The Kriptonomicon
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Sun, 07 Dec 2008
Amazon.co.uk mp3 store
So my first experience with this wasn't positive, as my card company decided that buying books from Amazon was OK, but MP3's was just madness, and therefore must be fraud, and locked my card. Bless them. Unfortunately, Amazon's systems took a dim view of this and cancelled the order, including the entire basket..
So I had to go through whole process again a day later, adding all the songs again. You'd have thought that in this circumstance they'd have moved the items to the 'saved for later' section of the basket - they have a section for this after all!
Anyway, downloaded using the 'Amazon MP3 Downloader', which made the process of downloading addding to iTunes pleasantly seamless, and I'm now listening to a KT Tunstall EP on my rather good entry level 'Ultimate Ears' iPhone headphones via the iBook. MP3's are 320Kbps with album art, all in all a well done implementation. The downloader creates its own folder in the ~/Music folder. I'd been looking at 7digital.co.uk but I suspect they have serious competition now. The only question will be catalog. I've already found some stuff on Amazon that isn't on iTunes (KT Tunstall EP's and a Sophie Solomon track I was unaware of previously). Being that the labels seriously want to move out of Mr Jobs influence, I expect this will increase..
Posted at: [/music] permanent link
Sat, 26 Jul 2008
Digital Music from Play.com
I bought Bellowhead's first album from Play.com following the their toe tapping performance on the folk Proms last Sunday (I'm not jealous that several of them can play the Violin while jumping up and down in time, no not at all..), and it was a thoroughly pleasant experience. Cheaper than iTunes, and in 320kps mp3, my only complaint would be that album art wasn't included, not was a digital booklet of the album slip cover, and that the track number wasn't encoded into each file, so I had to add it manually. iTunes added the cover art fine, as will Banshee on my Linux box, I expect, so no worries there. I'll be using them more!
Posted at: [/music] permanent link
Thu, 24 Jul 2008
Ode To Joy
Ode Indeed...
Posted at: [/music] permanent link
Wed, 11 Jun 2008
Call me naive, but I'd not put two and two together, and realised you could do stuff like this..
Call me old, but he's also responsible for the sound that I liked in New Model Army's 'Impurity' album..
Ah, the internet. Is there anything from your youth you *can't* dig up?
Posted at: [/music] permanent link
Mon, 31 Dec 2007
Best Of 2007: Music
Out of the 28 Albums I purchased this year (is that all?), the following really stand out;
KT Tunstall - Drastic Fantastic
Moshie's Bagel - Salt
Oi Va Voi - Oi Va Voi
On the subject of that album, it contains her version of "Fairy Tale of New York", from which its clear that both KT and Shane McGowan chose the wrong partners for their retakes. KT does an excellent performance - her vocals can stand up to the rollicking standard that Kirsty Macoll set, unlike Katie Melua (who I did not purchase her latest album this year - just didn't call me enough). The male singer that KT had on her version, though, had nowhere near the oomph needed for Shane's role. He would have been a perfect match for Katie's version though. Talking of which - was Katie Melua out of sync on the record, or was Shane even more gone than I expected? the timing between the two seemed to be off, and I can't work out who'se it was.
Anyway, its nice that the top albums are all people I've seen (or are going to see, in KT's case (yes, I got tickets at the Corn Exchange!)) live this year.
Posted at: [/music] permanent link
Wed, 24 Oct 2007
Oi Va Voi
..Coming to The Junction on the 13th November, and I have two tickets. Oh my yes..
Posted at: [/music] permanent link
Sat, 07 Apr 2007
My Christmas present
Taken me a while to blog this..
The family chipped in, and after a year of learning, (and saving!), I took the plunge and went to the excellent
Pianoforte Centre
in Kings Hedges and spent several hours with the helpful staff (and in a true display of love, my wife, who had to endure my playing scales and one reference piece over and over), going through different violins and bows. So without further ado;
Apologies for the quality of the phot. I'm not a very good photographer.. Its an Roderich Paesold 803 hand varnished violin with a Schroetter bow. it came down to a two hundred year old french violin, or a newly manufactured Paesold, and I went for the new one so that I could imprint my playing on it (the poor instrument)..
