For those who think it's outrageous to pay $2.5 per track to download music to your cell phone from your carrier, you haven't seen nothing yet!
According to Next Magazine in Hong Kong, a Hong Kong 3G service provider, 3, is providing a music service that allows you to listen to music 10 hours per month for a promotional rate of $2.3 (~HK$18) Sound like a good deal huh? Here's the catch: each song you download costs $1.15 (~HK$9)!
This is what I call greediness with a capital G!
Friday, January 20, 2006
Monday, December 19, 2005
Interview: Rob Glaser of RealNetworks
Check out this interesting interview of Mr. Glaser by EnGadget. Not that I'm a big fan of Real (in fact, I think most people became haters of company X whenever they become a customer of X these days. And I'm a subscriber of Real Rhapsody) but I think he made some very good points about the current state of digital music market. His takes on the virtues and shortfalls of Apple's approach (with iPods and iTunes) are fairly accurate and impartial IMHO.
One key point he made is the need to have a "good end to end experience" from the music service provider all the way to the device, which Apple did very well with iPod + iTunes. Judging from all those complaints on their message board regarding the latest version of Rhapsody (3.1) not working properly, I think Real really needs to work hard in this department.
Finally, regarding the web interface (Rhapsody.com) that he plugged during the interview, I'm happy that I could finally listen to Rhapsody on my iBook without using it as a terminal to a PC. Check out a detailed review by the Digital Music Weblog. I came to a similar conclusion: this interface needs lots of improvements (IMHO not a version 1.0 product as Mr. Glaser touted) My particular gripes are:
1) There is no way to reorder tracks in the client's current playlist.
2) I cannot cue songs to the current playlist without the player switching to play the new songs.
3) Dunno if it's just my iBook: sometimes the player window opens but sits idle without playing anything I asked it to play.
In any case, Mr. Glaser is definitely correct that the subscription model is a sound one. Just check out the math: At my peak I used to buy 50 new CDs a year. It has gradually gone down to ~25 CDs. You know how much I buy this year? 0. I don't need new CDs anymore as I got my fix from Rhapsody, which I spend $100 for a year of subscription. For serious music fan like you (if you read this blog then your are) and me, subscription IS a good deal.
On a related note, the latest stat from music industry says sales of CD is down by 8% in the past year. (Well, in my case it is down by 100%) I bet they won't be able to make it up by just sitting there and sending out their army of lawyers. The days of CDs being cash cows are over. Wake up and embrace digital music! These guys could surely use some advices from Mr. Glaser.
One key point he made is the need to have a "good end to end experience" from the music service provider all the way to the device, which Apple did very well with iPod + iTunes. Judging from all those complaints on their message board regarding the latest version of Rhapsody (3.1) not working properly, I think Real really needs to work hard in this department.
Finally, regarding the web interface (Rhapsody.com) that he plugged during the interview, I'm happy that I could finally listen to Rhapsody on my iBook without using it as a terminal to a PC. Check out a detailed review by the Digital Music Weblog. I came to a similar conclusion: this interface needs lots of improvements (IMHO not a version 1.0 product as Mr. Glaser touted) My particular gripes are:
1) There is no way to reorder tracks in the client's current playlist.
2) I cannot cue songs to the current playlist without the player switching to play the new songs.
3) Dunno if it's just my iBook: sometimes the player window opens but sits idle without playing anything I asked it to play.
In any case, Mr. Glaser is definitely correct that the subscription model is a sound one. Just check out the math: At my peak I used to buy 50 new CDs a year. It has gradually gone down to ~25 CDs. You know how much I buy this year? 0. I don't need new CDs anymore as I got my fix from Rhapsody, which I spend $100 for a year of subscription. For serious music fan like you (if you read this blog then your are) and me, subscription IS a good deal.
On a related note, the latest stat from music industry says sales of CD is down by 8% in the past year. (Well, in my case it is down by 100%) I bet they won't be able to make it up by just sitting there and sending out their army of lawyers. The days of CDs being cash cows are over. Wake up and embrace digital music! These guys could surely use some advices from Mr. Glaser.
Service: Rhapsody
While we're on the topic of RealNetworks, I've got some advices for Mr. Glaser too.
