Jeff Potts: Music

Wed, 06 Jul 2005 02:51:32 GMT

Son Volt's new album, Okemah and the Melody of Riot, comes out July 12. There's also a retrospective out if you need to get caught up on Son Volt's greatness.

Wed, 06 Jul 2005 02:49:26 GMT

Old Crow Medecine Show's Wagonwheel track continues to give me goosebumps. See prior post. When will these guys come out with another album?

Not-so-recent music acquisitions

Wed, 06 Jul 2005 02:47:17 GMT

I've really fallen down on the blog lately. I usually try to update my Music category with recent purchases but I've been too busy. So here are some a acquired a while back. At least I'll be able to comment on the "staying power" of each release.

Blood of the Ram, The Gourds. This could be my favorite Gourds album yet. Too many favorite tracks to mention. Still too difficult to categorize. Medium-high on the staying power meter.

Buttermilk & Rifles, Kev Russell's Junker. Russell is the front man for the Gourds. This is a side-project of his and includes folks from the Gourds as well as others. It's at least as obscure as any Gourds release and equally entertaining. Again, medium-high on repeat listens.

Kimi Ga Suki * Raifu, Matthew Sweet. Back in the 90's I was a hardcore Matthew Sweet fan. Then at some point (maybe Son of Altered Beast) I dropped him. When he reappeared on the Jayhawks' Rainy Day Music release I started wondering what he's been up to so I bought this album. It was originally only released to his Japanese fan club. It is outstanding. I'm so glad I got it. The guitarist from Girlfriend (one of the greatest pop albums ever) is back on this album but only a couple of tracks remind me strongly of Girlfriend. Medium staying power.

Welcome Interstate Managers, Fountains of Wayne. I got hooked on Fountains of Wayne back in the 90's when I saw them open for someone who's name I no longer recall. Like Matthew Sweet, Fountains of Wayne is pure pop but I can't get enough of them. With their intelligent (sometimes corny) lyrics I tend to lump them into the Weazer/Ben Folds bucket. I had to send Bright Future in Sales to all of the folks in Business Development at Navigator because I thought they might find it motivational. High repeat plays. I went for a week straight listening to nothing but this album.

The Dirty South, Drive-By Truckers. This is my most favorite recent addition. My friend, Dave, had been recommending these guys to me for a while and I just never got around to pulling the trigger. I'd call it a hard-driving "southern rock" album. If I had a pick-up truck I'd throw a keg in the back and drive to the nearest lake with this album playing full blast. If that doesn't sound appealing you might want to skip this one. Off-the-chart on repeat listens. Co-workers are getting a bit tired of this as I "always" have it in the changer. "Oh yeah, these are the Lynyrd Skynyrd guys..."

Broke Down, Slaid Cleaves. This is a follow-up purchase to Wish Bones. As I mentioned this is another Dave recommendation confirmed by hearing Meredith Miller's cover. I like the album--I'm just not crazy about it. I just can't get into Slaid for some reason. Out of this batch, this is definitely the one with the least number of re-plays.

Fri, 21 Jan 2005 03:10:08 GMT

Drag It Up, Old 97's. Solid Old 97's. I thought they had broken up and that I'd never see another album so I was happy to get this one. My favorite line on the whole album is from Bloomington, which is, "The existence of God was confirmed / by the way she unfolded herself alongside / and I tried to harden up my heart / but she wouldn't let me."

OCMS, Old Crow Medecine Show. The surprise hit of this particular Amazon order. I had heard Wagonwheel on Prairie Home Companion and thought it was great so I ordered the album. It was better than expected. It's essentially bluegrass but just calling it bluegrass doesn't do it justice. Many (most?) of the songs on the album are traditional songs that they've re-arranged and even added their own lyrics to. Wagonwheel, a Bob Dylan tune they've augmented, gives me goosebumps every time I hear it. I recently went to Amazon with the intention of buying everything else they've ever done but couldn't find anything other than OCMS.

Revolution Starts Now, Steve Earle. If it is possible, this album is even more political than Jerusalem. Home To Houston is a cool song about a contractor driving trucks in Iraq. Rich Man's War is about how countries tend to send their poor to fight. Warrior is a poem (about war) spoken over crunchy guitar riffs. Condi, Condi is a calypso love song to a certain cabinet member. And F The CC is aimed at not only the FCC but the CIA and FBI. So it's not hard to tell what's been on Steve's mind of late. I like the album but I don't think it's my favorite Steve Earle.

