Service: AOL Radio

AOL has release a beta version of its portal today, which I've been waiting for since it's announcement a couple of months ago.

Urgh...... did I say I was looking forward to something from AOL? I'm not kidding. It's because AOL has partnered with XM to create their radio service and offering a few dozens channels free! Even though I didn't took the plunge to XM after a free trial (read my not-so-positive review here, I won't mind having it as a backup/alternative to Rhapsody (To Real: Rhapsody went down again last night! If it doesn't improve, I'm going to take my money elsewhere. You've got competitions!)

My first impression of AOL Radio is pretty good. All of my favorite genres (metal, jazz, blues, classical) are covered. In fact, AOL Radio has a good variety of channels dedicated to the sub-genres under each main genre. IMO, they are a grade above Yahoo's free LAUNCHCast Radio, which has less variety. (If you want more, you need to pay to listen to LAUNCHCast Plus, which still covers less than AOL's) You can't skip tracks on AOL Radio like you could with Yahoo though.

AOL: even though you're not getting a lot of love from the geek land. You do get some from Bigland. It's free! Enuff said.

Artist: 6

Album: 6
Track: Angel

Looks like using numbers as names has become a popular practice for metal musicians: the members in Slipknots are named by numbers. And Marilyn Manson's guitarist is John 5. Now we have a band named 6! It probably has something to do with reflecting the going-digital/people-losing-identity/faceless nature of the modern society.

Anyway, 6 is equally interesting music-wise: another good example of blending electronic and rock (think NIN.)

Rhapsody Link

Artist: Ones and Zeros

Rhapsody link: "1. Fascination Street (by the Cure) - Ones And Zeros"

This band got my attention because of this cover of my favourite song by The Cure. Their electronic hard rock rendition of Fascination Street is certainly interesting. I guess this review best describes their sound: it's like Alice in Chains meet Filters. So, you know whether it's your cup of tea, or not...

Artist: System of a Down

As my bandmate said, System of a Down is the type of band that you either like it or hate it, a lot!

It's because they have a very unique sound, as evident in their songs like "Chop Suey" and "B.Y.O.B.", which you might have heard on the radio.

If you like alt metal but hate them because of the above songs, you should check out "Suite-Pee" and "P.L.U.C.K" (Rhapsody Link)from their self-titled album. These sound more "conventional" alt metal (is this term an oxymoron?)

Track: Aisha

Artist: John Coltrane
Album: Ole Coltrane

Even though I'm a huge Coltrane fan, I gotta admit I still haven't listened to everything from his catalog as he had such a prolific career. That explains why I've not listened to this wonderful ballad before. It is certainly much less well-known than the other ballad named after a lady, Naima. (I was curious about who Aisha is. The only thing I was able to find out is this was a McCoy Tyner composition. If anyone knows more about Aisha, please update this post)

Another reason this album is so overlooked is that it was the last recording Coltrane did for Atlantic records (after Giant Step and My Favourite Thing) as he was moving to Impulse. It actually features an all-star lineup and deserved much better exposures. Here is a detailed review of the album.

Rhapsody Link

Artist: Stereomud

Track: Pain
Album: Perfect Self

I have not heard of this band before but this is one fine Alt Metal band! For some reason they're less well-known than the likes of Mudvayne and Staind. Yet another example to show that you need a lot of luck to succeed in this business.

I think bands like this must have benefited from recommendation engines of online music services like Rhapsody.

Rhapsody Link

Store: Yourmusic.com ($5.99 CD!)

Yourmusic.com sells you CD for $5.99 (free shipping too!) That's cheaper than most 2nd-hand CDs! What's the catch? Well, it sorts of work like a music club (e.g. BMG/Columbia House) yet better: You have to buy 1 every month but you get to choose the CD from their catalog for that monthly CD (unlike BMG/CH who choose for you, and charge you expensive shipping) Again, what's the catch? Well, I have to say the "catch" is that the selection is kinda limited. I "tested" it with the CDs I wrote about here and I was only able to find Bill Frissell With Dave Holland And Elvin Jones but no Matthew Shipp, no David S. Ware, no Shadows Fall, no Arch Enemy...... These are kinda not-so-mainstream anyway. I could easily find another dozen of CDs I would like to own.

Sounds tempting? (Hey, if I switch from Rhapsody to Yahoo Music, the extra few bucks I saved could be spent on this......)

Track: Part of the Queue

Artist: Oasis
Album: Don't Believe the Truth

Even though Oasis belongs to that group of bands I constantly criticize of ripping off old bands, for some reason I just like them. Their latest album doesn't seem to get as good reviews as they used to, and I tend to agree, but this is one of the better songs on the album. Ironically, I'm working on a queue processor right now! What a coincidence!

Rhapsody Link