He mentioned the editorial on Rhapsody as a differentiating feature from his competitors in the subscription market. I beg to differ. Artist info (incl. bio/discography/influences/similar artists) is everywhere on the web (Google, Yahoo and Wikipedia) What Rhapsody really need is a better recommendation engine and better personalization. It is sitting on a "gold mine" of user preferences (forget about 1-5 star ratings of songs. If I listen to the same song over and over, 5 stars. If I skip the song 10 seconds into it, 0 star. It should be that simple. Also, asking me to click on other people's playlist is not good enough. Sometimes people prefer auto-pilot) If they use it for social networking/correlation, they'll have one awesome recommendation feature. It might be easier just go out and buy a last.fm/Audioscrobbler.
He mentioned the editorial on Rhapsody as a differentiating feature from his competitors in the subscription market. I beg to differ. Artist info (incl. bio/discography/influences/similar artists) is everywhere on the web (Google, Yahoo and Wikipedia) What Rhapsody really need is a better recommendation engine and better personalization. It is sitting on a "gold mine" of user preferences (forget about 1-5 star ratings of songs. If I listen to the same song over and over, 5 stars. If I skip the song 10 seconds into it, 0 star. It should be that simple. Also, asking me to click on other people's playlist is not good enough. Sometimes people prefer auto-pilot) If they use it for social networking/correlation, they'll have one awesome recommendation feature. It might be easier just go out and buy a last.fm/Audioscrobbler.
Service: last.fm
Speaking of last.fm, it is the only free online music streaming service that I'm satisfied with as far as classical music is concerned. You just need to open an acct (free), download its player, type in a composer's name, say Mahler, and you're going to hear a whole bunch of late 19th century/romantic music, including those from Mahler and similar composers. It figures out what to play using social networking/correlation.
Of course, it works with other music genres too.
Of course, it works with other music genres too.
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Artist: Death (Remembering Chuck Schuldiner)
Can't believe it has been 4 years since Chuck passed away!
Norway's Imhotep magazine interviewed a few current metal musicians for their thoughts about Death.
Norway's Imhotep magazine interviewed a few current metal musicians for their thoughts about Death.
Track: RIAA Phone Call
If you're a music fan, you probably know all the bad deeds done by RIAA and I don't need to elaborate. This is a hilarious song (link) Please also check out the prank they pulled on RIAA.
Friday, November 18, 2005
Podcast: more Metal
MSRCast
This is recommended by The Entropy League, which I menitoned last time. The list of bands look impressive, right? Contrary to what the name stands for, Mainstream Resistance, it actually features some mainstream (in the metal circle) bands, i.e., the ones you might hear on metal TV shows like Metal Asylum or Headbanger's Ball, but of course it still beats mainstream radio. (BTW, if you visit www.msrcast.com instead of the above link, it might appear they have 5 episodes and no more new ones but that's not the case. )
Curt Shaw's Metal Show
It features some awesome unsigned local bands that you might have never heard of elsewhere.
The Entropy League
Yes, I have already recommended them before. The above links to their latest episode, which I find extremely interesting, as it played all covers. You'll hear lots of old school metal (or non-metal) being reinterpreted by the new generation.
This is recommended by The Entropy League, which I menitoned last time. The list of bands look impressive, right? Contrary to what the name stands for, Mainstream Resistance, it actually features some mainstream (in the metal circle) bands, i.e., the ones you might hear on metal TV shows like Metal Asylum or Headbanger's Ball, but of course it still beats mainstream radio. (BTW, if you visit www.msrcast.com instead of the above link, it might appear they have 5 episodes and no more new ones but that's not the case. )
Curt Shaw's Metal Show
It features some awesome unsigned local bands that you might have never heard of elsewhere.
The Entropy League
Yes, I have already recommended them before. The above links to their latest episode, which I find extremely interesting, as it played all covers. You'll hear lots of old school metal (or non-metal) being reinterpreted by the new generation.
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Podcast: Jazz, classical and more
In my previous post I've recommended a podcast for metal.
For jazz, I enjoyed Red Raspus Radio, mainly about the Seattle jazz scene. It's a pleasant surprise that they've got some really good musicians up there.
For classical, the king of budget recordings, Naxos, has done a great job in promoting classical music once again. Check out Naxos Classical Music Spotlight
You could find both of the above podcasts at Yahoo! Podcast as well as Apple's iTunes Podcast Directory if that's how you subscribe to podcasts.
While I'm on the topic of podcast, I gotta admit I have a tendency to downplay or underestimate the usefulness of new internet paradigm. I've done it to Webmail (when Hotmail first appeared) and I did it to podcast again :P I blame it on the ineffectiveness of Podcast client/directory in sorting out the good stuff from the massive sea of podcasts. A lot of clichés about podcast still applies: like many people are still over-using sound effects (we don't need that much ECHO-ECho-echo or left-to-right panning) and most still sound like the podcaster was rambling on and on to no one but himself (or herself) Anyway, podcasting is ideal for enthusiasts of non-mainstream interests (in the case of music: jazz, metal and classical) to "spread the gospel" since the narrow audience cannot justify the use of more expensive technologies.