Posted at: [/music] permanent link
Sun, 22 Oct 2006
Poison Sweet Maderia
By Sophie Solomon
A. actually bought this after listening to an
interview with her on Womans Hour, but its quickly become the most listened to thing on my iPod. A fantastic blend of Russian and Jewish inspired original composition played on the Violin. Its her Debut album, but she was also part of an award winning band "Oi Va Voi", aparrently. I'll be picking up
Laughter Through Tears next time I buy something from Amazon, as I can't find it in the UK..
Posted at: [/music] permanent link
Sat, 21 Oct 2006
Mind How You Go
By Skye
Unfortunately, for Skye (ex vocalist from Morcheeba), Amazon took months to delivery this to me and it arrived at the same time as "Poison Sweet Maderia" for A. so I haven't listened to it as much, and not been in the right mood to appreciate it, drawing comparisons between the styles of the two. Grossly unfair, but there you are.
Still laid back, but not as damn near horizontal as her previous band, the album is worth repeated listening, but it won't be with headphones, concentrating on all the nuances of the composition. Its hard to see her in her own light, after so many good Morcheeba albums, and I'm not sure that the selection of songs set her apart enough, or illustrate her strengths sufficiently. Not quite more Morcheeba, which is good, but not enough of anything that I would put her next album, assuming there is one, on her must buy list..
Posted at: [/music] permanent link
Tue, 03 Jan 2006
Mashups
Still listening to American edit, but have been pointed to another 'top ten' lists of Mashups from 2005;
CultureBully's 10 Favorite Mash-Ups 2005
mash of the year
Posted at: [/music] permanent link
Tue, 13 Dec 2005
American Edit
The Mashup Albumn
American Edit
came to my attention via BoingBoing a while back, and I downloaded the fantasic "Dr Who on Holiday".
Its been offline for a while, but is back at the moment - go take a look!
Posted at: [/music] permanent link
Sun, 06 Nov 2005
Piece By Piece
By Katie Melua
Some good (Nine Million Bicycles), some disturbing in a she's-probably-too-young-to-have-heard-it-first-time covers (Just Like Heaven), and others that are Ok I guess. No repeat of the fantasic Crawling Up a Hill, though..
Posted at: [/music] permanent link
Get Behind Me Satan
By The White Stripes
Good Intro track in "Blue Orchid" (reminiscent of their seminal Seven Nation Army), bit otherwise its failing to engage me. Good rock, but I guess I'm not so interested in Rock these days.. Great Cover, though.
Posted at: [/music] permanent link
Southern In My Soul
By Big George Jackson Blues Band"
I bought this Cd from Amazon after being frightened away by
Black and Tan's non-https encrypted credit card order page. It took forever to arrive, and another CD from the same company, placed on the same order, is yet to arrive, months later.
I bought it because of the track "Argue, Fuss and Fight", which was played on
The Roadhouse a few editions ago. Its the best track on the album, and a great example of the older-style blues, also rather dissimilar to the other tracks on the Album.
Posted at: [/music] permanent link
Life In Slow Motion
By David Gray
Good background music, excellent for driving, or work, or just chilling on a Sunday morning..
Posted at: [/music] permanent link
Thu, 22 Sep 2005
Livin In The City
I saw on iTunes that Fun Loving Criminals had this new album out and added it to my next Amazon order, which I received the other day.
I must have listened to it a dozen times over the past couple of days at work and at home (In fact, I'm listening to "City Buy" right now..) - its the kind of album I have been hoping they'd produce since my personal favorite "100% Columbian". "Gave Up On God" is the genre-breaking music they got famous for after their initial "Can't get with that" on their first album, "Come Find Yourself". In addition to the fusion of rap, hip-hop and guitar riffs, they blend in a haunting piece of Piano Music - "Interlude for Erica" according to their liner notes, by Andy Armer. Can I find Andy Armer anywhere? Let me know if you do - I rarely find piano music holds my attention, but when it does, it has a profound effect.
