Posts filed under 'Music'
Several months ago, I found a great little app via a Lifehacker post called OpenPandora. The 2 main reasons I like using are:
- Since OpenPandora is a Windows application, I don’t have to hold my web browser hostage to play music with Pandora.com.
- It sends my listened tracks to Last.fm, where I can get more recommendations and my friends can see what I’ve listened to.
The author of OpenPandora is constantly updating the program to provide more features and fix bugs. To get a list of all the other many features OpenPandora provides, go to the download page.
I was browsing the author’s blog archives to see when he added Last.fm support, and found another site called PandoraFM that integrated Pandora and Last.fm before OpenPandora did. It actually seems to have better integration and more features than OpenPandora, but the problem is that you still have to use your web browser to play the music. However, if you don’t have Windows or are restricted from installing programs, this is the next best thing to having OpenPandora.
December 1st, 2006
I basically just wanted to post this for my own future reference so I can return Trey’s magazine back to him…
Spin Magazine published an article in their March 2006 issue called “The Next Big Things” that caught my attention. I’m always appriciative when I can find new music that sounds good, so I’ve been planning to check out some of these bands to see if they are worth a further listen. Problem is, I haven’t found the time yet and I still have my friend’s magazine! So, I’m going to try and list all the bands they have so I can use this post as a reference.
- Secret Machines
- Saigon
- The Dresden Dolls
- Matisyahu
- The Subways
- Autolux
- Giant Drag
- The Like
- The Vacation
- The 88
- 8-bit
- Cold War Kids
- Dengue Fever
- Devics
- The Good Listeners
- Inara George
- Silversun Pickups
- Richard Swift
- Vagenius
- Art Brut
- Motion City Soundtrack (already in the process of checking them out from their single “Everything is Alright”)
- Love Is All
- Black Mountain
- Mylo
- Torche
- Noisettes
- The Plastic Constellations
- The Rakes
- Mystery Jets
- Lavender Diamond
- Mystery Jets
- A Life Once Lost
- Vitalic
- The Nice Boys
- Nine Black Alps
- Editors
The doesn’t look like 52, but that’s enough for me.
August 11th, 2006
My family and I are about to go on our annual lake house vacation. Every year on my way out of town, I think, “I really need to make a good summertime/lake house mix cd”. Well, this year, I’m on the ball and my wife is assisting me with the song selection. Those that know me may be thinking this will be a rock n’ roll or alternative mix, but this is not that case. When I’m at the lake, all I want to listen to is country music. So, we are using Tadalist to brainstorm our ideas for a mix cd. Here’s our list so far:
http://podious.tadalist.com/lists/public/342713
The rule for song selection is that it has to mention or be about summer, the beach, fishing, the lake, or growing up in the country. If you have any suggestions, please post them in the comments!
July 6th, 2006
Just wanted to share a recent find on the Net. If you are looking for a good mix of music, or to find music similar to an artist you already like, try Pandora or Last.fm. Pandora has one of the best Flash menus/navigation that I’ve ever seen. It is simple, yet very functional so that the most novice Internet user can find it easy to use. Panodra knows what to play based on the Music Genome Project. Last.fm takes a little getting used to and isn’t nearly as usable as Pandora, but provides more features and a history of what you listen to. It also provides recommendations (like Netflix). The more you listen, the better your recommendations get. Last.fm gets their data from other users tagging each song or artist and from Audioscrobbler data. I’ve been using Last.fm more lately because I like that I can more easily manipulate what I want to listen to. The only big drawback to Last.fm is the fact that you have to download and run a separate player to hear any music. You only need a Flash-enabled browser to use Pandora.
So obviously, as the post title says, these services really help you to find new music based on the tastes that you already have. This can be good and bad, in my opinion. These services will help you find music based on what you already like. However, some of the best music I’ve found was by accident or someone else telling me to listen to it and it was COMPLETELY different than what I was used to.
July 6th, 2006
I obtained the latest album from A New Found Glory called Catalyst. I haven’t listened to quite all of it yet, but I want to get at least 2 run-throughs before I make my final review. But I will say this: it’s not as good as their last album, Sticks and Stones. But, there are some good tracks that can’t be ignored like the title track. I can’t quite put my finger on what makes this album not as good as the last. The songs on the last one just seemed better. I’ll probably have to listen to Catalyst all the way through one more time, then listen to Sticks and Stones, then listen to Catalyst again.
May 27th, 2004