Wish Bones, Slaid Cleaves. My buddy, Dave, to whom I can never offer a music recommendation for which he isn't already on top of has been trying to get me to listen to Slaid and go to his shows for a long time. So I broke down and threw it in the cart. I'm glad I did. He's got a good voice and is a good storyteller. Instrumentally, there's nothing unique or noteworthy (that I've picked up on) but I still like it. His best known single, Broke Down, is from a previous album. I've actually never heard him sing it but Meredith Louise Miller covered it at a private benefit concert a few weeks ago and I really liked it. It made me want to get Slaid's version.

Por Vida: A Tribute to the Songs of Alejandro Escovedo, Various Artists. I like my Alejandro CD's but they aren't albums I can just leave in the player and listen to all of the time. There's no doubt he's a great writer but the music itself doesn't grip me for some reason. This tribute album was put together to help him with medical costs as he undergoes treatment of Hepatitis C. I figured if I liked his writing maybe it'd be cool to have a bunch of covers by some of my favorite artists. And the line up is stellar. Some of my favorites are on here: Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, Jayhawks, and Son Volt--they got back together to cut this track and then decided to do another album. This was a good way to hear other artists, get exposure to older Alejandro material I've never heard, and help a good cause.

New Roman Times, Camper Van Beethoven. Prior to this album, the only thing I really knew about Camper Van was their big hit Matchstick Men from the 80's/90's and that members of the band started Cracker. When I saw they came out with their first album in twenty years I decided to give it a shot. At first I was a little worried. The opening sounds like one of those big 20 piece rock bands like Yes or something. Then, I checked out the liner notes and noticed that the album tells a story--the notes help you figure out what's supposed to be happening with each song in case you can't figure it out for yourself. Being a new Camper Van listener I have nothing to compare it to. Other than the instrumentals, which I'm just not a fan of in general, I like the album. The story gives it an interesting twist that makes you want to listen to and appreciate the album as a unit rather than pick apart each song which is a tendency I worry about in the age of 50 cent/track song downloads.

Tue, 28 Sep 2004 12:49:58 GMT

The October issue of Wired has an oustanding article called, "The Long Tail" by Chris Anderson (it isn't available online yet). It is about the economics of "misses" rather than "hits". It talks about how much money there is to be made in niche markets and cites Amazon and Netflix is prime examples. "The average Blockbuster carries fewer than 3,000 DVDs. Yet a fifth of Netflix rentals are outside its top 3,000 titles." Rhapsody, an online subscription music service is also given as an example. Every title in Rhapsody's top 100,000, 200,000, 300,000, and 400,000 gets downloaded at least once a month. The article argues that because these retailers are not constrained by physical space, they can offer unlimited selection. This means their offering can be tailored to the likes and dislikes of every consumer and we get to explore our true tastes rather than having them fed to us by marketing machines.

People are going deep into the catalog, down the long, long list of available titles, far past what's available at Blockbuster Video, Tower Records, and Barnes & Noble. And the more they find, the more they like. As they wander further from the beaten path, they discover their taste is not as mainstream as they thought (or as they had been led to believe by marketing, a lack of alternatives, and a hit-driven culture)...For too long we've been suffering the tyranny of lowest-common-denominator fare, subjected to brain-dead summer blockbusters and manufactured pop.

As online collections become more vast, and delivery becomes less of a problem, I'm reminded of a Stephen Wright joke which goes something like, "I have a large sea shell collection which I keep scattered on the beaches all over the world." At some point, my CD collection is really composed of slices of the World's CD collection. I'll pay to access it as much as I want. My iRiver becomes an edge-of-network server, cacheing what I listen to most frequently for easy access.

Mon, 27 Sep 2004 04:08:54 GMT

I haven't had a chance to update the blog recently--I've been too busy with my latest diversion: ripping my CD collection. I'm trying to get it copied to my newly-purchased iRiver H140. I'd been putting off getting an MP3 player for a long time. (I actually bought an Iomega HipZip a few years ago but I took it back because it lacked the capacity I needed). But, when my colleage showed up with a Gateway MP3 jukebox, it really got my gears turning. So, I did some research. I originally thought I'd get an iPod but after looking around, the iRiver seemed like a better deal. Upgradeable firmware, replaceable battery, an FM tuner, and better sound quality were all reasons I chose to go with the iRiver.

One of the reasons I'd been putting off the purchase was that nothing had the capacity to hold my entire collection. I figured, if I had to do a bunch of swapping due to limited space, there wasn't much point--I already do that with CDs. At 40GB that won't be a problem (at least for a while). I'm nearly done copying more than 400 albums to the device and it is not quite at 50%.

