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...
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
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?)
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?)
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
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
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
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
Tuesday, June 07, 2005
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......)
Sounds tempting? (Hey, if I switch from Rhapsody to Yahoo Music, the extra few bucks I saved could be spent on this......)
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
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
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
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Album: Dreamland
Rhapsody Link: "1. Hey Joe - Robert Plant
2. One More Cup Of Coffee - Robert Plant"
I am not sure how many classic rock fan has followed Robert Plant's career from the Led Zeppelin era to his solo days. I'm certainly not one of them. In fact, I just "discovered" this all-cover album after I read a review of his latest one, "Mighty Rearranger."
Although Plant's "One More Cup of Coffee" retained a lot of the arrangement from Bob Dylan's version, it sounded as if it could have been Plant's own song. That's surprising. On the other hand, this version of "Hey Joe" is definitely very different from Hendrix's. What is interesting is that Jimi's most well-known cover is probably Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower" These three songs form a full circle, cover-to-covered!
2. One More Cup Of Coffee - Robert Plant"
I am not sure how many classic rock fan has followed Robert Plant's career from the Led Zeppelin era to his solo days. I'm certainly not one of them. In fact, I just "discovered" this all-cover album after I read a review of his latest one, "Mighty Rearranger."
Although Plant's "One More Cup of Coffee" retained a lot of the arrangement from Bob Dylan's version, it sounded as if it could have been Plant's own song. That's surprising. On the other hand, this version of "Hey Joe" is definitely very different from Hendrix's. What is interesting is that Jimi's most well-known cover is probably Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower" These three songs form a full circle, cover-to-covered!
Saturday, May 07, 2005
Album: Coverkill
Rhapsody Link: "1. No Feelings - Overkill"
Metal "historian" would tell you thrash metal is heavily influenced by punk. You might not hear it immediately but you could definitely tell when Megadeth and Overkill were covering Sex Pistol's songs.
BTW, clever name of the album!
Metal "historian" would tell you thrash metal is heavily influenced by punk. You might not hear it immediately but you could definitely tell when Megadeth and Overkill were covering Sex Pistol's songs.
BTW, clever name of the album!
Friday, May 06, 2005
Album: Bill Frisell with Dave Holland and Elvin Jones
Rhapsody Link: "1. Outlaws - Bill Frisell"
Drummer Elvin Jones is best known for his polyrhythmic drum work as a member of John Coltrane Quartet. Bassist Dave Holland, well, is known for his versatility, well fit in small combo or big band or any setting you could think of. Guitarist Bill Frisell has a unique country/blues rooted sound. The three of them playing together? A lot of interesting chemistry is guaranteed.
Drummer Elvin Jones is best known for his polyrhythmic drum work as a member of John Coltrane Quartet. Bassist Dave Holland, well, is known for his versatility, well fit in small combo or big band or any setting you could think of. Guitarist Bill Frisell has a unique country/blues rooted sound. The three of them playing together? A lot of interesting chemistry is guaranteed.
Thursday, May 05, 2005
Album: Quintessence Volume 2
Rhapsody Link: "1. We'll Be Together Again - The Stan Gets Quartet With Chet Baker"
If there is a "sound" that could make people "fall in love too easily" (pun intended,) it gotta be from Stan Getz's saxophone. Ballad like this is his forte.
If there is a "sound" that could make people "fall in love too easily" (pun intended,) it gotta be from Stan Getz's saxophone. Ballad like this is his forte.
Album: Crazy People Music
Rhapsody Link: "1. Spartacus - Branford Marsalis"
Maybe it's just me. I always feel that Branford is a bit undervalued as a Post-bop saxophonist. Probably he got "tainted" by his pop music side projects. :P I first listened to his album "Requiem" from 1999 and was very impressed but he has been playing awesome Post-bop way before that, for example, "Crazy People Music" was from 1990.
Maybe it's just me. I always feel that Branford is a bit undervalued as a Post-bop saxophonist. Probably he got "tainted" by his pop music side projects. :P I first listened to his album "Requiem" from 1999 and was very impressed but he has been playing awesome Post-bop way before that, for example, "Crazy People Music" was from 1990.
Tuesday, May 03, 2005
Album: Back From The Dead
Rhapsody link: "1. Bullituary - (remix) - Obituary"
Althought they're not the first band that do hip-hop/metal crossover, doing it in 1997 still shows Obituary was a band with vision. That's 7 years before Jay-Z/Linkin Park.
