mrneoluddite/music

tons of links to videos, so click through to maximize your pleasure.


From the page: "
Thank You For Being a Friend / TV Theme Songs Are Back Again
By Mike McKiernan
Thu, November 20, 2008, 12:01 am PST

Deadwood opening credits title card
"Deadwood" opening credits
Earlier this year, we looked back at some of the best theme songs from our favorite TV shows of the '70s and '80s. Well, there's a lot more story to tell, so it's time to take another trip down memory lane, starting with the '80s:

Those cheerful Bosom Buddies rarely had the blues on Hill Street, since P.I.s Magnum, Remington Steel, Simon & Simon, and Mr. and Mrs. Hart were all Moonlighting to keep the streets safe. And as long as he had a stick of bubble gum and some dental floss, MacGyver could bail us out of any trouble. The Golden Girls in their Dynasty estate might have gotten rough with each other, but that Cosby family celebrated their Wonder Years by dancing every season.

In the '90s, The Simpsons lived far away from their rich Friends in Beverly Hills, 90210 who only cared about Sex and the City. Buffy might have Charmed them, though, with her good looks and feisty attitude while she was slaughtering monsters like Mulder and Scully. Speaking of monsters, mess with The Sopranos and you'd be lucky to end up in the ER, and not wind up a Murder One victim and having the NYPD Blue discover your body.

Nowadays, however, the C.S.I.s in Las Vegas, New York, or Miami would find your killer, so no worries there (unless he attempts a Prison Break). Plus, young Clark Kent is still in Smallville and almost ready to drop his Alias and become known as the last Survivor of his planet Krypton. But, if you cross paths with Dexter or an outlaw in the lawless town of Deadwood (which is no safe place for a Family Guy or even a tiny Firefly), you might find yourself Six Feet Under, unless Dr. Grey stitches you up first. Worst case scenario, Jennifer Love Hewitt, aka The Ghost Whisperer, will keep you company in the afterlife, which doesn't sound too bad to me -- after all, it is her Tru Calling."

From the page: "Dude, I Rock!!!
By Mike McKiernan
Fri, October 24, 2008

According to Guitar Hero, I rock! And that's just the ego boost I need to continue rockin' my list of bitchin' tunes and shreddin' on my plastic guitar with the brightly-colored buttons. It may sound silly, but these rhythm games are a huge phenomenon. Guitar Hero and Rock Band have sold more than 30 million units combined, with over one billion dollars in revenue. That's a lot of wannabe rockers!

Among the pro rockers, though, there are mixed feelings about these games. Some rock legends -- Slash, Ozzy Osbourne, and Ted Nugent -- have embraced them and been featured, and superbands Aerosmith, AC/DC, and Metallica will all soon have titles dedicated to their music. Other musicians, however, have put this new phenomenon down, saying it's a waste of kids' time, and will only give them skills that lead nowhere. Nick Wheeler of the All American Rejects told Entertainment Weekly, "It's kind of a shame. When I was growing up, kids wanted to be in a band. Now everyone wants to play Rock Band." Well, that may be true, Nick, but how many of those kids in your day actually joined a band? And the idea that anyone who plays these games will never pick up a real guitar is a false one. In fact, guitar sales have seriously increased because of the games' popularity. Will some of those who attempt to play a real guitar be disappointed because it's not as easy as the video game? Sure, but if just one of them sticks with it and learns to play guitar because of a video game, how can you possibly put it down?

Look; in my book, it's simple: Would we rather have kids sitting on their butts playing a street hoodlum in a mindless shoot-em-up video game, or rockin' out as they play a rock star and are introduced to killer music? 'Nuff said!"

Indulge your inner DJ.

From the page: "The Recording Studio in Your Laptop
By Chris Lindsey
Mon, October 20, 2008

In the beginning, recording studios were overwhelmingly complex institutions; multiple rooms of instruments, wires, tapes, mixers, and knobs. Only a few years ago, it was exciting to imagine producing entire albums on a personal computer. But now, even though the PC is still at the center of modern techno-life, it's beginning to seem a little washed-up.

What's next, then? As with music sharing, storage, and promotion, the answer is putting the whole thing online.