That said, we still need better organization/classification of Podcast, i.e., the equivalent of what Yahoo did to the early days of WWW. Podcast Alley and Yahoo! Podcast are in the right direction but still have long ways to go. For example, when I use the keywords "jazz music," I'm still getting a ton of irrelevant links.
Finally, I should probably answer the 1st question newbies would ask: "How do you listen to Podcast?" The minimal requirement is a computer that connects to the internet, preferably with broadband. Most of the Podcasts I recommend links to their website, which further link to mp3 files. You could simply right-click on your browser, download the files and listen in your favourite MP3 player. Or you could "subscribe" to the podcast so that you'll get the latest episode when it is published through podcast client software of your choice. Personally, I've tried the open source Juice Receiver before (formerly known as iPodder. BTW, the name changed because Apple didn't like the iPod part in it. I wonder why Apple has to alienate people who makes their products more popular. Maybe it has to do with the fact that your trademark will be weaken if you don't actively defend it all the time?) and I use iTunes now, just because I have iTunes installed for sync-ing with iPod already. Not that I prefer proprietary software over open source ones. For iTunes, you either find the podcast in their directory and subscribe or open the .pcast file with it. For other clients, you could specify the URL of the RSS feed of the podcast.
Now you should start enjoying the shows I recommended!
For jazz, I enjoyed Red Raspus Radio, mainly about the Seattle jazz scene. It's a pleasant surprise that they've got some really good musicians up there.
For classical, the king of budget recordings, Naxos, has done a great job in promoting classical music once again. Check out Naxos Classical Music Spotlight
You could find both of the above podcasts at Yahoo! Podcast as well as Apple's iTunes Podcast Directory if that's how you subscribe to podcasts.
While I'm on the topic of podcast, I gotta admit I have a tendency to downplay or underestimate the usefulness of new internet paradigm. I've done it to Webmail (when Hotmail first appeared) and I did it to podcast again :P I blame it on the ineffectiveness of Podcast client/directory in sorting out the good stuff from the massive sea of podcasts. A lot of clichés about podcast still applies: like many people are still over-using sound effects (we don't need that much ECHO-ECho-echo or left-to-right panning) and most still sound like the podcaster was rambling on and on to no one but himself (or herself) Anyway, podcasting is ideal for enthusiasts of non-mainstream interests (in the case of music: jazz, metal and classical) to "spread the gospel" since the narrow audience cannot justify the use of more expensive technologies.
That said, we still need better organization/classification of Podcast, i.e., the equivalent of what Yahoo did to the early days of WWW. Podcast Alley and Yahoo! Podcast are in the right direction but still have long ways to go. For example, when I use the keywords "jazz music," I'm still getting a ton of irrelevant links.
Finally, I should probably answer the 1st question newbies would ask: "How do you listen to Podcast?" The minimal requirement is a computer that connects to the internet, preferably with broadband. Most of the Podcasts I recommend links to their website, which further link to mp3 files. You could simply right-click on your browser, download the files and listen in your favourite MP3 player. Or you could "subscribe" to the podcast so that you'll get the latest episode when it is published through podcast client software of your choice. Personally, I've tried the open source Juice Receiver before (formerly known as iPodder. BTW, the name changed because Apple didn't like the iPod part in it. I wonder why Apple has to alienate people who makes their products more popular. Maybe it has to do with the fact that your trademark will be weaken if you don't actively defend it all the time?) and I use iTunes now, just because I have iTunes installed for sync-ing with iPod already. Not that I prefer proprietary software over open source ones. For iTunes, you either find the podcast in their directory and subscribe or open the .pcast file with it. For other clients, you could specify the URL of the RSS feed of the podcast.
Now you should start enjoying the shows I recommended!
Saturday, November 12, 2005
Genre: Metal (State of Metal Pt III: MOL)
Talking about Metal On-Line here.
In the old days my preferred way to read about metal was USENET newsgroups. With the ever declining signal-to-noise ratio, it's of course no longer desirable. It's ironic that the fall of metal's popularity coincided with the rise of WWW. That explains why there wasn't many must-visit websites for metal fans in the 90s, at least that's my experience. A lot of metal sites were created by amateurs/fans/students who eventually quit maintaining the sites, with the exception of BNR Metal, which is still going strong and serves as one of my favorite metal encyclopedia (BTW, I know it's kinda surprising but Wikipedia is also a good source of metal band info.)
