The word from Why, That’s Delightful!: The RIAA finally goes crazy: “In legal documents in its federal case against Jeffrey Howell, a Scottsdale, Ariz., man who kept a collection of about 2,000 music recordings on his personal computer, the industry maintains that it is illegal for someone who has legally purchased a CD to transfer that music into his computer.”
Tipoff vs. Full Story
With a gift card for iTunes I received for Christmas, I invested in the latest album by Franklin, Tn., rock outfit Paramore, called Riot!. Led by 19 year-old Hayley Williams, this band has received (unfair) comparisons to acts ranging from Avril Lavigne to labelmates Fall Out Boy. Personally, though, I think that the band is pretty fresh, its members pretty talented, and worth a look.
They first came to my attention a few summers ago as a part of a sampler collection available by Fueled By Ramen Records (along with The Hush Sound, Panic! At The Disco, Forgive Durden and the like).
Misery Business, acoustic
Lately, thanks to Last.fm Radio, I’ve been catching more and more of their music by listening to similar artists, so I investigated them a bit on the Intertubes. For example, if you visit their profile on Purevolume, you can listen to a sampler containing roughly a full minute from each song on the album.
Crushcrushcrush (latest single)
The real decision maker came when I found that Riot! is included in iTunes big Boxing Day sale, marked down a couple of dollars for (one presumes) a limited time. My advice? Have a look at a cool young rock band.
Blogger, n. ( blaw’ - grrr )
rel. blog, blogging, blogosphere, blogtastic, blogawful, Cory Doctorow.
1. Owner/publisher of a weblog (’blog’) whereby:
2. Individuals that want to perpetuate the same standards and elitism of traditional media (optional).
Thanks to Rachel for the illumination. I don’t know what it is the rest of us think we’re doing… but to be fair, if I personally were all that interested in joining the ‘winning team,’ I’d have subscribed to Catholicism and the Republicans years ago.
Originally: “The creator of xkcd plans fight scenes. An old classmate imagined everyone (EVERYONE) naked. I sometimes give people backstories. What do you do? (Reblog this or comment.)” — Nick Douglas
“I don’t do anything like that, but I always make sure to scan the faces (quickly, but very deliberately) of everyone in each new environment I enter. I usually look for any distinguishing / interesting features, but usually just get a confirmation of how boring most people look.” — Slava, via Tumblr
I was incredibly stumped by this, until I realized that I couldn’t come up with an answer because I don’t allow for much silence. I see the boredom as a challenge, not only to amuse or sustain myself, but also those around me; on a train, I’ll strike up a conversation with my seatmate, perhaps by guessing what’s on their iPod.
I think typically in a line I’ll start to talk softly to myself, making a sort of commentary on the people holding up the rest of us, like an imagined conversation between the teller and the patron, for example. “No, not today, I don’t think I am interested in opening a- I’m sorry, how many percent? For real? Tell me some more about that…”
I don’t attempt really to broadcast it, but it’s a way to have a laugh with some of the others suffering of the same monotony as myself. I seek out connections.
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Don’t ask me what brought me to poke around my blog’s Dashboard today; I suppose it has a lot to do with boredom, but I was checking things out here and there, and came across two things that… well, made me feel something that’s like a cross between amusement and delight. I can’t think of the word, if there even is one… so… I’m going to call it yimmy.
I felt pretty yimmy today upon learning that:
A quick google search on the term led me to find a handful of other blogs and forums on which the term was used. And I think this amused (yimmied) me as much as it did cos it’s definitely not something I ever thought would be… anything. I mean, it’s not like I thought I invented the term (although it appears I’m the only one using it lately), but I had no idea there could be so many variations on a theme already on the Intertubes.
Definitively, the term bobbyisms would seem to have a few different applications, denoting amusing miscommunications and errors in speech, fondly remembering loved ones who had a handful of particular catchphrases, and here, where I use it to share paricularly random bits of conversations I have, made more random and/or awkward by removing them from all context.
Anyway, I suppose you learn something every day. Tomorrow I’m going to do some reading to see if I can finally find where the clitoris is.
It’s that time of year again. Many of you may recall that last year for Christmas, I uploaded an album for my family and friends to download and share as they pleased. Of course, I hadn’t much dabbled in sharing music online by that point, particularly through my blog, and kept it a much more secretive, low key thing, but it was something I really enjoyed doing, providing some great music for the holidays.
Well, this year I found my thoughts turning to the same idea, only I was getting really stuck for what to share. So many great albums have come out over the year, even just recently, and narrowing it down proved much too difficult a task… until about a week ago, when I was sifting through the various Christmas-themed music in my collection.
I remember, not too long ago, that Purevolume used to have an ‘Exclusives’ section, as accessible as anything on their site, from which one could discover and download various sampler albums for different record labels. Listeners could visit the page, choose between different genres, and check out all manner of bands, from obscure indie favourites to relatively more popular radio acts.
I don’t know why they’ve stopped this practise over the course of the year, it was a great way to discover great music; at last count, I must have downloaded some seven or eight such collections.
One of which is the reason I’m writing this morning: Purevolume’s 2006 Holiday Sampler. The folks at Purevolume gathered together 11 fantastic tracks from indie artists across the board, and arranged them all so as to create their own Christmas release. And it’s truly wonderful; this album features all very talented bands, showcasing many original tunes and new takes on a few old favourites.
Please go ahead now and collect the record; whether you’re supplementing your playlists with a few new songs, or interested in the whole thing and a fresh listening experience today, you’ll definitely find something you like among the songs below.
Preview the full song using the music players, and then choose your download. You can save each track individually, or if perhaps you’re interested in the whole album, I’ve compressed it and uploaded it, so I’d love you to save my bandwidth just a bit and [download it here].
New London Fire - Our Christmas In The Dark
Jamie Randolph - White Christmas
As Tall As Lions - O Holy Night
The Honorary Title - Reason To Celebrate
Liam And Me - Winter Paradise (I Miss You This Christmas)
The Static Age - The Closing Of The Year
The Walkmen - The Christmas Song
Tokyo Rose - This Is Christmas
Also, if you have the time, please visit the bands’ Purevolume profiles. Check out their latest efforts, download some cool tracks, and most importantly, if you like what you hear, make a purchase or two. Many of these acts have EPs that would be perfect for spending those iTunes gift dollars on.
Above all else, I hope that anyone reading this is having a great Christmas; here’s hoping that you’re surrounded by family or friends. That’s truly what the holiday is about to me - spending time with loved ones to celebrate the concepts of peace and good will, and looking forward to a new year together, in the hopes that maybe within it we can make the world a little bit better than it was.
Merry Christmas, all. I’m going to go watch that channel with the fireplace and the log, see if I can find out if it’s real or not this year…
Bat For Lashes - What’s A Girl To Do?
Escort - All Through The Night
Justice - D.A.N.C.E.
Nicole Atkins - The Way It Is, Live on Letterman, Oct. 30th, 2007.
I can’t say that I’ve ever seen David Letterman gush over a guest like this before. Nicole Atkins stopped by to perform the latest single off of her album Neptune City. Backed in style by a string section and lounge ensemble, she shows us just what happened to those swelling James Bond tunes of days gone by. Kinda like when emo meets jazz…
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