Archive for the ‘Music’ Category

That’s a lot of music…

Over 600 music videos, many wonderfully obscure, available for free download. Including I might add, perhaps the greatest single video ever shot.

Internet, I think I love you.

Random songs…

While I’m in multimedia mode, here’s a few songs I stumbled across while prowling iTunes today.

Walk Idiot Walk – The Hives
Bam Thwok – The Pixies (Awesome)
Curbside Prophet – Jason Mraz
Mad Mrs. Leroy Brown – Loretta Lynn (with Jack White)
Letter Read – Rachael Yamagata

Oh, and be sure to check out the music video section of iTunes. It’s positively addicting, and in the case of The Darkness’ video of “I believe in a thing called love“, positively hilarious.

American Idol

Not a bad episode all in all. The theme was “Movie night” and the contestants sang songs from films. Fantasia, Jennifer Hudson, and La Toya were outstanding, and JPL and John Lewis were miserable. So what else is new, right? Well Quentin Tarantino was on as a guest judge and he was pretty funny. Turns out he’s like this big AI fan who’s been watching all along, and he didn’t hold back in his criticism (unlike a lot of celebrity judges.)

If form holds, the two dweebs will hang on another week and fans will vote out Jasmine or Diana.

Stone Soup

Ok, I like American Idol and all, but they’re really pushing it when they go back to back with hour long shows. Tonite they’ve got some singer I’ve never heard of, along with some lame line-dance group performance thing.

Just eliminate the red-headed dufus and get off so I can watch ugly chicks get some extreme plastic surgery.

88 Cents

Wal-Mart is selling songs for 88 cents. Looks like they’re wma files…

What will Apple do?

Feels Like Home

Norah Jones has a new album out, entitled “Feels like Home“. Some reviews seem to me a bit harsh, using words like “static”, “subdued”, and “listless”.

I believe that this perception comes about chiefly due to the marked contrast between Norah and the vocal gymnastics of such acts as Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, and Mariah Carey. The USAToday review touches on this:

“But for many pop fans, Jones’ gentle vocals and understated arrangements were an antidote to the histrionic singing and cheesy production that left those exposed to too much top 40 radio with chafed ears and queasy stomachs.”

For the last decade or so, it seems that female pop singers have felt the need to embellish their songs with every riff in their vocal quiver. Etta James can slay you with only a tiny inflection, whereas today’s doxies seek to hammer you into submission with warbling runs. (To be accurate, Britney’s flash is supplied by synthetic modification of her vocal tracks. She doesn’t have the natural physical ability of someone like Aguilera, Carey, or Houston.)

Jones is refreshing and different. Diane and I saw her in concert last year, and we thoroughly enjoyed it. I’ve only heard one song off of the album (“What am I to you?”) and it sounds like more of the same.

And I consider that to be a really good thing.

I’ll post a review after I buy the album and give it a few listens (probably thru iTunes.)

Norah Jones

Diane and I are going to see Norah Jones tonight. There’s a chance of rain, but we’re under cover so we’ll be alright (it’s a partially covered amphitheater…)
Hopefully the rain will cool things down a bit. We’re looking at our 4th day in the 90′s today.