This weekend I added an audio input to my car. I wanted decent quality--no FM broadcaster or cassette interface for me. So I went for an interface from Blitzsafe which I purchased from Autotoys.com. I had Ultimate Electronics do the installation. Now, I can take my entire collection on the road. The Blitzsafe interface plugs in to my CD changer input. I can hit the CD button once for my MP3 player and again for my in-dash CD player. It works great. No more agonizing over the 10 or 20 CDs to take on the next road trip.

For the home system I'm set up as well. The iRiver has an optical out on it. I'm out of optical inputs on my receiver so I had to buy an optical-to-digital-coax converter. Other than that, no problem. So, my 300 CD changer has become obsolete and I couldn't be happier.

I've only had one minor problem with the iRiver which is that when I play it on my home system it periodically cuts out. It doesn't seem to be a problem with the file--I can back up and play the same spot without problems. Maybe it is a problem with the optical out or my converter. I'll have to do some research. Other than that, I highly recommend it.

Tue, 24 Aug 2004 02:32:45 GMT

Stadium Blitzer, The Gourds. Not my favorite Gourds album, but then again, I probably haven't given it a fair shake yet.

Shinebox, The Gourds. Excellent bluegrass cover of Snoop Dogg's Gin & Juice. Shockingly enough to my friends at work, I had never actually heard the original. I've since corrected that.

Near Truths & Hotel Rooms Live, Todd Snider. If you've never seen a Todd Snider show you should. He's an extremely talented songwriter and pretty hilarious in-person. The CD captures a bit of what that's like--great songs and funny--sometimes lengthy--stories in-between. A bunch of us recently got together to go see him at Club Dada but that night there was a huge storm. Todd was trapped in Houston. We made the best of it, though. The road manager sold me a copy of his new one, East Nashville Skyline, and we convinced the sound guy to throw it in. I had already listened to my pal Jim's copy so I already knew the words to greats like The Ballad of the Kingsmen and Iron Mike's Main Man's Last Request. I, along with a good chunk of his loyal Dallas following, had planned on singing along with Todd but the weather and the Wright Amendment put an end to that.

White Blood Cells, The White Stripes. I think I like Elephant better, but it is hard to go wrong with the White Stripes. It's a nice change from my usual alt-country fare.

Recent music acquisitions

Sat, 03 Jul 2004 03:34:05 GMT

Stone, Steel, & Bright Lights, Jay Farrar. A great live album featuring mainly stuff from Terroir Blues and Sebastopol plus two covers. It also comes with a DVD called Live at Slim's that contains 11 live songs (including both covers).

A Ghost is Born, Wilco. I love it. What can I say that hasn't been said by countless music critics. One of my favorite aspects of it is the harsher guitar solos spread throughout the album.

Upside Downside, Scott Miller and the Commonwealth. Scott Miller is the former frontman from the V-Roys. The V-Roys are great so I knew I'd like it. I also bought Thus Always to Tyrants. I haven't yet listened to the latter but I like Upside Downside. Patty Griffin sings backup on a couple of tracks.

Blue Sky, Bottle Rockets. I liked it from the first track, Lucky Break. It's about a guy who's thankful he's suffered an on-the-job injury because he gets to collect workers' comp. There are a couple of tracks sung by Robert Kearns. Good songs but I prefer Brian Henneman's distinctive vocals. Robert was not on the album 24 Hours a Day. I'm not sure when he was added to the lineup.

Next in the To Be Listened To stack are two 1998 releases from The Gourds, the new live album from Todd Snider, and the White Stripes' White Blood Cells.

Mon, 14 Jun 2004 13:25:02 GMT

Book review on Tweedy biography. Offers good insight on Wilco.

Wed, 07 Apr 2004 03:50:57 GMT

ThirdShiftGrottoSlack, Jay Farrar. This is an EP from Solt Volt frontman and Uncle Tupelo founder, Jay Farrar. The five tracks didn't make it on Sebastopol. I love it. My only complaint: it's too short.

The Slaughter Rule soundtrack, Various Artists. I never saw the flick, but I shall add it to my Netflix queue directly. Any filmmaker that asks Jay Farrar to write the score for a soundtrack must have created something worth watching. Jay wrote the whole thing but only sings on one track. The rest are from alt country acts like Freakwater, Ryan Adams, Jimmie Dale Gilmore & The Flatlanders, and Vic Chesnutt. One Uncle Tupelo track, Blue Eyes, is also on the soundtrack. It's a very mellow album.