RSS
With a resurgence in its popularity and the advent of RSS (a mechanism that make updates to websites appear on subscribers' client software automatically,) I've finally got back in touch with the world of metal again. For example, Death Metal News on Topix.net provides RSS feed (if you don't wanna install any RSS client, you could always use my.yahoo.com) Most of their feeds come from Blabbermouth.net, a metal news site provided by one of the most prolific metal label, Roadrunner records. The nice thing about it is that it also covers bands other than their own!
Online radio
You won't hear a lot of 24x7 heavy metal only radio station on the air. There's none, even in a "metal-active" area like the San Francisco bay area. Fortunately, thanks to internet, now metal fans have many choices.
First of all, major internet radio providers like AOL Radio and Yahoo Music all have 1 or more metal channels. While Yahoo Music delivers higher quality sound, AOL provides more channels, each dedicated to a sub-genre like Death Metal, Black Metal, even one for "hair"/glam/pop metal bands of the 80s! You could skip to the next songs if you don't like the current one on Yahoo though. And Yahoo do have 2 sub-genre station: Emo and Metalcore, but they're available to subscriber of Launchcast Plus only (If you use SBC Yahoo DSL, it's free)
If you wanna listen to less mainstream produced metal radio, you could find plenty of them on ShoutCast under the metal genre, for example, ChroniX Aggression, BrainGell, The Edge.
Finally, this is not free, but XM subscribers could listen to XM's Liquid Metal channel online (in fact, it's only available online but not thru satellite anymore.)
Podcast
I consider Shoutcast as the first step in the direction of liberation of radio from corporate conglomerates, giving normal people like you and me power to broadcast. All you need is setting up your PC as a Shoutcast server and play some music (or talk non-stop like a "real DJ".) Of course, you still need a high bandwidth upstream internet connection. With Podcasting, even this requirement is gone. You record your show as MP3, write an RSS XML enclosure for it, then upload to your webhost and you're done! So it's not surprising to see that lots of "niche topics", including heavy metal, get healthy podcast coverage, since it's very low cost.
Unfortunately, the proliferation of podcasts made it difficult to pick out relevant ones, let alone good ones. Podcast directories help to a certain degree but it's still a lot of trial-and-error. Or you could rely on word-of-mouth, like my recommendation of The Entropy League. Also, don't miss the accompanying blog: Be Metal
Hope you enjoy this 3 part series about the current state of Metal!
[Update: I just heard Metallica's "Damage Case" played on Yahoo! LaunchCast Radio and they bleeped out the swearing by Hetfield. Lame Lame Lame. Thumbs down from me.]
In the old days my preferred way to read about metal was USENET newsgroups. With the ever declining signal-to-noise ratio, it's of course no longer desirable. It's ironic that the fall of metal's popularity coincided with the rise of WWW. That explains why there wasn't many must-visit websites for metal fans in the 90s, at least that's my experience. A lot of metal sites were created by amateurs/fans/students who eventually quit maintaining the sites, with the exception of BNR Metal, which is still going strong and serves as one of my favorite metal encyclopedia (BTW, I know it's kinda surprising but Wikipedia is also a good source of metal band info.)
RSS
With a resurgence in its popularity and the advent of RSS (a mechanism that make updates to websites appear on subscribers' client software automatically,) I've finally got back in touch with the world of metal again. For example, Death Metal News on Topix.net provides RSS feed (if you don't wanna install any RSS client, you could always use my.yahoo.com) Most of their feeds come from Blabbermouth.net, a metal news site provided by one of the most prolific metal label, Roadrunner records. The nice thing about it is that it also covers bands other than their own!
Online radio
You won't hear a lot of 24x7 heavy metal only radio station on the air. There's none, even in a "metal-active" area like the San Francisco bay area. Fortunately, thanks to internet, now metal fans have many choices.
First of all, major internet radio providers like AOL Radio and Yahoo Music all have 1 or more metal channels. While Yahoo Music delivers higher quality sound, AOL provides more channels, each dedicated to a sub-genre like Death Metal, Black Metal, even one for "hair"/glam/pop metal bands of the 80s! You could skip to the next songs if you don't like the current one on Yahoo though. And Yahoo do have 2 sub-genre station: Emo and Metalcore, but they're available to subscriber of Launchcast Plus only (If you use SBC Yahoo DSL, it's free)
If you wanna listen to less mainstream produced metal radio, you could find plenty of them on ShoutCast under the metal genre, for example, ChroniX Aggression, BrainGell, The Edge.
