I discovered MrSolidSnake745's floppy drive music YouTube channel today. It may be my most favorite music discovery this year. Hilarious, awesome, and fascinating. Here's Haddaway's What is Love:
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Friday, September 2, 2011
Troubleshooting: Pandora on Droid Charge
I wanted to use Pandora today, since it's TGIF and I need some uplifting of spirits after a hard week.
Well, there was just no getting my Pandora to work. As I clicked on of my radio stations from the home page list, I would get 1) a black screen with the navigational buttons on the button and no sound, then upon clicking different radio stations 2) the screen would go black for a split second and then switch back to the main page listing all the stations.
I looked online and found an Android App FAQ page on Pandora.com where they suggest you uninstall Pandora, turn off your phone, remove and reinstall the battery, reboot, then reinstall Pandora.
It worked.
Well, there was just no getting my Pandora to work. As I clicked on of my radio stations from the home page list, I would get 1) a black screen with the navigational buttons on the button and no sound, then upon clicking different radio stations 2) the screen would go black for a split second and then switch back to the main page listing all the stations.
I looked online and found an Android App FAQ page on Pandora.com where they suggest you uninstall Pandora, turn off your phone, remove and reinstall the battery, reboot, then reinstall Pandora.
It worked.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Playing Around in iTunes
I just bought a CD on iTunes (Goose's Bring It On) and I wanted to convert the songs to mp3, but I forgot how to specify the quality (I like it as high as possible).
It's very easy. Here's the site I used to re-learn how to do it. Go to iTunes/Preferences/General and in the Import section select Custom and pick the
Next, I wanted to find out how the heck one selects multiple songs that are not adjacent one to the other cause I haven't been able to figure that out yet in my Mac. I'm slow sometimes.
It's also very easy, you just click Command and the songs. Duh!
It's very easy. Here's the site I used to re-learn how to do it. Go to iTunes/Preferences/General and in the Import section select Custom and pick the
Next, I wanted to find out how the heck one selects multiple songs that are not adjacent one to the other cause I haven't been able to figure that out yet in my Mac. I'm slow sometimes.
It's also very easy, you just click Command and the songs. Duh!
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
The Many Eras of Music User Interfaces
After 30 years of success, the Sony Walkman is no longer going to be in production--that is, until the last batch produced six months ago sells out worldwide.
There's been lots of coverage of this momentous...er...moment in music technology history. From a blog post on the Guardian's website, titled RIP Walkman: Good Bye After 30 Years, to an article on 3News from New Zealand, The End of An Era: The Walkman is No More. Much of the coverage I've seen discusses how the Walkman was once the height of music technology, how it pretty much led up to today's iPods and other mp3 players, and includes some sort of nostalgic reminiscence by the author (particularly the case with blog posts).
My own nostalgia brings me back to the mid to late 80s, on a trip to Pittsburgh. My parents decided to splurge on a Sony Walkman and two cassettes of the latest American music, one Prince's Purple Rain and the other Bruce Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A. I did manage to get my hands on the Walkman >:o)
I really hated the Prince cassette (and have hated the artist ever since, really), but loved Bruce's hit song and most of the remainder of the cassette as well.
Alas, as we were nearing the end of our trip, I accidentally lost one of the two, little lever knobs (see image on right, lower-right hand side of the Walkman--same color and everyhting) that helped regulate the right and left headphone volume. I hid that from my mom as best as I could or else risked a good spanking. The damn knob fell in the luxury sedan we had leased during our trip and blended into the gray carpeting entirely so that I was unable to locate it before we left to go back home (Mexico at the time).
In 1989 I proudly began collecting cassettes (mostly singles) for some of my favorite current songs and artists from stores such as Coconuts and Musicland--stores which are now completely obliterated from the retailing map. I remember my disappointment, time and time again, upon purchasing a cassette (then unwrapping it and popping it in) realizing that my favorite artist's or group's other songs were not consistent with the single that had so enamored me (hooked) into buying their cassette. Bait and switch!