Terroir Blues, Jay Farrar. The Farrar love fest continues. This is Jay's latest release. If you liked Sebastopol you'll like this one. I've heard complaints from others about the numerous "space junk" tracks but I think they're cool.

24 Hours a Day, The Bottle Rockets. From the opening measures, I knew I was going to like this album. I also knew I'd have to add their whole catalog to my wish list. I also instantly began to compare them to the V-Roys. I'd say the Bottle Rockets are more rock and less bluegrass than the V-Roys. Cool guitar riffs and great lyrics make this one an instant favorite.

It's Just the Night, The Del McCoury Band. I know next to nothing about bluegrass but I'm never disappointed by a Del McCoury album and this one is no different. A solid choice.

By the Way, Red Hot Chili Peppers. Hard to believe but I think I like it better than Californication. It's very diverse--from the popular hits like Dosed and The Zephyr Song, to the quirky but very cool Cabron, I don't get tired of this one.

No Depression: What it Sounds LIke, Vol 1, Various Artists. This is a compilation by alt country journal No Depression. My favorite tracks are by Alejandro Escovedo (Five Hearts Breaking), Buddy Miller (Does My Ring Burn Your Finger), Kevin Gordon with Lucinda Williams (Down to the Well), and Hayseed with Emmylou Harris (Farther Along). As a sidenote, I bought this one with my record company price gouging class action lawsuit settlement check. It seemed like the appropriate album to spend that money on.

Mon, 23 Feb 2004 04:13:28 GMT

Finished Hardcore Troubadour: The Life and Near Death of Steve Earle, by Lauren St. John, a couple of weekends ago. Man, I knew the guy had had some hard times (just listen to his lyrics) but this gives new meaning to "rock bottom". The incredible part of the story to me is that he actually lived through it and is now making some of his best art, ever. We came amazingly close to never knowing more than a couple of album's worth of Steve Earle. St. John kept me involved in the story, but at times, the littany of producers, managers, label execs, and legendary artists were a little much for an industry-outsider.

Recent music purchases

Mon, 23 Feb 2004 04:03:36 GMT

Countrysides, Cracker. According to the liner notes, Cracker spent several months touring as a country band called Ironic Mullet. This CD is a result of that experiment. Every Cracker CD has a couple of tunes with a little country flavor. With this one, every song on the CD (with one exception) is a cover of a classic country tune. They are all awesome. I love this CD. For Cracker fans, this is a sure winner, but even alt-country fans who haven't given Cracker a shot in the past should give it a chance.

Just An American Boy, Steve Earle. This is a live, two-CD album. It covers live material from 2002(?) and 2003. It sounds like he must have made a bluegrass tour at some point that I missed. I think the rest of the material is from the same tour as the show I caught in Dallas. The CD suffers from poor sound quality in places but that doesn't diminish my enjoyment of it in the least. The album's got a ton of great tracks as well as a fair amount of the chattering that Steve does in-between songs. There's a pretty funny part where some guy yells out, "Copperhead Road!" and Steve Says, "Dude, do you really think I'm not going to play that? I'll bet you ten bucks you won't be awake when I do." Two thumbs up.

March 16-20 1992, Uncle Tupelo. This is Uncle Tupelo's all-acoustic third album. I haven't got tired of listening to it yet. Several of the tracks are on 89/93: An Anthology but I'd heard so much about the album I had to get it. It did not disappoint.

A.M., Wilco. Other than Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, this may be my favorite Wilco album. "Casino Queen" rocks. "Passenger Side" is awesome as well. Actually, I can't think of one that isn't good. I've listened to this one repeatedly for days on end.

Bourbonitis Blues, Alejandro Escovedo. I liked A Man Under the Influence but it isn't one that I play all of the time. So, when I saw Bourbonitis, I decided to give Alejandro another try. I liked this one much better. It's not as mellow and much more bluesy.

Nocturama, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. I bought this one song unheard. Or at least song unremembered. I think I may have heard a track or two on Spinner or maybe I saw something in No Depression. In any case, I think this one is an acquired taste and I haven't acquired it yet.

Elephant, White Stripes. Although tempted, it's probably a good idea not to listen to alt.country 100% of the time. The White Stripes offer an aural sorbet of sorts. "Ball and Biscuit" is probably my favorite.

