MS office for it and now just need some Adobe software to tallations.
Posted by mardenhill 11/22/2004 05:29:00 PM 1 comments
Mountains Of Your Head
Wednesday, November 17, 2004
Well, I have started re-encoding my cd collection, had to since I switched to a Mac and the MP3Pro format I used before is not compatible. I am on cd 65 and already going nuts, I don't think I will be able to finish. I used to laugh at the services that you pay to send your cds off to be ripped and they send them back to u in mp3 format. Right now that is sounding pretty good. I think I will be done with the encoding by January and everything will be back to what it was.
I stopped by the Apple store and checked out the new ipod photo and it is very cool. I didn't know what to expect but the pictures look great on them and u can use the scroll wheel to advance thru the pics and show slie shows. I believe if your mp3s have the artwork attached to the file this will come across. Is it worth the $499 and $599 price tag, I dont think so but when they come down in price it would be worth having. The guy at the store said the pistons players came in and bought them to show off their championship photos.
Now if u are in the market for new headphones for your ipod or any music device, I highly recommend the Sony MDR-EX51. They are about $40 and are earbuds but they have adjustable rubber tips that fit into your ear and the sound is amazing. If you look on the internet you can find them a bit cheaper, check amazon or buy.com.
Posted by mardenhill 11/17/2004 06:55:00 PM 2 comments
900,000 and growing....
Monday, November 15, 2004
The Music Man
MacNETv2 interviewed a man who is claiming the title of "King of the Pirates". The man has over 900,000 songs, a collection that rivals even the iTunes music store(!). From the article:“I spent the day with a guy who spends every free moment collecting music. So far his music collection rivals Apple’s iTunes Music Store, and his goal is to own a copy of every song ever recorded. Can he do it? Maybe, but you know what they say; it’s the journey not the destination.
OK, you make fun of me for my collection and I am nowhere near what this guy has. Reading the article the guy is a nut but does make a few good points. Don't worry I have no desire to follow in this guy's footsteps, I still need to re-rip about 1000 cds and I am not looking forward to that.
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=129754&cid=10821882
Posted by mardenhill 11/15/2004 05:47:00 PM 4 comments
3 Days and counting....
This Thursday is the release of the 2004 Beaujolais Nouveau and all should pick up a bottle and celebrate. This is the 1st red wine release of the year in France and is celebrated around the world. This occurs the 3rd Thursday of every November and the wine can be found for under $10 a bottle. Set a reminder to pick up a bottle and enjoy Thursday nite. I will post a reminder later this week and here is a website that is running down the clock til then.
http://beaujolais.maximilienrestaurant.com/
If you like Pinot Noir, you will like the Beuajolais.
Posted by mardenhill 11/15/2004 10:55:00 AM 1 comments
Islands Of Adventure
I spent this past weekend in Orlando for work and let me tell ya, it was nice and warm down there, no ice to scrape off the car windows in the morning. But as a city Orlando kinda sucks, well the part that I was in. For 10 miles on the one expressway you have Disney, Universal Studios, Wet & Wild, Sea World and Holy Land. Yes I did say Holy Land, its an amusment park that is based on the Bible, check out the website below. Don't forget to add this to your list of places to see before you die.
http://www.theholylandexperience.com/
I had some free time on my 1st day and went to Universal Islands of Adventure which was fun but not too much to do. There were 3 rollercoasters and a couple other rides but when you have been spoiled by Cedar Point, no amusement park comes close. The Hulk rollercoaster was very good, probably the best thing in the park. The Jurassic Park ride is supposed to be cool but it was a waterride and I had my ipod with me and I didn't want that to get wet. The one thing I noticed was that they spend a ton of money on the lines before you reach the ride, there are castles and elaborate things you walk thru to keep you entertained.
If you havn't tuned back into WOXY, its back on the internet again. Check out www.woxy.com and stream away. It is a lot like KEXP from Seattle if you are familiar with that station but is commercial. The only bad thing about WOXY is that they play this godawful band called Forget Cassettes which are from Cincinatti where WOXY is. Other than that you will hear tons of great music.