Finally, this is not free, but XM subscribers could listen to XM's Liquid Metal channel online (in fact, it's only available online but not thru satellite anymore.)
Podcast
I consider Shoutcast as the first step in the direction of liberation of radio from corporate conglomerates, giving normal people like you and me power to broadcast. All you need is setting up your PC as a Shoutcast server and play some music (or talk non-stop like a "real DJ".) Of course, you still need a high bandwidth upstream internet connection. With Podcasting, even this requirement is gone. You record your show as MP3, write an RSS XML enclosure for it, then upload to your webhost and you're done! So it's not surprising to see that lots of "niche topics", including heavy metal, get healthy podcast coverage, since it's very low cost.
Unfortunately, the proliferation of podcasts made it difficult to pick out relevant ones, let alone good ones. Podcast directories help to a certain degree but it's still a lot of trial-and-error. Or you could rely on word-of-mouth, like my recommendation of The Entropy League. Also, don't miss the accompanying blog: Be Metal
Hope you enjoy this 3 part series about the current state of Metal!
[Update: I just heard Metallica's "Damage Case" played on Yahoo! LaunchCast Radio and they bleeped out the swearing by Hetfield. Lame Lame Lame. Thumbs down from me.]
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Genre: Metal (State of Metal Pt II: MTV)
Well, that's Metal TV I'm talking about.
All metal fans from the 80's in the States should remember "Headbanger's Ball," the all metal video show aired on MTV every Saturday night. And of course they remembered when the show was cancelled: after grunge "took over the world" (Hey, even the VJ Ricki Rachtman played the videos of "Smell Like Teen Spirit" and "Alive" during the dying days of the show!)
For the longest time there were next to zero coverage of metal on TV, let alone shows dedicated to metal. But slowly metal found its way back to the spotlight. First, Uranium, a 30-minute metal show hosted by charismatic VJ Juliya, appeared on MuchMusic (now Fuse TV) channel. Fuse TV also has a daily metal show named "Metal Asylum." If there's anything MTV knows how to do well, it's jumping on bandwagon. They brought back "Headbanger's Ball" on MTV2 at Saturday night, started May 10 2003. Many saw that move symbolized that "metal is back," officially! In addition, MTV's sister channel VH1 Classic has Metal Mania, which focus on mostly 80s and early 90s "old school" stuff.
These shows have become one of my major source of discovering new metal acts. That's how I learned about exciting bands like Arch Enemy and Shadows Fall. What are my other sources? Stay tuned and read the next and final episode of this State of Metal series.
All metal fans from the 80's in the States should remember "Headbanger's Ball," the all metal video show aired on MTV every Saturday night. And of course they remembered when the show was cancelled: after grunge "took over the world" (Hey, even the VJ Ricki Rachtman played the videos of "Smell Like Teen Spirit" and "Alive" during the dying days of the show!)
For the longest time there were next to zero coverage of metal on TV, let alone shows dedicated to metal. But slowly metal found its way back to the spotlight. First, Uranium, a 30-minute metal show hosted by charismatic VJ Juliya, appeared on MuchMusic (now Fuse TV) channel. Fuse TV also has a daily metal show named "Metal Asylum." If there's anything MTV knows how to do well, it's jumping on bandwagon. They brought back "Headbanger's Ball" on MTV2 at Saturday night, started May 10 2003. Many saw that move symbolized that "metal is back," officially! In addition, MTV's sister channel VH1 Classic has Metal Mania, which focus on mostly 80s and early 90s "old school" stuff.
These shows have become one of my major source of discovering new metal acts. That's how I learned about exciting bands like Arch Enemy and Shadows Fall. What are my other sources? Stay tuned and read the next and final episode of this State of Metal series.
Monday, November 07, 2005
Genre: Metal (State of Metal Pt I: Trends and bands)
For those who said metal was dead: you couldn't be more wrong. Not only it's alive and kicking ass, I'd say it's healthier than ever. A lot of fans restarted listening again. That's what my bandmate in HK and I chatted about the other day. The first band I mentioned was of course System of a Down (see my previous post)
Other bands I wanna recommend are:
- Trivium: a promising young band with a sound that reminds me of the great tradition of 90's thrash metal, i.e., Metallica and Testament.