Mother's Milk, Red Hot Chili Peppers. For some reason, I didn't get in to the Red Hot Chili Peppers until Californication. When I got that album, I realized I was a latent Chili Peppers fan. Ever since then, I've added a Chili Peppers CD every now-and-then.

Baby I'm Bored, Evan Dando. Evan Dando was the lead singer of the Lemonheads. I was a huge fan of the Lemonheads before they broke up so I decided to give Evan's solo CD a try. If you're an old fan, you'll like it, but it's not a must-have. A lot of the tracks sound the same. Maybe I was expecting too much.

Tue, 04 Nov 2003 03:30:00 GMT

My advice is to stay away from the low-end RF options. The sound quality is very bad and the reception is spotty. I like the WiFi idea and have been interested in doing this for some time but haven't pulled the trigger yet.

Digital Networks: PC to Stereo. A new class of device that transmits music, photo and video files from the computer to home entertainment systems may play an important role as digital music and home networks really take off. [Wired News]

Sat, 06 Sep 2003 02:40:02 GMT

Upcoming shows in Dallas worth checking out:

Lucinda Williams. Sept 18 at Gypsy Team Room's ballroom. Doors open at 7:30. $23 in advance or $25 day of the show.

Ian Moore. Sept 19 at Poor David's Pub. $16.

Robert Earl Keen. Sept 20 at 10:30 at Southern Junction in Rockwall. $16.50 - $49.50.

Old 97's. Sept 21st at 8 at Sons of Hermann Hall. $20 through Star Tickets.

Slaid Cleaves. Oct 24 at 9 at Poor David's Pub. $12.

Sun, 08 Jun 2003 02:49:27 GMT

College Radio Will Stream On. A deal between the recording industry and noncommercial webcasters will keep more college stations online, but DJs are still limited in terms of how they can arrange their playlists. By Katie Dean. [Wired News]

Tue, 27 May 2003 04:24:58 GMT

Here are some initial impressions on my recent acquisitions. This is the first time I used Amazon's Marketplace Sellers (for all but the Gourds)--it worked out great.

Family, The Del McCoury Band. I knew I wanted another Del McCoury CD because I had enjoyed his stuff so much on Steve Earle's The Mountain and McCoury's Del and the Boys. So, I was looking forward to this arrival and it did not disappoint. I haven't listened to it enough to know which I like more, but I've heard enough to know it will be close. The music is straight bluegrass and it is very, very good. I'm going to have to add the rest of Del's catalog to my wish list.

Cow Fish Fowl or Pig, The Gourds. This one is the biggest surprise of the group. I've heard a couple of Gourds tracks on Spinner and one of my co-workers is a big Gourds fan, but, honestly, I had no idea what to expect. From the first few notes of the opening track, My Name is Jorge, I knew I was in for a treat. I was instantly hooked. The music is a full and rich mix that's a little hard to describe. I'd say start with an alternacountry base and then mix in some Phish and then sprinkle in a hint of Buckwheat Zydeco and you'd have a good start. Accordian, mandolin, fiddle, upright bass, and a variety of other interesting instruments mix with quirky/intriguing lyrics to give you a CD you won't want to take out of the changer.

89/93: An Anthology, Uncle Tupelo. I haven't given this one the listen it deserves. It's got my favorite tracks from Anodyne, a couple of previously unreleased tracks and a live version of We've Been Had. The album's an easy way to pick up tracks from the UT albums no longer in print, but I think I'll still wind up getting those used so I can enjoy each album in its entirety. The liner notes have a cool history of the band. Listening to the album reminds me how much I like Farrar and Tweedy.

Dog Days, Blue Mountain. A bit of an impulse buy. Amazon had recommended it a few years ago based on prior purchases but I skipped it at the time. I like it. It's a mix of songs that vary between alternative country and those that are very bluesy. Some of the songs sort of remind me a bit of Whiskeytown.

Young Criminals' Starvation League, Bobby Bare, Jr. Another pleasant surprise. I like the vocals--Bobby's raspy voice is reminiscent of Paul Westerberg. On first listen, the album struck me as new and different--not your straight alternative country, although there are tracks with plenty of harmonica and steel guitar. For example, a couple of the tracks feature a horn section. Overall, another solid pick.

World Without Tears, Lucinda Williams. Car Wheels on a Gravel Road was and still is my favorite Lucinda Williams album. That's because most of my CD listening is in my car and that's just a quintessential road album. When Essence came out, it struck me as extremely mellow--much too mellow for driving--but still a good album. This one feels like it is somewhere in the middle. It's got a good mix of slow, quiet songs and out-and-out rockers. Moreso on this album than others of hers I own, this one conveys a serious amount of pain and anger expressed plainly/bluntly through her lyrics. Lucinda has never been one to mince words, but this one feels particularly raw. It works.