Posted by mardenhill 11/15/2004 09:02:00 AM 2 comments
The Coolest Computer on the Planet
Wednesday, November 10, 2004
We just got our iMac yesterday and set it up. It took about 30 minutes to set everything up including internet, digital camera, music, programs etc. I plugged my digital camera in and iPhoto recognised it and pulled all the pics off the camera into the software. Everything is easy about it, switching has never been easier. Some of the differences are the no right click on the mouse, ejecting a cd, and creating folders. I am still living in a dual world with a windows based laptop but i'm telling ya, the mac side is just too cool not to be part of . The ipod plugs right in and is detected by itunes and its just drag and drop onto it.
Ok I am finally getting the hang of posting pics within the blog. I had to download some program called Hello and then post it thru that. Once its saved then you got to go back to your blog and choose edit and adjust the typing. Now I feel like a pro, all the cool blogs have pics. Thanks Kath for posting a pic and allowing me to copy you.
Posted by mardenhill 11/10/2004 11:21:00 AM 1 comments
Attention this is the OC, please read the latest Announcement...
Sunday, November 07, 2004
Now I am not a fan of the Postal Service or their parent band but I did find this interesting. Does this constitute selling out?
The Postal Service agree with The Postal Service
News
Posted by liz @ Wednesday November 03, 2004 @ 05:02PM PST
Ben Gibbard and Jimmy Tamborello have struck a deal with the United States Postal Service. Bigwigs at the USPS weren't thrilled when they found out a few months ago that SubPop band, The Postal Service, had stolen their moniker for their band name. It was a little too late to release cease and desist letters as The Postal Service (the band) has been recording record breaking sales and has garnered quite the cult following. When said USPS bigwigs heard The Postal Service background (Ben and Jimmy made the record by sending bits and pieces back and forth through the US Mail system)... they thought they strike a deal with the resourceful duo. SubPop has agreed to let the band's music be featured in commercial spots for the USPS along with ad campaigns and promotions... in exchange for not losing the name.
Posted by mardenhill 11/07/2004 06:39:00 PM 0 comments
Magical Colors
Well the Jon Spencer show was last nite and it was ok. The sound really sucked it was too loud, lots of muffled vocals, feedback and too much bass. I know I'm old but everyone I talked to last nite said the same thing. It reminds me of the nite I went to see the Sights at the Magic Stick and there was some punk kid on the boards who just watched the needles bury themselves in the red the whole nite. I guess if u have a pulse u can be a sound guy.
We just sent away for some samples and a catalog for the carpet below. Check out the site, its very cool and u can create your own patterns. We are thinking for the basement when we remodel it.
http://www.interfaceflor.com/service/flor/index.html
My new favorite box set is the Left Of The Dial:Dispatches from the '80s Underground. It is 4 cds packed with tons of great songs by The Cure, Morrissey, X, Gang Of Four, Ministry, REM, Echo, Psychadelic Furs, Bauhaus just to name a few. If u want a copy let me know and I can get you one.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0002XL2X4/qid=1099870408/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/103-2165196-6553437?v=glance&s=music&n=507846
Posted by mardenhill 11/07/2004 06:15:00 PM 3 comments
Lazy Eye
Thursday, November 04, 2004
Well the election is finally over, I hate to think of what's to come but on the other hand Bush will be responsible for the Iraq mess and will not walk away scott free. The Dems need to pick a new leader, maybe Hillary or Kerry but I doubt Hillary since she will want to run in 08. Biden may be a good leader, also there is Chris Dodd. I think 1st order of business is to kick Terry McAlliffe to the curb and get someone to run the DNC who knows what they are doing. I just hated listening to interviews with both him and Ed Gillespie who is just as much a smuck as Terry. Ok I will stop now, no more politics for a while.
Don't forget that Jon Spencer is playing this weekend at St Andrews, at this time I plan on going. I thought I would be out of town but looks like i will be here and that will be a rock n rollin good time. If you have never seen Jon Spencer, let me tell ya, you don't want to miss him. The show is loud, sleazy, gritty, pure rock n roll and full of fun.