- Children of Bodom: they have been around but unlike most bands started around the same time, their guitarists know how to play the instrument. And their keyboard doesn't sound lame either.
- Lamb of God: arguably the "leader" of the current thrash/death metal generation.
- Arch Enemy: gotta root for a real metal band fronted by a lady (Angela Gossow)
As far as trends are concerned, metal is cyclical just like any other art form. Nu metal doesn't seem as popular lately. Linkin Park hasn't release any new stuff for some time. Even Limp Bizkit doesn't generate lots of headlines anymore. However, Korn
and Slipknot still have a heavy presence in my playlists. The former has released a greatest hits while the latter has a live double album. Both serve as good introductions to their best stuff.
On the other hand, lots of late 80 early 90 thrash/death metal bands are making comeback, like Obituary, Death Angel, Exodus, and Nuclear Assault. All of them haven't release any new stuff in years! Their new stuff may not be as good as their old one but I'd still be glad to listen to them.
Other bands I wanna recommend are:
- Trivium: a promising young band with a sound that reminds me of the great tradition of 90's thrash metal, i.e., Metallica and Testament.
- Children of Bodom: they have been around but unlike most bands started around the same time, their guitarists know how to play the instrument. And their keyboard doesn't sound lame either.
- Lamb of God: arguably the "leader" of the current thrash/death metal generation.
- Arch Enemy: gotta root for a real metal band fronted by a lady (Angela Gossow)
As far as trends are concerned, metal is cyclical just like any other art form. Nu metal doesn't seem as popular lately. Linkin Park hasn't release any new stuff for some time. Even Limp Bizkit doesn't generate lots of headlines anymore. However, Korn
and Slipknot still have a heavy presence in my playlists. The former has released a greatest hits while the latter has a live double album. Both serve as good introductions to their best stuff.
On the other hand, lots of late 80 early 90 thrash/death metal bands are making comeback, like Obituary, Death Angel, Exodus, and Nuclear Assault. All of them haven't release any new stuff in years! Their new stuff may not be as good as their old one but I'd still be glad to listen to them.
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Track: Hypnotize
Artist: System Of A Down
System of A Down is the type of band that gives music lovers like me reasons to listen to today's new music. It doesn't even matter if I like all of their music (see my previous post.)
For some reason I keep writing about music with political messages and it's another one of them: (copied from this link )
[Verse 1]
Why don't you ask the kids at Tiananmen Square
Was fashion the reason why they were there?
They disguise it, hypnotize it
Television made you buy it"
[Verse 2]
She's scared that I will take her away from there
Dreams that her country left with no one there
Mesmerize the simple minded
Propaganda leaves us blinded
[Chorus]
I'm just sitting in my car and waiting for my girl
While the verses are self-explanatory, the chorus is not as obvious. I googled a bit and found the band mentioned in an interview that it refers to a "common" person. I guess it means a person could be doing his everyday activities while ugly politics happen elsewhere. Whether one affect the other or not is up to your interpretation.
Talking about their political lyric, I must mentioned this from "B.Y.O.B":
"Why don't presidents fight the war?
Why do they always send the poor?"
Rhapsody Link
System of A Down is the type of band that gives music lovers like me reasons to listen to today's new music. It doesn't even matter if I like all of their music (see my previous post.)
For some reason I keep writing about music with political messages and it's another one of them: (copied from this link )
[Verse 1]
Why don't you ask the kids at Tiananmen Square
Was fashion the reason why they were there?
They disguise it, hypnotize it
Television made you buy it"
[Verse 2]
She's scared that I will take her away from there
Dreams that her country left with no one there
Mesmerize the simple minded
Propaganda leaves us blinded
[Chorus]
I'm just sitting in my car and waiting for my girl
While the verses are self-explanatory, the chorus is not as obvious. I googled a bit and found the band mentioned in an interview that it refers to a "common" person. I guess it means a person could be doing his everyday activities while ugly politics happen elsewhere. Whether one affect the other or not is up to your interpretation.
Talking about their political lyric, I must mentioned this from "B.Y.O.B":
"Why don't presidents fight the war?
Why do they always send the poor?"
Rhapsody Link
Monday, October 03, 2005
Album: Not in Our Name
Artist: Charlie Haden and Liberation Music Orchestra
This is the 2nd consecutive post about politics-inspired music. What a coincidence!
I wrote about Charlie Haden and Liberation Music Orchestra before and mentioned this band only releases new music during a Republican administration Well, they did it again. With songs named "This is Not America", "Blue Anthem"... you would easily know how much they approve of what George W. Bush have done (his so-called anti-terrorism policy and the war on Iraq.)