Thu, 22 May 2003 04:14:17 GMT

I'm trying something new with Amazon. Usually, I order brand new CDs. Amazon always tells me there are X used copies available for Y amount but I've always ignored it. I'm a creature of habit and I thought it might be painful. With my most recent order, though, I decided to give it a shot. So, I searched for the CDs I wanted then clicked the Used link. Amazon lists the folks selling that CD. Apparently there are a bunch of small record stores, individuals, or whatever, that pump their inventory into Amazon's database.

I bought one new CD from Amazon and four from three different marketplace vendors. If memory serves, three of the four "used" CDs are actually brand new. On average, I paid about half of what Amazon was quoting plus two or three bucks in shipping for each CD. It was pretty simple--you just add the used CD to your shopping cart and check out as normal. Amazon transfers funds from your credit card to the merchant.

The only hiccup I had was my Del McCoury selection was sold out. "Yodelin' Pig" credited my Amazon account for the price of the CD and then Amazon notified me that it was sold out. So I then had to order it again. I stuck with the used option.

So far, so good. Two CDs (Lucinda Williams - World Without Tears, Blue Mountain - Dog Days) arrived today from the Marketplace vendor in pristine condition. And both CDs are excellent, BTW.

If the rest come in without any problems, it'll be no more brick-and-mortar used CD stores for me. Except for maybe Cactus in Houston, I don't know of a single CD store that offers that kind of selection.

Thu, 08 May 2003 12:38:22 GMT

Often I am asked, "Jeff, what exactly is alt.country?" My pal Jim always cringes at such questions. The way he primarily categorizes music is "Good music" and "Bad music". But, for those who are interested in the genre (or at least get in the neighborhood), you should check out http://www.nodepression.net. No Depression is a magazine that follows alt.country. For a taste of the artists they typically feature and a glimpse at the articles from past issues, check out http://www.nodepression.net/archive.

Here's another page with a pretty good description, some links, and a short list of artists.

Fri, 02 May 2003 02:59:29 GMT

Artists Fight Radio Deregulation. Thirty major recording artists sign a letter to be sent to the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission that warns against further deregulation of the radio industry. They say it will 'impede the functioning of our democracy.' [Wired News]

Thu, 01 May 2003 03:56:04 GMT

Went to see Ben Harper at the Granada last night. Obviously much more intimate than his last show at the Bronco Bowl. The Granada holds about 1500 I think. The opening seemed a little soft--he started with a couple of his quieter songs and I don't think the vocal levels were adjusted quite right early in the show. My favorites of the evening were a really cool version of Excuse Me Mister and The Woman in You but all of the new stuff sounded great. It was hotter than hell in there though. I had to bail halfway through the second encore for water and a breather. Watched the third and final encore from the ramp.

Mon, 28 Apr 2003 03:16:45 GMT

Internet Radio Makes Bigger Waves. Access to niche genres and hometown stations from far away proves appealing: More than 100 million listeners have tried Web radio, with the number of regular monthly users tripling in the last three years, according to March ratings. [Wired News]

Thu, 24 Apr 2003 03:30:59 GMT

Nik Kershaw.

Just heard a cool song by this guy, but didn't catch the title. He's got a really cool website. [Tom's Blog]

Isn't Nik Kershaw that same guy from the 80's who had the single, Wouldn't It Be Good? I think I had that on one of my mix tapes.

Fri, 18 Apr 2003 20:36:33 GMT

Stream media files from your PC to your home entertainment system with a Prismiq.

Sun, 13 Apr 2003 04:12:48 GMT

Finally got a chance to watch I Am Trying to Break Your Heart this evening. Very good. Obviously, the music is great but I also liked the interviews with the writer from Rolling Stone. Closing quote: "[The record lable] hated the album so much they paid for it twice." The bonus DVD has some good live performances.

Wed, 09 Apr 2003 05:02:32 GMT

Last bit of news from the music front is that there's a new Jayhawks album out. It's called Rainy Day Music. I was in a restaurant or bar and heard a Jayhawks song I had never heard before. When I checked Amazon they were taking pre-orders. The last time I checked, I had told Amazon how I feel about the Jayhawks so I'm a little pissed that their recommendation engine didn't let me know about the release.