From: owner-loud-fans-digest@smoe.org (loud-fans-digest) To: loud-fans-digest@smoe.org Subject: loud-fans-digest V3 #61 Reply-To: loud-fans@smoe.org Sender: owner-loud-fans-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-loud-fans-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk loud-fans-digest Saturday, March 1 2003 Volume 03 : Number 061 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: [loud-fans] It begins (ns) [Dave Walker ] [loud-fans] VCR alert [Roger Winston ] [loud-fans] Gerry ["Aaron Milenski" ] Re: [loud-fans] Gerry ["jer fairall" ] Re: [loud-fans] It begins (ns) [Dave Walker ] Re: [loud-fans] It begins (ns) [Aaron Mandel ] Re: [loud-fans] It begins (ns) [dmw ] [loud-fans] dang it [dmw ] Re: [loud-fans] It begins (ns) [Aaron Mandel ] Re: [loud-fans] Gerry ["G. Andrew Hamlin" ] [loud-fans] heavenly or satanic?? (ns) [dana-boy@juno.com] Re:[loud-fans] heavenly or satanic?? (ns) [dana-boy@juno.com] Re: [loud-fans] dang it [Aaron Mandel ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 07:43:50 -0500 From: Dave Walker Subject: Re: [loud-fans] It begins (ns) On Wednesday, February 26, 2003, at 10:34 AM, dana-boy@juno.com wrote: > http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/26/technology/26MUSI.html > > (NY Times article about the new AOL music download service) As I'm feeling far too lazy to post an original thought, I'll pass along an excerpt of a post from the Emusic discussion list, which pretty much sums up what I was going to say about it anyway (especially about the support for non-Windows platforms and the out-to-lunch pricing for making permanent copies:) > From: Frank Hecker > downstream wrote: >> just tried the Rhapsody music service today and am very impressed. >> EMusic is still my favorite, and I like PressPlay, but I have to put >> Rhapsody in second place now over PressPlay. EMusic and Rhapsody are >> the ultimate music combo - you get all the >> alternative/indie/jazz/blues tunes on EMusic and all the commercial >> stuff on Rhapsody. > > I tried the 7-day free trial of Rhapsody and decided not to subscribe. > Instead of looking for mainstream commercial stuff, I was mainly > looking > to Rhapsody as a place to find non-mainstream stuff that for whatever > reason wasn't on Emusic. However their selection there is not much > better than Emusic overall, and for many artists is worse. > >> can't believe all the stuff I'm able to listen to >> for $20/month total. it's like I have direct digital access to Tower >> Records in New York. > > Well, I think that depends on what part of Tower Records you're > browsing :-) > >> any other music fantatics out there that are appreciating these >> trends as much as I am? the record labels are finally starting to >> get it right with digital music. these are exciting times. > > I'll acknowledge that there has been progress, but I think the music > industry is still out to lunch in terms of putting together a truly > attractive legal music service. The major problems as I see them: > > * The labels seem to be obsessed with pricing downloadable and burnable > music (e.g., the "burn to CD" option on Rhapsody) so high that buying > an > album for download and burning is often more expensive than buying the > CD. This despite the fact that the CD has more value to the consumer. > > (If they're concerned about losing money in cases where an album has > only one or two hit songs and people don't want to pay for filler, just > price those songs higher. Hasn't anyone on this industry ever heard of > variable pricing?) > > * If labels are going to push streaming as their preferred way to > deliver music online, they have to make a better effort to support more > platforms beyond just Windows PCs. Is support for Mac OS X too much to > ask for? > > * Given that each music service today has its own problems and > limitations, consumers have to subscribe to multiple services in order > to address all their music listening needs. Right now I subscribe to > Emusic for MP3s and XM Radio for in-car listening; I'm not willing to > also subscribe to Rhapsody, PressPlay, etc., and end up paying more and > more. > > In my opinion the current half-assed state of affairs in online music > will continue for several years, because the economic pain to record > companies isn't yet great enough to cause them to significantly change > the way they do business. In the meantime we'll just see some slight > variations on the current models; for example, see the stories on the > new AOL music service. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 07:12:07 -0700 From: Roger Winston Subject: [loud-fans] VCR alert Kathleen Edwards, whose album I am currently enjoying, is performing on Letterman tonight. Letterman himself won't be there - Regis is guest hosting. On an unrelated matter, I was doing some channel surfing this morning and came across Rush's video for Time Stands Still on VH1 Classic, complete with a weird waifish Aimee Mann appearance. I knew she sang on the song and all (I have the CD), but I've never seen the video. That was a bit jarring to experience before my morning decaf. Latre. --Rog ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 10:16:17 -0500 From: "Aaron Milenski" Subject: [loud-fans] Gerry Has anyone here seen GERRY yet? Is this post from the IMDB a joke, or does it eventually