Back then, shelling out over $20 for cassettes was painful! Even more painful when CDs came out in '89-'90 which cost much more. Many years and portable cassette players later, my cassette collection numbered over 90. Yet I had begun leaving that behind for CDs. When I finished college in '98 I hadn't looked at my cassettes in a couple of years. I had begun my CD collection via a Best Buy gift card birthday gift from my dad, and was now pondering my next steps into adulthood.
Borders had begun popping up everywhere, and so did the ability to preview CDs before purchase. World music at the tip of your fingers.That was quite a novelty, the being able to preview and purchase only those CDs that truly appealed to you. You could even discover new artists without having to purchase a costly CD first. Previewing prior to purchasing was a game changer.
So were online music sites like mp3.com and so many others I can't even remember. Each with their own dedicated music player. This was before Real, Windows MediaPlayer, and QuickTime became the standards or rather, more universal.
Now a days, kids (and others) have it so much easier, because they don't have to shell out for an entire CD or cassette (or LP, yes I even had some of those in the early days) of a favorite artist, only to discover most of the songs are not as interesting as expected. They can just pop into iTunes (or Amazon) and preview a song or two, or more, and then pay 99 cents for a single tune or around $9.99 for a full album of songs. Now that's what I call convenience! You can even get codes on Tuesdays for free, new songs at Starbucks if you use iTunes. You can get suggestions for artists and songs you might like based on intelligent data mining too. How about 'em apples? They do the thinking for ya now.
I got my first mp3 player back in '99, another gift from dad. It was a Diamond Rio player which was as big as a pack of cards, and weighed about twice as much. There were parallel port cables, and with later models, USB cables to help connect and sync to proprietary players and interfaces on the computer.
They gradually improved the sleekness of the product until there were push buttons rather than metal and switches on the front. This is around the time when iPods came out. I then graduated to a USB mp3 player just around the time when USB memory sticks began entering the market, seemingly from nowhere. What a concept that was! Just plug in your player to the USB port of your computer, no need for cables!
When the iPod craze began in late '99 and early '00s I wondered what the big bru-haha was, since mp3 players had been around for a while, and for much cheaper prices! And yet those little apple goodies began a major social revolution. It was a fashion statement (I called them the white wire zombies or hoards), it set the standard in portability, and began the user interface simplification movement that we now see in many technologies ranging from operating systems (Windows Vista, 7) to phones (Droid, iPhone).
We've come a long way baby, and I'll love to see (and hear!) where we head to next.
There's been lots of coverage of this momentous...er...moment in music technology history. From a blog post on the Guardian's website, titled RIP Walkman: Good Bye After 30 Years, to an article on 3News from New Zealand, The End of An Era: The Walkman is No More. Much of the coverage I've seen discusses how the Walkman was once the height of music technology, how it pretty much led up to today's iPods and other mp3 players, and includes some sort of nostalgic reminiscence by the author (particularly the case with blog posts).
My own nostalgia brings me back to the mid to late 80s, on a trip to Pittsburgh. My parents decided to splurge on a Sony Walkman and two cassettes of the latest American music, one Prince's Purple Rain and the other Bruce Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A. I did manage to get my hands on the Walkman >:o)
 |
| photo borrowed from here |
Alas, as we were nearing the end of our trip, I accidentally lost one of the two, little lever knobs (see image on right, lower-right hand side of the Walkman--same color and everyhting) that helped regulate the right and left headphone volume. I hid that from my mom as best as I could or else risked a good spanking. The damn knob fell in the luxury sedan we had leased during our trip and blended into the gray carpeting entirely so that I was unable to locate it before we left to go back home (Mexico at the time).
In 1989 I proudly began collecting cassettes (mostly singles) for some of my favorite current songs and artists from stores such as Coconuts and Musicland--stores which are now completely obliterated from the retailing map. I remember my disappointment, time and time again, upon purchasing a cassette (then unwrapping it and popping it in) realizing that my favorite artist's or group's other songs were not consistent with the single that had so enamored me (hooked) into buying their cassette. Bait and switch!