Althought they're not the first band that do hip-hop/metal crossover, doing it in 1997 still shows Obituary was a band with vision. That's 7 years before Jay-Z/Linkin Park.
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
Artist: Interpol
Rhapsody Link: "1. Stella Was A Diver And She Was Always Down - Interpol"
I wasn't bothered to pay too much attention to Interpol since it's labelled as post-punk but not from across the Atlantic! Glad to 're-discover' them. Thanks to the Instant Playlist feature of the new Rhapsody.
(BTW, This is the first time I try blogging from the new Rhapsody client! Nice thing is that it automatically include the song title and band name!)
I wasn't bothered to pay too much attention to Interpol since it's labelled as post-punk but not from across the Atlantic! Glad to 're-discover' them. Thanks to the Instant Playlist feature of the new Rhapsody.
(BTW, This is the first time I try blogging from the new Rhapsody client! Nice thing is that it automatically include the song title and band name!)
Service: New Rhapsody
I'm kinda surprised by the lack of coverage of Rhapsody To Go, which was just released today, by major gadget/digital music blogs.
Well, we knew Rhapsody will release a "to-go" (i.e., portable music) product soon, since Napster released Napster-to-go a couple of months ago. I was hoping the lag (behind Napster) has to do with Real working on some much better/advanced features than Napster (maybe compatibility with iPod or Palm?) but I was wrong. Maybe this contributes to the lack of interest. Anyway, the underlying mechanism of both are the same: Microsoft's Janus (aka. PlaysForSure) DRM. So I don't understand why Rhapsody couldn't release it sooner.
For people not planning to replace or get a PlaysForSure compatible digital music player soon (like myself,) there is still something good coming out of this release: the new Rhapsody player. Like the old one, it has all the existing playlist/search feature to access the Rhapsody service. In addition, it incorporated our old friend: the Real Jukebox, which manages an integrated "local" (i.e. your hard drive) and "online" (i.e. Rhapsody) library, and supports burning and ripping CDs (MP3 up to 320Kbps! I still remember the old free version of Real Jukebox only rips MP3 to 96Kbps max) Most importantly, now it provides personalization/recommendation capability, which IMO is way overdue as Yahoo! Launch had it way back. With the knowledge of individual musical taste, Rhapsody should really make good use of it to recommend music.
BTW, AP reports Real "giving away" 25 songs thru its new free tier of Rhapsody service named Rhapsody 25. That seems to be a little bit misleading: if I understand it correctly, Rhapsody 25 users could listen to 25 songs per month (unlike paid users of Rhapsody Unlimited, formerly known as All-Access, who could listen to as much songs as they like) That's very different from giving users 25 DRM free (or even DRM-ed) files of music.
Summary: the player seems to be a good upgrade even if you just want the Rhapsody "Unlimited" service. (It hasn't crashed my PC yet >:)
Well, we knew Rhapsody will release a "to-go" (i.e., portable music) product soon, since Napster released Napster-to-go a couple of months ago. I was hoping the lag (behind Napster) has to do with Real working on some much better/advanced features than Napster (maybe compatibility with iPod or Palm?) but I was wrong. Maybe this contributes to the lack of interest. Anyway, the underlying mechanism of both are the same: Microsoft's Janus (aka. PlaysForSure) DRM. So I don't understand why Rhapsody couldn't release it sooner.
For people not planning to replace or get a PlaysForSure compatible digital music player soon (like myself,) there is still something good coming out of this release: the new Rhapsody player. Like the old one, it has all the existing playlist/search feature to access the Rhapsody service. In addition, it incorporated our old friend: the Real Jukebox, which manages an integrated "local" (i.e. your hard drive) and "online" (i.e. Rhapsody) library, and supports burning and ripping CDs (MP3 up to 320Kbps! I still remember the old free version of Real Jukebox only rips MP3 to 96Kbps max) Most importantly, now it provides personalization/recommendation capability, which IMO is way overdue as Yahoo! Launch had it way back. With the knowledge of individual musical taste, Rhapsody should really make good use of it to recommend music.
BTW, AP reports Real "giving away" 25 songs thru its new free tier of Rhapsody service named Rhapsody 25. That seems to be a little bit misleading: if I understand it correctly, Rhapsody 25 users could listen to 25 songs per month (unlike paid users of Rhapsody Unlimited, formerly known as All-Access, who could listen to as much songs as they like) That's very different from giving users 25 DRM free (or even DRM-ed) files of music.