I'll refer you all to this excellent review of the album at AllAboutJazz: "The title 'Not In Our Name' comes from the window posters displayed by householders throughout Europe in protest at the US-led invasion and occupation of Iraq—Haden noticed the posters while on tour in '03."
Rhapsody Link
This is the 2nd consecutive post about politics-inspired music. What a coincidence!
I wrote about Charlie Haden and Liberation Music Orchestra before and mentioned this band only releases new music during a Republican administration Well, they did it again. With songs named "This is Not America", "Blue Anthem"... you would easily know how much they approve of what George W. Bush have done (his so-called anti-terrorism policy and the war on Iraq.)
I'll refer you all to this excellent review of the album at AllAboutJazz: "The title 'Not In Our Name' comes from the window posters displayed by householders throughout Europe in protest at the US-led invasion and occupation of Iraq—Haden noticed the posters while on tour in '03."
Rhapsody Link
Friday, September 30, 2005
Track: Have a Nice Day
Artist: Bon Jovi
Album: Have a Nice Day
The song opens with "Why, you wanna tell me how to live my life?
Who are you to tell me if it's black or white?"
Who is Jon Bon Jovi so angry at? None other than our prez George W. Bush! It's not surprising that such lyric was inspired by George W.'s re-election last year.
To be honest, music-wise this is no "You Give Love a Bad Name" or "Livin' like a Prayer" but I always give credits to songs with messages. See how the song ends:
"When The world keeps trying, to drag me down,
I've gotta raise my hands, gonna stand my ground.
Well I say, Have A Nice Day."
We could all use more optimism here in the States after the recent disastrous events.
Rhapsody link
Album: Have a Nice Day
The song opens with "Why, you wanna tell me how to live my life?
Who are you to tell me if it's black or white?"
Who is Jon Bon Jovi so angry at? None other than our prez George W. Bush! It's not surprising that such lyric was inspired by George W.'s re-election last year.
To be honest, music-wise this is no "You Give Love a Bad Name" or "Livin' like a Prayer" but I always give credits to songs with messages. See how the song ends:
"When The world keeps trying, to drag me down,
I've gotta raise my hands, gonna stand my ground.
Well I say, Have A Nice Day."
We could all use more optimism here in the States after the recent disastrous events.
Rhapsody link
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Playlist: The Jazz Side of George Benson
This is a playlist created by fellow Rhapsody listener Nick Dedina.
Most jazz fans have heard of jazz guitarist George Benson, who is famous for selling out to the pop crowd. However, I'm not sure most jazz fans have listen to his "pre-sold-out" works. I, for one, haven't. And I have been very curious.
Now mystery solved thanks to Nick. I guess it's not all bad for Benson to sell out. After all, he got compared to Wes Montgomery instead of being known as yet another very good jazz guitarist.
Rhapsody Link
Most jazz fans have heard of jazz guitarist George Benson, who is famous for selling out to the pop crowd. However, I'm not sure most jazz fans have listen to his "pre-sold-out" works. I, for one, haven't. And I have been very curious.
Now mystery solved thanks to Nick. I guess it's not all bad for Benson to sell out. After all, he got compared to Wes Montgomery instead of being known as yet another very good jazz guitarist.
Rhapsody Link
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Track: George Bush Doesn’t Care About Black People
Artist: The Legendary K.O.
The title says it all.
This is by now a famous quote from hip-hop artist Kanye West, expressing his view on the president's poor response to the disasters caused by Hurricane Katrina.
You could check out the lyric here
Free download link
The title says it all.
This is by now a famous quote from hip-hop artist Kanye West, expressing his view on the president's poor response to the disasters caused by Hurricane Katrina.
You could check out the lyric here
Free download link
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Track: Condor Man
Artist: Akira Tana
Album: Moon over the world
Label/Catalog#: SONS OF SOUND/70018
This is one of those truly amazing musical moment: I was casually listening to the Jazz channel on Music Choice (the service bundled with Directv) and the familiar melody of a theme song from a Hong Kong kung fu TV series appeared which totally caught me off guard. I immediately paid closer attention and reconfirmed that I haven't mistaken. I was even more surprised when I saw the artist is a Japanese! Googled the name and found out he actually collaborated with Hong Kong jazz pianist Ted Lo so suddenly it all makes sense.
Ted is playing with words here: Condor Man in Chinese sounds the same as hero, which was part of the title of the kung fu series.