Back then, shelling out over $20 for cassettes was painful! Even more painful when CDs came out in '89-'90 which cost much more. Many years and portable cassette players later, my cassette collection numbered over 90. Yet I had begun leaving that behind for CDs. When I finished college in '98 I hadn't looked at my cassettes in a couple of years. I had begun my CD collection via a Best Buy gift card birthday gift from my dad, and was now pondering my next steps into adulthood.
Borders had begun popping up everywhere, and so did the ability to preview CDs before purchase. World music at the tip of your fingers.That was quite a novelty, the being able to preview and purchase only those CDs that truly appealed to you. You could even discover new artists without having to purchase a costly CD first. Previewing prior to purchasing was a game changer.
So were online music sites like mp3.com and so many others I can't even remember. Each with their own dedicated music player. This was before Real, Windows MediaPlayer, and QuickTime became the standards or rather, more universal.
Now a days, kids (and others) have it so much easier, because they don't have to shell out for an entire CD or cassette (or LP, yes I even had some of those in the early days) of a favorite artist, only to discover most of the songs are not as interesting as expected. They can just pop into iTunes (or Amazon) and preview a song or two, or more, and then pay 99 cents for a single tune or around $9.99 for a full album of songs. Now that's what I call convenience! You can even get codes on Tuesdays for free, new songs at Starbucks if you use iTunes. You can get suggestions for artists and songs you might like based on intelligent data mining too. How about 'em apples? They do the thinking for ya now.
 |
| photo borrowed from here |
They gradually improved the sleekness of the product until there were push buttons rather than metal and switches on the front. This is around the time when iPods came out. I then graduated to a USB mp3 player just around the time when USB memory sticks began entering the market, seemingly from nowhere. What a concept that was! Just plug in your player to the USB port of your computer, no need for cables!
When the iPod craze began in late '99 and early '00s I wondered what the big bru-haha was, since mp3 players had been around for a while, and for much cheaper prices! And yet those little apple goodies began a major social revolution. It was a fashion statement (I called them the white wire zombies or hoards), it set the standard in portability, and began the user interface simplification movement that we now see in many technologies ranging from operating systems (Windows Vista, 7) to phones (Droid, iPhone).
We've come a long way baby, and I'll love to see (and hear!) where we head to next.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Pandora
About two or three years ago, I used to listen to Pandora quite a bit to help me pass my longer flex-time work schedule faster. That was, until a good buddy suggested I switch to Last.fm like he had. Although I switched, I did go back on occasion to Pandora, there was something about it I liked better. It may have been my opinion that Pandora's recommendations matched what I was looking for a little better than Last.fm. Something about how they differ in their songs categorization, I guess.
I was pleased to read a success story article about Pandora on the NYTimes, by Claire Cain Miller, titled How Pandora Slipped Past the Junkyard and Found Success.
Our intrepid author shares with us the anguish and victory Pandora has witnessed in nine years. It goes through the downward but then upward swing the company experienced from 2001 when its entrepreneur/founder did all but give up on his struggle to make his baby succeed.
It looks like Pandora now has a deal with Ford to be included in its Sync nav system as of January of this year. The company is also making deals to incorporate its service in new blu-ray and other devices by manufacturers such as Samsung and Vizio (check out the Pandora-in-the-Home page).
Enjoy your truffle-oil Kobe burger Mr. Westergren. Good job. Meanwhile, I will be listening to your music from my work 'puter today.
I was pleased to read a success story article about Pandora on the NYTimes, by Claire Cain Miller, titled How Pandora Slipped Past the Junkyard and Found Success.
Our intrepid author shares with us the anguish and victory Pandora has witnessed in nine years. It goes through the downward but then upward swing the company experienced from 2001 when its entrepreneur/founder did all but give up on his struggle to make his baby succeed.
It looks like Pandora now has a deal with Ford to be included in its Sync nav system as of January of this year. The company is also making deals to incorporate its service in new blu-ray and other devices by manufacturers such as Samsung and Vizio (check out the Pandora-in-the-Home page).
Enjoy your truffle-oil Kobe burger Mr. Westergren. Good job. Meanwhile, I will be listening to your music from my work 'puter today.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Music Roundup and Rant
My iPhone scrobbles differently each time I plug it into my PC laptop. I don't know why sometimes it scrobbles right away, and why sometimes it takes 1/2 hour before the window pops up -- startling me because I had completely forgotten about it.