Summary: the player seems to be a good upgrade even if you just want the Rhapsody "Unlimited" service. (It hasn't crashed my PC yet >:)
Monday, April 25, 2005
Album: Jazz 101: Introduction to Jazz Guitar
Track: Get Out of Town
Artist: Barney Kessel
You would think I've listened to some Barney Kessel's work before as I'm a huge fan of jazz and guitar but I haven't. This is indeed a good introduction to Kessel's jazz guitar works for me.
More interesting is the "roster" on this compilation: Emily Remler, Laurindo Almeida and Frank Vignola are not exactly household names (even Jmmy Bruno, Tal Farlow and George Van Eps are arguably Jazz 201.) For me, the more new names, the happier I am!
RHAPSODY Link
Artist: Barney Kessel
You would think I've listened to some Barney Kessel's work before as I'm a huge fan of jazz and guitar but I haven't. This is indeed a good introduction to Kessel's jazz guitar works for me.
More interesting is the "roster" on this compilation: Emily Remler, Laurindo Almeida and Frank Vignola are not exactly household names (even Jmmy Bruno, Tal Farlow and George Van Eps are arguably Jazz 201.) For me, the more new names, the happier I am!
RHAPSODY Link
Friday, April 22, 2005
Artist: The Strokes
Track: Barely Legal
Rhapsody didn't list "New Order" as their influence. I wonder why.
Are you guys tired of all these bands that sound pretty much like those from years ago?
The Rapture is like the Cure
The Jets is like AC/DC
Oasis is like the Beatles. (I love Oasis though :P)
RHAPSODY Link
Rhapsody didn't list "New Order" as their influence. I wonder why.
Are you guys tired of all these bands that sound pretty much like those from years ago?
The Rapture is like the Cure
The Jets is like AC/DC
Oasis is like the Beatles. (I love Oasis though :P)
RHAPSODY Link
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
Track: The Three Marias
Album: This is Jazz #19
Artist: Wayne Shorter
Isn't it ironic that the previous album I blogged about was titled "What is Jazz"?
Anyway, if I don't tell you who played this, you might think it's from yet another smooth jazz guy. I'm truely surprised to hear this consider my idea of Wayne Shorter is his post-bop stuff on "Speak No Evil"
Now I won't be surprised to hear Kenny G playing avant-garde.
RHAPSODY Link
Artist: Wayne Shorter
Isn't it ironic that the previous album I blogged about was titled "What is Jazz"?
Anyway, if I don't tell you who played this, you might think it's from yet another smooth jazz guy. I'm truely surprised to hear this consider my idea of Wayne Shorter is his post-bop stuff on "Speak No Evil"
Now I won't be surprised to hear Kenny G playing avant-garde.
RHAPSODY Link
Monday, April 18, 2005
Artist: Mario Pavone Sextet
Track: Double Diamond
Album: What is Jazz? 1996
What is jazz? I think the more important question is: "What is good jazz?" This track definitely answers it as it sounds adventrous and innovative. Those are qualities of good jazz IMO.
RHAPSODY Link
Album: What is Jazz? 1996
What is jazz? I think the more important question is: "What is good jazz?" This track definitely answers it as it sounds adventrous and innovative. Those are qualities of good jazz IMO.
RHAPSODY Link
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
Playlist: Covers of the Most Influential Songs in the History of Rock and Roll
Although I like the originals better, it's still interesting to listen to the covers.
BTW, I got this from the "Rhandom" link/button on Rhapsody Radish
RHAPSODY Link
BTW, I got this from the "Rhandom" link/button on Rhapsody Radish
RHAPSODY Link
Track: Goin' Down South
Artist: R.L. Burnside
Album: A Ass Pocket Of Whiskey
I am not familiar with Delta Blues and Mr. Burnside's work at all. This is such a powerful song that doesn't seem to fit the "mostly acoustic" description. In any case, the more electric the better I like it.
RHAPSODY Link
Album: A Ass Pocket Of Whiskey
I am not familiar with Delta Blues and Mr. Burnside's work at all. This is such a powerful song that doesn't seem to fit the "mostly acoustic" description. In any case, the more electric the better I like it.
RHAPSODY Link
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