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Links to artists and songs in iTunes

Do you have a song you want to share? Apple now offers a tool to link to any artist and song in the Apple Music Store - iTunes

New music written and recorded before your eyes in 24 hours

This morning I caught-up with Scott and Shannon's blogathon, which is 24 hours of postings on their site. The donations go to a great cause and they also did an amazing thing. The two of them wrote and recorded two new songs.

The wonderful parts of this are they are 3,000 miles apart, the collaboration was on line in the blog for this purpose, their auditory updates were posted throughout the 24 hours, and their two voices and guitar tracks and other instrument tracks were all pulled together for two wonderful songs. I have been humming Southdown all day. I want to spend more time reviewing each of the steps to this transparent adventure.

This may be the coolest things I have seen on the Web in quite some time.

File sharers buy more music

BBC reports file sharers buy more music. No duh! The horrible state or radio makes finding music worth buying quite difficult. The quality of the music files being shared greatly lacking and for many the shared files are just decent, but not great samples. The quality in Apple's Music store is an improvement, but not a fungible replacement for music right off a CD.

League of Extrodanary Gentlemen only from download

Apple purportedly gets the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen soundtrack for the Apple Music Store. Oddly it seems there is no physical CD rights for distribution in the U.S. To me this seems like a good step forward, it would be a great step forward if there was also a true CD quality version available for download rather than a lossy compression of the music for download. Don't get me wrong I enjoy the size and comparative sound of the Apple MP4 format, but I prefer even much less compression, particularly with music from a symphony.

BBC Proms means Summer

Summer means many things and BBC Proms are one of the highlights. Great classical music at great prices in and wonderful venue. When going to the Proms get there a little early to wander around and take in the building.

Currently listening to Lamb and Massive Attack

Currently listening to Lamb What Sound, which I picked up after extended playing at a listening station. I am really enjoying this, which has tones of early 90s euro alt rock. I also added Massive Attack 100th Window, which sounds like a matured Propaganda, but with Sinead singing.

Metheny offers relaxation

I am really enjoying Pat Metheny's new solo recording of him using baritone guitar titled One Quiet Night. (This was one of the items in the ill fated shipment.) The sound quality of the disk is fantastic. The baritone guitar has great breadth and offers a warm depth to the sounds. The music is very relaxing and has shades of New Chautauqua, which is one of my favorite acoustic guitar recordings and may have been the album that got me hooked on acoustic guitar and prepared me for Windham Hill Records. The song Over on 4th Street really brings Chautauqua to mind.

Perceived viable price for music

An unexpected moment happened this weekend as I stopped in Tower Records as it is the same parking area as another regular Saturday morning errand I found Kem Kemistry for under 10 dollars. I had stumbled across Kem in the Apple Music Store this past week and really enjoyed it. I had though about making that the first disk I downloaded from AMS, but finding the disc for less than I would have paid to Apple I was a proud owner. (Kem is a new artist that sounds much like Al Jarreau but with a little more Motown R&B).

Until AMS my maximum price for a CD was 14 US dollars (with a few exceptions), but now it seems that 10 dollars may be my new threashold. I love music and really enjoy quality production as well as clean honest music, which the recording industry has ignored of late as they throw plastic layers over talent and foster mediocrity. When I find the increasingly rare gems in regular music bins I dig to find it at a decent price. I miss the days of playing music in a band and the creative process that is fostered in small bands. I played sax and keyboard (many years of piano as a child went to something) in jazz bands, pick-up bands, concert bands, and sat in on cover bands through high school and through college, even in pick-up bands in early work years in San Francisco. There are times when listening to music I ache to play regularly and there are times when I am in awe of great talent and great musicianship. I have seen far too many great bands ruined by the music industry, which leached the blood from bands and single artists that would bring a large smile to my face for days. I finally am seeing hope with the music industry I have not seen in a long time.

With music prices possibly dropping and a levelling of the playing field for independent artist to get exposure of the interchangable Britneys, I see hope. The downside of late is seeing music programs in public schools cut back due to budget cuts. Not only is music needed for its own sake, but there is a strong corrolation between music and mathematics and sciences. Nearly every American programmer that I have known that I have considered to be above average has been a musician also, and often was formally trained. Many of the visual designers have also been musicians, but not as high a ratio as programmers.

Having music be a decent price is very important to me as I truly believe is supporting the artist that create that which gives pleasure. I wish more of the money would flow to the artist and less to the suits that ruin that with has the potential for being great.

Cover art can make a difference

In 1994 I was walking through the Washington, DC Tower Records in Foggy Bottom and saw an album cover that blew me away as a large poster on a wall. At first I just saw the continent of Africa, including Madigascar. But as I grew closer I could see a slightly contorted man in a suit. I walked backward and forward blurring my vision to get the original image I saw then stood in wonderment for a moment before tracking down the CD to buy. This may have been the first and only album or CD I bought based solely on the cover art. I was afraid I would not be able to find that disk again if I did not buy it. I really wanted the poster too, but at the time I knew it would not fit well in my studio apartment as the initial viewing and reviewing the image helps with distance.

Today I am finally ripping Manu Dibango's Wakafrika from the disc I bought years ago into my TiBook with AAC at a 160 bit rate to ensure the wonderful quality of the music. The music on the disk is equal to the cover art and I keep forgetting I do not have it to take with me on travel. Now with iTunes 4 I can also have to cover art.

AAC Internet Radio next

I am now wanting MPEG-4 streams of Internet Radio as Apple's use of AAC has me enjoying the crisp clean sound from music purchased in the Apple Music Store and ripping the music from CD. The quality is very clean and enjoyable, but Internet Radio now sounds rather muddy.

Jobs everywhere, but not employment...

Once again Jobs gives Time the scoop. Also, Forutne on Apple and music.

Apple Music Store has many gems but not everything

I have been having fun with the Apple Music Store in iTunes 4. The store only has 200,000 songs, which is not that many if one has eclectic tastes, but I did find Trash Can Sinatras, but did not find many other finds. I did pick-up a few songs that I have on vinyl that I have not been able to find the disc in stores. The international selection is lacking and I hope they start filling in some of the gaps in the near future. The interface is good and the quickness to start to play is fantastic as is the quality of the sample and downloads.

I may rip a CD or two with MPG4 on a higher rate to check the clarity and file size. I have a good collection of music ripped between Joy's collection and mine, which has been great on trips and just hanging out or working.

This is one of the many days I am overjoyed to have a Mac.

Apple changes music buying and bring reality to the industry

Michael Sippy expounds on Apple iTunes 4 and music store, which sounds much like my life, but I do still buy CDs (but only if they are less than $15). I have found virtually nothing coming out of the major record labels for the last 5 years that was worth buying. I can find five to 10 discs each year I am interested in buying, but very little of it is the interchangable Brittney's or the 400 Machbox 20 Wannabee's. The major labels over produce garbage by the truckful and wonder why they can't sell music. Things get so bad for the industry they hire a mindless shill to point fingers at pirates. Ever look at what many of these folks have downloaded? Much of it is not forsale in the local record store. Now with Apple it looks like there is no need for the major labels if Apple starts picking up indi artists. It looks like somebody is finally smart enough to make money on in the music industry. Mabye the shrill shill will go away and take her lawsuits with her.

Rap Master Plushie

For your Valentine entertainment pleasure Hip Hop Plushies, in DJ Format's video. [hat tip Cory]

Groov'n to midival punditz

I am groving to Midival Punditz, which I picked up today. The midival punditz have remixed Tabla Beat Science, whom I also really enjoy. There are touches of aural passages in the midival punditz work that are very reminicent of Peter Gabiel's work.