If you want to know how to scrobble your iPhone played songs to Last.Fm, check out this how-to article from the Apple Bar "Last.fm: 12 Ways to Scrobble" using the official scrobbler program that sits in your taskbar. Or, here's Last.fm's Windows client download (remember to pick the option to scrobble from iPod/iPhone under the settings). I'm still waiting for the day when the iPhone or iTunes will do this automatically tho, which doesn't seem to be happening anytime soon. Drag. Bummer. Shucks. Get your act together guys!
I really am not a big fan of iTunes. I only started using it two years ago when I realized it was kind of the only easy way to put music onto my iPhone. I definitely don't delve into iTunes Store as much as I could either--I find it overwhelming due to the quantity, but easy to search. Gimme torrent finder any day! I only used the iTunes store successfully to rent the movie "9" with a gift card I got for Christmas. That was fun.
I listen to music via the following methods with most popular first:
I was updating my iPhone playlists today and my scrobble window came up. I decided to check out my statistics page on Last.fm and realized that I completely agree with it, it's a great representation of what I listen to. It helps that it keeps track of what I play on my iPhone.
On the other hand...my iTunes...the top 25 most heard songs aren't exactly 100% representative. It may be that it doesn't keep track of the songs I play on my iPhone...or my not using iTunes often enough to represent well.
No surprise to me that the top songs on Last.Fm are my Carz playlist songs, since I usually...listen to my iPhone in the car. I love the songs that iTunes categorizes as my top 25 most heard, and completely agree, but my Last.fm list best represents my likes. I think it comes down to use, because I use Last.Fm more than iTunes due to the scrobbling on the iPhone and just in general I guess. I wish my iTunes would keep track of the songs I play on my iPhone -- wouldn't it make sense?
What are your favorite players or scrobblers?
If you want to know how to scrobble your iPhone played songs to Last.Fm, check out this how-to article from the Apple Bar "Last.fm: 12 Ways to Scrobble" using the official scrobbler program that sits in your taskbar. Or, here's Last.fm's Windows client download (remember to pick the option to scrobble from iPod/iPhone under the settings). I'm still waiting for the day when the iPhone or iTunes will do this automatically tho, which doesn't seem to be happening anytime soon. Drag. Bummer. Shucks. Get your act together guys!
I really am not a big fan of iTunes. I only started using it two years ago when I realized it was kind of the only easy way to put music onto my iPhone. I definitely don't delve into iTunes Store as much as I could either--I find it overwhelming due to the quantity, but easy to search. Gimme torrent finder any day! I only used the iTunes store successfully to rent the movie "9" with a gift card I got for Christmas. That was fun.
I listen to music via the following methods with most popular first:
- the car radio (first most used)
- iPhone linked to car stereo system (second most used) - when the radio gets too redundant--as it often tends to do.
- YouTube - usually at work or when someone tells me to try a band or song out, tho lately I've been trying to remember to do this on...
- Last.Fm - I started using this about three years ago at a friend's suggestion, tho I had been using Pandora successfuly and was happy with the close matches it provided for selected artists and songs. Something I wish Last.fm did better.
- iTunes - only occasionally on the weekends.
I was updating my iPhone playlists today and my scrobble window came up. I decided to check out my statistics page on Last.fm and realized that I completely agree with it, it's a great representation of what I listen to. It helps that it keeps track of what I play on my iPhone.
On the other hand...my iTunes...the top 25 most heard songs aren't exactly 100% representative. It may be that it doesn't keep track of the songs I play on my iPhone...or my not using iTunes often enough to represent well.
 |
| All my iTunes Songs: 2,530 |
 |
| Top 25 Most Listened on iTunes |
 |
| Last.fm Top Artists: DM, Ennio Morricone, Garbage, Nickelback, Lily Allen |
| Top Tracks: Kaiser Chiefs Never Miss a Beat, Depeche Mode Wrong, Does It Offend You Yeah? We Are Rockstars, Goose Bring It On, Coldplay Clocks |
What are your favorite players or scrobblers?
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