Posted at: [/music] permanent link
Mon, 16 May 2005
Marillion Interview
I know, I know, I should be working..
"The whole point of the music business is that it gets all the money and pays the artist almost nothing.
You can say, 'Well, how come Sting's a millionaire?' But for every 1m Sting's ever earned someone else has had 50m."
Marillion's Steve Hogarth
Posted at: [/music] permanent link
Sat, 12 Feb 2005
Going Underground parody 'London Underground'
"Fitness to Practice" have a parody of the Jam's Going Underground called
London Underground.
Its full of obscenities, and rather fun for anyone thats suffered the joys of the London Underground.
Via the on/off
Going Underground's Blog
Posted at: [/music] permanent link
Wed, 05 Jan 2005
More BBC mp3's
Radio 5 Live has a mp3 download of its
Fighting Talk
show.
Now if they would only do the "Today" show, and the comedies (I'm a particular fan of
The Consultants
- check them out!), I would be very happy.
Posted at: [/music] permanent link
Siobhan Fahey mp3/web site!
Siobhan Fahey
has her own website (don't know how long, Macuser pointed me to it (again!).
Its flash and popup heavy, and, frankly, weird, but for Shakespeare's Sister fans like myself, it has mp3 downloads of some of her music, along with a couple of CD's - one of which is a new Shakespeare's Sister (though without her erstwhile partner, I have no doubt), available for purchase.
The site requires registration to access the site, and for 22/year, you get access to more, allegedly..
Posted at: [/music] permanent link
BBC starts Podcasting!
I was pointed to this by
Mac User>
magazine, of all things.
If you go to the Radio 4 program
In Our Time
there is details on how to obtain the podcast of the show, down load it as MP3 and so forth.
If you like it (hey, whats not to like!), then let them know via the comments form, and they may do more..
Posted at: [/music] permanent link
Fri, 20 Aug 2004
Rediscovering Old Music
I'm greatly enjoying listening to my back catalog of
TheThe (apart from Hanky Panky, which is their covers of Hank Williams songs, and, frankly, blows goats in hell.
Anyway, I'm blogging it as they have a completely redesigned web-page (try searching the web for a band called "Thethe". Its almost as hopeless as searching for a sysadmin called John Constable..).
The web page has a load of video's and live stuff, and this is a placeholder to remind me to snarf it all down on my iBook..
TheThe came up with one of my favorite song lyrics, which always comes to mind at this time of year (from Heartland on Infected;
"I've come to smell the seasons change, & watch the city,
As the sun goes down again."
My favorite song of theirs, though, so far, is;
Mercy Beat
, also from Infected.
I'm also pretty chuffed to notice that "Soul Mining" previously only available on tape (with my copy long gone) is now available on CD. Perhaps I'll pick up Dusk at the same time, since the reviews seem to say he's moved on from his execrable country music phase..
ooh! Amazon says he has a
Interesting.. Amazon.co.uk has no mention of "Dusk", but has "Naked Self". Right. Down to "Fopp" on Saturday, then to amazon to get what I can't there..
On second thoughts,
Play.com
has both "Dusk" and "Soul Mining"..
Posted at: [/music] permanent link
Sat, 10 Jul 2004
iTunes Music Store
So, this has been open in the UK for a little while now. Bought a couple of tunes over the past couple of days.
Overall, I like the idea. I wont be buying albums from them (with some exceptions, such as the iTunes specials), but single tracks such as the wonderfully Camp "Camouflage" by Stan Ridgeway that I wouldn't buy the entire album for, are a good use.
Mixed thoughts about the catalog, I mean, I know its early days, but I've found less then half I've searched for, and most of that was partial albums. The older stuff is more reliable though (presumably because the record companies think they have made the bulk of their money from it), which is what I've tended to add to my basket so far. One notable exception is the 'iTunes Exclusives' which are commentaries by artists on album remixes. I'm very tempted by the Alanis Morissete one, for example.
Oh, and they have a HUGE collection of Tori Amos. Bizarre. Looking forward to more indies.
Posted at: [/music] permanent link