When I discovered that I could use sites like Jumpcut and Zoho to create, edit, save, and store documents, spreadsheets, and videos entirely within my favorite browser, I had a vision of a braver, newer world in which I wasn't weighted down by my dusty, clunky, and always-obsolete laptop -- all my applications and files would be stored remotely; accessible via a simple web portal. In my vision, I saw myself talking to a monitor on the wall, saying (in my best Jean-Luc Picard voice) things like, "Computer, create a playlist of every MP3 I've ever downloaded and stored on a myriad of different data storage devices," or "Computer, show me my home recording studio workstation interface, even though I'm at my friend's house."

When I awoke from my vision, I considered the Virtual Rhythmicon: an online version of Léon Theremin's strange and ungainly 1931 electronic instrument. Nick Didkovsky was able to use the Java Synthesis (JSyn) API to reduce the wood and iron of Theramin's Rhythmicon to a Java app, playable through any browser. In another window, I can pump up the Rhythmicon with some beats, bass, and slick effects through Hobnox's Audiotool, and voila!, I've given birth to a slick experimental electronic dance track that's pretty cool -- and pretty free.

You can find these and other gems from the past and present in Online Instruments and Audio Recording Tools -- another category in the Yahoo! Directory made just for you."

for all you storage junkies

From the page: "A Movable Music Collection
By Chris Lindsey
Wed, August 27, 2008

Over the last few years, I've reduced my net weight by a trunkload by moving my CD collection onto my computer. But this creates a new problem: What if I want to bring a CD to a friend's house, or to work? The solution lies in a relatively new Internet business model: the online music storage locker. These browser-based businesses allow music lovers to upload and/or access their entire collections from any Internet access point on Earth.

Online music storage lockers come in a few varieties. Some, like Streampad, Simplify Media, and Orb Networks, let you remotely access the music stored on your home computer. These services create a private or sharable network between your home computer, your hand-held device, and/or any other computer with an Internet connection. It's almost like running a tube from your home computer to another computer (hmmm... maybe Senator Ted Stevens was right, after all). Dot.Tunes and nuTSie work in a similar manner, allowing you to access and share your iTunes collection from anywhere.

Others within this milieu -- like Anywhere.fm, MP3tunes, and MediaMaster -- allow you to upload all of your MP3s and ripped CDs to their servers (for a reasonable fee) so that you can stream or download your audio files on any Internet-enabled device. MeTracks provides this service for free, but storage space is limited to one gigabyte. And once you have your music uploaded to your favorite storage locker, Mixwit will help you create a web-based mixtape for that extra special someone.

If you're ready to give your music collection wings and liberate those audio files from the hard drive prison they've been languishing in, visit our Online Music Storage Lockers category in the Yahoo! Directory."

From the page: Pops' Music
By Dave Sikula

Mon, August 4, 2008

While it's always dangerous to indulge in hyperbole, we feel pretty secure in saying that if Louis Armstrong had never been born, American music today would be completely different.

Armstrong (also known as "Pops" or "Satchmo") was born on August 4th, 1901 into the humblest of circumstances -- out of wedlock in one of the roughest neighborhoods of New Orleans. As a child, he found himself drawn to Storyville, the city's red-light district, where brothels and dance halls abounded -- and where a new form of music, jazz (or "jass" as it was called then) was evolving from ragtime. One of the town's top musicians, cornetist Joe "King" Oliver, took a shine to him, and taught him how to play the cornet, and eventually hired him for his band.

By 1922, Armstrong had moved to America's new jazz center, Chicago, where he began his prolific recording career. He turned out dozens of sides, including 1928's "West End Blues," which featured his poetic horn solo and scat singing -- an art form he is usually credited with inventing. The record set a standard for virtually every jazz and pop musician and vocalist who followed.

Although musical tastes changed over his lifetime, he was able to knock the Beatles off the top of the charts with his 1964 recording of "Hello, Dolly!" And in 1954, his statements condemning President Eisenhower as having "no guts" and being "two-faced" during the Little Rock desegregation crisis were crucial to the Civil Rights Movement -- coming as they did from such a beloved entertainer.

And speaking of movements, there were two topics Pops never tired of talking of: his daily use of "reefer" and Swiss Kriss laxative, samples of which he gleefully handed out to anyone he met -- up to and including the British Royal Family."

Looks like Madonna has her own custom page on YouTube. I'm scared.