descened into a roadrunner cartoon? "For example, the two Gerrys have been lost for some time and both become very hungry. Matt Damon's character suddenly sees Casey Affleck's character as a giant hotdog on two spindly legs. Casey, in turn, see's Matt as a gigantic fried chicken leg. I found this very strange and upsetting. It was clearly stated in the beginning of the movie that Affleck's character was a vegan. Why the chicken leg? It doesn't make sense. They then begin to circle one another with forks in their hands, licking their lips comically. The forks appear out of nowhere, another strange twist. Then, I almost gagged on my spring water when I seen this, a chimpmunk appears with a Hershey bar in its mouth and the two begin to chase the critter throughout the wilderness. The chipmunk seems to be some kind of super intellegent animal since it outsmarts the duo at every step of the way. No matter what kind of crazy trap they make to snare the chipmunk he always seems to outsmart them. Casey is thrown for a hundred yards by his makeshift catapolt, Matt gets beaned by the rock meant for the rascally creature, the list goes on and on." _________________________________________________________________ Tired of spam? Get advanced junk mail protection with MSN 8. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 11:06:06 -0500 From: "jer fairall" Subject: Re: [loud-fans] Gerry > Has anyone here seen GERRY yet? No, but now having read this description, I'll be very, very disappointed if this doesn't happen. Jer np: The Salteens, LET GO OF YOUR BAD DAYS Find out who's green and who's not! Use Care2's Green Thumbs-up! http://www.care2.com/go/z/4029 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 11:36:47 -0500 From: Dave Walker Subject: Re: [loud-fans] It begins (ns) > Machine Drum is really > good, too (both albums.) Checking back, I see Emusic has also added _Half the Battle_, which is a sorta EP/remix album that would probably be even more up Aaron's alley -- really, really digitally mulched MC's and damaged, degraded beats. -d.w. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 12:37:31 -0500 (EST) From: Aaron Mandel Subject: Re: [loud-fans] It begins (ns) On Fri, 28 Feb 2003, Dave Walker wrote: > Checking back, I see Emusic has also added _Half the Battle_, which is a > sorta EP/remix album that would probably be even more up Aaron's alley > -- really, really digitally mulched MC's and damaged, degraded beats. Indeed, I'm digging Machine Drum. This first album (Now You Know) still has some tracks I don't see the point of; pretty/wafty sounds in the background with a big dumb beat up front. "This sounds like Enigma," my officemate said. But the choppy freaky noises get more play than the cutesy sounds, so I am happy. Thanks! Akufen, I checked out a while ago with lukewarm results. It's interesting how the album builds over its length, but it wasn't until halfway through that there was nearly enough activity to engage me. Is it just me, or did the internals of eMusic start sucking sometime between three months ago, when my own technical problems pushed me away from it, and this week, when I came back? Ted Leo's _Hearts Of Oak_ appears if you search for the album by title, but if you search for the artist Ted Leo you get separate results for "Ted Leo" and "Ted Leo/Pharmacsists" but neither one includes the new album. Machine Drum appears twice on the list of Merck artists, with different results depending on which one you click. Things don't always even show up on the "list all new arrivals" tag, which is how I used to catch up. Feh! Which is why, though I griped about some of them, I definitely appreciate people here mentioning when they get into something via eMusic. Does it bother y'all non-subscribers? I guess we could get our own little list. ObEmusicRec: They just got The Bruces' _The War Of The Bruces_, which slowly and steadily grew on me to be a favorite from last year, and of course if you don't already own and love the classic early Fall they have (Early Years, Live At The Witch Trials, Dragnet) you should really give them a shot. [Though eMusic's collection of The Fall is far from complete, it reproduces the general problem with getting into the band... there are some great early records, some less univerally-loved but still vibrant later ones, some dreck, some inaudible live recordings, etc. eMusic also adds the excitement of typos to this experience.] a ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 12:57:37 -0500 (EST) From: dmw Subject: Re: [loud-fans] It begins (ns) On Fri, 28 Feb 2003, Aaron Mandel wrote: > Is it just me, or did the internals of eMusic start sucking sometime > between three months ago, when my own technical problems pushed me away > from it, and this week, when I came back? Ted Leo's _Hearts Of Oak_ > appears if you search for the album by title, but if you search for the did it used to be better? i figured it was quirky in the "you get what you pay for" mode. > people here mentioning when they get into something via eMusic. Does it > bother y'all non-subscribers? I guess we could get our own little list. i really hope not. i mean, i've relied on this list for music recommendations for years -- these days, when someone mentions something that sounds interesting, sure, i check e-music for it, but i still note it for future reference if instant gratification isn't forthcoming. mebbe we could just put an (e) after a recommendation that was available on emusic? w/ maybe a little key if something special is necessary to find it, e.g., "hearts of oak." - -- d. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 13:01:41 -0500 (EST) From: dmw Subject: [loud-fans] dang it On Fri, 28 Feb 2003, dmw wrote: i meant to put this in with my last e-mail. cool music, licensed, no subscription necessary. velocity girl fans take partiuclar note. http://www.excellentonline.com/flirt.php3 - -- d. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 13:50:08 -0500 (EST) From: Aaron Mandel Subject: Re: [loud-fans] It begins (ns) On Fri, 28 Feb 2003, dmw wrote: > did it used to be better? i figured it was quirky in the "you get what > you pay for" mode. No, it used to work fine -- at least, I never ran into that kind of problem before, and I've hit four or five of them in the past week. > mebbe we could just put an (e) after a recommendation that was available > on emusic? w/ maybe a little key if something special is necessary to > find it, e.g., "hearts of oak." Excellent ideas, and I'll probably just do that. My threshold for recommending something is lower when I know it's free for the people I'm talking to to check it out, though. (Especially for out-of-genre stuff on loudfans... skimming the poll ballots there's no real reason to think any of the regulars other than me would be interested in that Machine Drum record Dave suggested, but it's sure worth 30 seconds for anyone on eMusic to download, say, tracks 2, 7 and 12 and see if they're grabbed.) a ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 13:14:17 -0800 (PST) From: "G. Andrew Hamlin" Subject: Re: [loud-fans] Gerry >> Has anyone here seen GERRY yet? > > No, but now having read this description, I'll > be very, very disappointed if this doesn't > happen. Going to see GERRY in a few days. I have high hopes for it, but fine, most people find the idea of an Affleck and a Damon getting lost in the desert and wandering around having philosophical conversations until they (maybe) die of thirst, a lot more interesting in the abstract than in a theater. If Dana went to the Post Office, does that mean he digs the Postal Service? Andy This is probably the best album ever recorded. I have no idea why the mainstream never caught on. The musicianship is excellent and lisa's voice is silky and smooth. At times this album reminds me of masterpieces like Pink Floyd's "dark side of the moon" or New Kids on the Block's "hangin tough". Do your self a favor and track down this hard to find gem before they are extinct! - --review of DRUGS ARE NICE by Suckdog, written by "a music fan from arkansas," dated April 17, 2002, at amazon.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 21:27:11 GMT From: dana-boy@juno.com Subject: [loud-fans] heavenly or satanic?? (ns) Just found something at Holy Cow which someone *might* want, but there's a lot of qualification. I *think* this is the Sarah issue of Heavenly vs. Satan. Cover is green and gold and very pretty. No bonus tracks. On the bar code near the back it says TUECD9102/D520 UK:SARAH603CD. So granted, this has been reissued on K, but I thought that someone could possibly want the original, if in fact this is the original. I paid $12, which may or may not be an appropriate price. Anyone interested, or just wanting to inform me that this is actually the K-Tel reissue, feel free to write off list. - --dana ________________________________________________________________ Sign Up for Juno Platinum Internet Access Today Only $9.95 per month! Visit www.juno.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 23:16:44 GMT From: dana-boy@juno.com Subject: Re:[loud-fans] heavenly or satanic?? (ns) Someone's off-list post prompts me to add that this is a CD, not vinyl. - --dana ________________________________________________________________ Sign Up for Juno Platinum Internet Access Today Only $9.95 per month! Visit www.juno.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 22:59:06 -0500 (EST) From: Aaron Mandel Subject: Re: [loud-fans] dang it On Fri, 28 Feb 2003, dmw wrote: > cool music, licensed, no subscription necessary. velocity girl fans take > partiuclar note. > > http://www.excellentonline.com/flirt.php3 Yeah, the new V-Girl song is very nice, but the jackass doing stand-up comedy between songs is keeping me from wanting to listen to too much of the rest. I like free music both in principle and in practice, but without any committment to it, I'm more likely to not give it a fair shake. Hm. Speaking of which, I gave Joy Zipper another shot and it grew on me some; Dana's right that it's not really a song-based thing, just fun to soak in for a while. Then a friend pointed me to The Decemberists, a twee-country band I warmed to right away. "Sounds like Neutral Milk Hotel," the internet says. Sounds like a subdued Rufus Wainwright fronting early-90s REM, I say. eMusic subscribers can snarf the Decembrists album whole; others can hear three songs from it at hushrecords.com, which also has a downloadable Bjork tribute that's not bad. (It contains Ben Gibbard from Death cab For Cutie/Postal Service doing "Joga".) a ------------------------------ End of loud-fans-digest V3 #61 ******************************