4 more days, thats til my imac will be shipping, I cannot wait. We decided that we need to redo the computer cove upstairs since it is not "cool" like the imac. So off trading spaces here we come, time to build a desk and make the place look like the imac belongs. If you are thinking of getting one, I would order it now because I have been reading that they may not be able to keep up with xmas demand and if u wait too long no xmas present for you.
I just realized that I havn't reviewed an old cd in about a month, I will work on that and try to get one up by the end of the day or tomorrow. Since I don't have access to my hard drives it has been hard to listen to anything.
Posted by mardenhill 11/04/2004 09:12:00 AM 2 comments
Execs who steal my laptop battery....
Tuesday, November 02, 2004
I had to give up my laptop battery to an exec who needed one so now I am living on the edge, if the power cord comes out, the laptop dies. So I have to be very careful and keep the cat away from my laptop since he likes to walk over it and chew on the power supply. I know not a very smart cat but what can you do. He did learn not to play with xmas tree lights, a couple years ago Mr Kitty bit one of the bulbs and shorted the whole string of lights. I think he got himself a pretty good shock and hasn't bothered them since.
Well its election day and tonight will be some exciting and interesting election coverage. Don't forget to watch CNN for the best coverage, they will be in Times Square. We got up this morning to vote and thinking that we would beat the evening rush, we got screwed. It took 45 minutes to vote, the lines were very long but at least its over. I was number 241 but it seemed like there were more people ahead of me than that. This afternoon I am volunteering for Moveon.org to be a poll watcher at a precinct in Royal Oak. Looks like I will be standing out in the rain and crappy weather checking people off Moveon's list of people they have been canvassing. So if you read this and are in the Royal Oak area, come join me from 3-5pm it will be fun.
I have a 6 pack and lunch riding on this election so I hope Kerry pulls this out. I am feeling pretty confident tho, and as long a Kerry can win 2 out of the 3 between Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania, I think its his.
Well I am off to get ready for my dentist appt and then off to the polls, if you havn't voted yet do so or I will hound u for the next 4 years.
Posted by mardenhill 11/02/2004 10:18:00 AM 2 comments
The Killing Moon
Thursday, October 28, 2004
Did anyone see the Lunar Eclipse last nite? Well it was pretty cool except the cloud cover was a bit too thick to see clearly. At 10:23pm, you could see the moon's color and by 11:45pm it was completely covered in red. The last time I have seen the blood red moon was back in '99 when I was in Oregon. I had clear skies and it was one of the coolest things to see.
Along with the eclipse, the Boston Red Soxs finally won the World Series and broke the curse. That was a sight to see and I think there are bigger things to come for Boston. Now if the Cubs win next year, than we know the apocalypse is amongst us.
Some easy trivia, if anyone can name where the title came from, I will make u a copy of it.
Posted by mardenhill 10/28/2004 09:32:00 AM 3 comments
Mosh!!!
Wednesday, October 27, 2004
http://www.ifilm.com/viralvideo?ifilmid=2654122
If you havn't seen the new eminem video, check it out. This video captures more of the youth sentiment than any rock the vote tv show could ever do. There is more anger in this than all of political ads combined between both candidates. I have debated with people at work who think this will not transfer into votes that the people will be too lazy, stoned or apathetic to vote. I disagree, I think eminem has tapped into the psyche of the youth of today and will succeed on getting people to the polls.
West Wing is on so I will have to wrap this up. I will continue tomorrow.
Posted by mardenhill 10/27/2004 08:52:00 PM 0 comments
Answering Bell
Monday, October 25, 2004
Just sitting here listening to some amazing Ryan Adam's bootlegs. At this point you are wondering, where did Randy get these and how can I get them. Well I will let you in on a little secret, http://www.archive.org/audio/etreelisting-browse.php?collection=etree
this site contains live recordings of a ton of musicians. And the best thing is that they are free!!! Free and legal to download, all the artists have given permission to have these archived and available for download. Now before you get too excited, it takes a bit of work to get the tracks. Most of them are in .shn format which is short for shorten, I know not very creative but these are compressed .wav files but are still between 20 and 30 megs in size a piece. You can download a whole show which can be 300 to 800 megs in size which takes about 30 to 60 minutes and then convert the tracks to .mp3 format. You will need software to convert the .shn to .mp3 and if you want it let me know and I will send it to you. Most of the shows are coming straight off the board so the quality is very good compared to the traditional style of holding a recorder up in the air.