BTW, legendary Hong Kong singer/songwriter Sam Hui has made a parody cover version of this song. I'm actually more familiar with his version than the original. He sang about the heroics of winning the game of mahjong!
Album: Moon over the world
Label/Catalog#: SONS OF SOUND/70018
This is one of those truly amazing musical moment: I was casually listening to the Jazz channel on Music Choice (the service bundled with Directv) and the familiar melody of a theme song from a Hong Kong kung fu TV series appeared which totally caught me off guard. I immediately paid closer attention and reconfirmed that I haven't mistaken. I was even more surprised when I saw the artist is a Japanese! Googled the name and found out he actually collaborated with Hong Kong jazz pianist Ted Lo so suddenly it all makes sense.
Ted is playing with words here: Condor Man in Chinese sounds the same as hero, which was part of the title of the kung fu series.
BTW, legendary Hong Kong singer/songwriter Sam Hui has made a parody cover version of this song. I'm actually more familiar with his version than the original. He sang about the heroics of winning the game of mahjong!
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Album: The Gathering
Artist: Geri Allen
Personally I think Geri Allen's work as a leader deserves more praises and attentions than it does now. "The Life Of A Song" released last year was a great example. In fact it was my top jazz CD of 2004.
Her only album on Rhapsody is "The Gathering" from 1998, which was equally interesting. These 2 tracks (Rhapsody Link) are especially recommended as they feature Vernon Reid (ex-guitarist of hard rock band Living Colour)
Personally I think Geri Allen's work as a leader deserves more praises and attentions than it does now. "The Life Of A Song" released last year was a great example. In fact it was my top jazz CD of 2004.
Her only album on Rhapsody is "The Gathering" from 1998, which was equally interesting. These 2 tracks (Rhapsody Link) are especially recommended as they feature Vernon Reid (ex-guitarist of hard rock band Living Colour)
Friday, August 26, 2005
Track: The Crunge
Artist: Joshua Redman Elastic Band
Album: Momentum
You might not find anything special about this track but there are 2 reasons I write about it: 1) it is a Led Zeppelin cover, 2) Flea from Red Hot Chilli Pepper plays bass on it. A lot of bass players, including myself, idolize Flea.
BTW, Joshua Redman's first Elastic band was an organ trio. This one is different: besides the trio, it also features additional musicians like guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel, Peter Bernstein, vibist Stefon Harris, trumpeter Nicholas Payton, appearing on different tracks. (Flea also played on "Blowing Changes" and "Double Jeopardy") I think this all-star lineup is appealing enough to give it a listen!
Rhapsody Link
Album: Momentum
You might not find anything special about this track but there are 2 reasons I write about it: 1) it is a Led Zeppelin cover, 2) Flea from Red Hot Chilli Pepper plays bass on it. A lot of bass players, including myself, idolize Flea.
BTW, Joshua Redman's first Elastic band was an organ trio. This one is different: besides the trio, it also features additional musicians like guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel, Peter Bernstein, vibist Stefon Harris, trumpeter Nicholas Payton, appearing on different tracks. (Flea also played on "Blowing Changes" and "Double Jeopardy") I think this all-star lineup is appealing enough to give it a listen!
Rhapsody Link
Thursday, August 25, 2005
Track: Shoots and Ladders
Artist: Korn
This song's lyric comes from many well-known nursery rhymes, e.g. Mary has a little lamb, London Bridge, Ring around the rosie...
The last one is not well-known to me though 'coz I just learned it from my daughter's swimming class.
You might have read that "Ring around the rosie" is from the Europe Middle Age plague
era, i.e., many died of the "black death disease" transmitted by rats. Scary huh?
"Shoots and Ladders" is about the dark origin of nursery rhymes. I think they want to ridicule that we teach such creepy songs to kids.
However, the Urban Legend page disputed the association of "Ring around the rosy" with the plague though.
Rhapsody Link
This song's lyric comes from many well-known nursery rhymes, e.g. Mary has a little lamb, London Bridge, Ring around the rosie...
The last one is not well-known to me though 'coz I just learned it from my daughter's swimming class.
You might have read that "Ring around the rosie" is from the Europe Middle Age plague
era, i.e., many died of the "black death disease" transmitted by rats. Scary huh?
"Shoots and Ladders" is about the dark origin of nursery rhymes. I think they want to ridicule that we teach such creepy songs to kids.
However, the Urban Legend page disputed the association of "Ring around the rosy" with the plague though.
Rhapsody Link
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