In other news check out this article regarding the future of radio.
http://www.slyck.com/news.php?story=588
This has to do with the pay for play that has been part of the radio world for years now. That is why there is such crap on the radio, whomever has the most money gets their artists played. Well hopefully Mr. Spitzer can put an end to this. Clear Channel has been a hug abuser of this pratice and maybe their precious empire will finally crumble to the ground.
Finally in music news, did anyone see the Ashley Simpson on SNL on Saturday? Well she was caught lip syncing the 2nd song, whomever cued up the song screwed it up and she was left dancing around and walking off stage. Not that she was an important person in the whole music timeline but she did have an MTV show and her cd debuted at number 1. This is a big blow for the talentless younger singer of Jessica and was the talk of the internet the last 2 days. Next week eminem is on, I hope they make fun of her on a skit and eminem blasts her during his performance.
Posted by mardenhill 10/25/2004 09:00:00 AM 1 comments
Just Aged 20 Years
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
Well its official, I am now 50 years old but let me tell ya, it was fun. We had the Chrysler 300c, Crossfire, Pacifica, PT Cruiser and Magnum onsite for test drives and I took out both the 300c and the Crossfire. I have already tried the PT Cruiser but the Magnum was always out and the Pacifica, well no one really wants to drive one of them. As for the Crossfire, its a great little car, perfect for those mid life crisis's, lots of speed and snappy looking. Inside its very cramped, if you are over 6ft don't bother. The spoiler on the back comes up automatically when you hit a certain speed to add a downdraft to keep the car on the road. I found this annoying but it is necessary. The 300c is amazing and I would almost love to have one. It's so smooth, the ride is like floating on air and the inside is chalkful of luxury. Ok, let me be honest, I drive a focus with cloth seats so sitting in the 300c is way beyond my everyday ride. The car isn't a boat which is nice and u sit up pretty high in it. Would I ever buy one, probably not but I do have to say I did look pretty pimpin driving around in both cars. Today we have Drodge trucks available and Friday are jeeps. I will probably skip the trucks since I am slammed with work to do, and dependng on how things are on Friday I may have another update.
Posted by mardenhill 10/20/2004 01:53:00 PM 0 comments
Kind Of Blue
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
Wow, I hadn't realized how long it has been since I have posted. Lets see, what has happened in the last week, well I watched Bush screw up yet another debate, went to Kalamazoo for Homecoming and decided to buy the new iMac. Kalamazoo was great, went to Bilbos and had pizza and cheezy sticks, and didn't have to eat the rest of the weekend. Found a new bar in Kzoo right down the street from Bells called Shakespears. This is a very cool place, they have about20 beers on tap which include Bells, Kraftbrau, Arcadia and other Michigan local brews. The bar serves food and mixed drinks so its a good all around place where u can get all your local faves w/o the limitations of the breweries next door. Plus there is shuffleboard, you can't beat that. I also went to the newly remodeled Wayside, well not newly since it has been like that for about 5 years but new for me. All I can say is this is probably the largest bar on the west side of state, there are about a million different levels with about a million tv screens. Would I go back, probably not but it was nice to be in a place not completely crawling in college kids. All of them were at the "New" place called Firehouse and the bulk of the Wayside were alumnis. The plus about the Wayside would be the tables, you are almost guarenteed to get one. I didn't make it to any of the old haunts but thats ok, next time.
And I almost forgot, there is now a roundabout in Kzoo, it is right when you pull into campus next to the new science bldg, the birdcage and business college. I have no idea how college kids can manage this but it looks pretty cool.
Posted by mardenhill 10/19/2004 08:39:00 AM 2 comments
