Category: music

music – best recording of 2006 is …

On By Rick McIn music, product endorsementsLeave a comment

Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not

No contest. I listened more to the Monkeys than any other artist in 2006. I love everything about this concept album.

Arctic Monkeys are a four-piece indie rock/post-punk revival band from High Green, a suburb of Sheffield, England. Their first two singles, “I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor” and “When The Sun Goes Down”, both went straight to number one in the UK Singles Chart. …

Unlike many of their contemporaries, who were marketed and advertised extensively by record labels, Arctic Monkeys achieved their success through fan-made demo tapes and online file-sharing, with fans singing along at gigs of songs which had never been officially released, leading media commentators to discuss the possibility of a sea change in the way in which new bands are promoted and marketed.

The band resisted signing to a major record label, even banning talent scouts from gigs. Eventually, the band signed to independent record label Domino Records, releasing their first album Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not, which charted at number one and broke the record for the largest first week sales of a debut album in UK history. The band subsequently won several major music prizes for the album, including the 2006 Mercury Prize, “Best New Act” at the 2006 Brit Awards and “Best New Band” and “Best British Band” at the NME Awards.

The overnight success of the band and the gritty, realistic nature of the lyrics of songs such as “When The Sun Goes Down” has led to the band being described as the “yardstick for all that is current and cool”.

Arctic Monkeys – Wikipedia

Whatever People Say I Am, That\'s What I\'m Not

Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not

lists – year end 2005

On By Rick McIn books, humour, musicLeave a comment

BushI have always loved lists, especially around New Years.

I find I can skip entire years — then catch-up by scanning lists of the Best of ____.

For the 237th straight year, Fimoculous.com has posted a lists of lists for 2005.

For example, Roger Ebert’s best movies of the year. (I have seen not one of them.)

Or go straight to America’s Finest News Source, the top 10 stories of the year from Onion.com

What is Web 2.0?

On By Rick McIn blogs, miscellaneous, music, photosLeave a comment

To oversimplify, Web 1.0 was commerce. Web 2.0 is people.

Increasingly online users generate or interact with content — blogs, podcasts, music, video — rather than simply consume it.

The web rather than the desktop will be the dominant platform. Interactivity is key.

I’m agree. These days I hardly ever open Word, Excel or Powerpoint.

I update this blog online from any computer, for example.

Wired magazine: Are You Ready for Web 2.0?

books on .mp3

On By Rick McIn books, hiking, internet, musicLeave a comment

Finally!

Libraries where I live offer books on .mp3 on a CD disk.

I love listening to audio books when I travel. I am loading up now for my next trip (Mexico & Central America). Three books ready for upload to my mp3 player:

  • The Worst Journey in the World, by Apsley Cherry-Garrard
  • Running with the Bulls, My years with the Hemingways, by Valerie Hemingway
  • Northern Lights, by Nora Roberts

    • Ripping books from CD, in comparison, was slow & painful. Death to the audio CD.

    Use the IMPORT function on your iTunes (or other inferior) music software to get the track order sorted correctly.

    I am very happy with my Rio Cali waterproof mp3 player — but the way to go today is with the iPod Nano, the first good iPod.
    Rio Cali 256 MB Sport MP3 Player

    Favourite tunes of late

    On By Rick McIn musicLeave a comment

    <img Natasha Bedingfield photoI tend to listen to a few songs, old and new, over and over.

    The best of the new songs over last 6 months are rap / hip-hop — the most innovative genre right now.

    Kayne West – Gold Digger
    Natasha Bedingfield – These Words (I love you, I love you)
    50 Cent – Hate it or Love it (G Unit remix)

    Of the three, only Gold Digger has a video I would bother watching more than once. It is fantastic. I find most music videos lame. Why are there not more interesting videos in 2005?

    I should put in a good word for alternative Canadian supergroup, Our Lady Peace. Their new song Where are you is great. Interesting video too.

    rap music – 50 cent

    On By Rick McIn music2 Comments

    fiddy50 cent says he is now worth $60 million. Guess I am not the only one who likes his music. I might be the only one my age who likes it.

    Rap lyrics are ridiculous, I concede. But no other genre of music has been as innovative or as collaborative over the past 3-4 years. Listen to 50 cent Hate it or Love it — it is as catchy, as harmonic, as interesting as any song in years.

    Go head envy me, I’m rap’s MVP.

    I love vocal intensive music. Love the street doggerel.

    Most of the best rappers come from the NWA > Dr. Dre > eminem > 50 cent > G Unit > Lloyd Banks > The Game lineage. Dre is the common denominator. Seems he can do no wrong.

    Ludacris is good too.

    But rap is limited. With very few & vile lyrical themes, where can it go next? Eminem & Ludacris use humour. That works.

    Once the shock value of extreme lyrics wears thin, rap could quickly become boring. Uncool.

    50 would be a nostalgia act at that point.

    punk music

    On By Rick McIn musicLeave a comment

    I was happy to see Green Day American Idiot go to number 1 on iTunes in 2005. Punk is back.

    I am the right age to have lived through the golden age of punk. Always liked it, always will.

    Punk is angry young white men just as rap is angry young black men. (Avril is good, but being angry at boyfriends & Mondays is not quite punk.)

    This revival is making many good punkish bands more prominent; American HiFi, Ataris, Jet, Blink 182, etc.

    Bowling for Soup is my current favourite. Best music, worst name. This is a comedy novelty band perhaps, not true punk obviously.

    But this music floats my boat when I need a lift.

    ……….

    George replied,

    … the best punk group of all time is still SNFU (Edmonton band no less) and as far as current bands go you forgot Sum 41, and they are Canadian as well. Shame on you!

    Happy Festivus

    On By Rick McIn humour, music, traveloguesLeave a comment

    rick_mugDec 23, 2003

    Festivus is upon us. Time to mount the pole, air family grievances & limber-up for post-dinner Feats of Strength.

    Festivus is my favourite of the secular alternatives to Christmas. Others prefer to spread the message of peace & good will to all men.

    onionOnion.com did a great piece on bringing Christmas to Iraq — by force. Xmas is an easy mark for humourists & cynics.

    Actually, this is my favourite holiday. I’m happy to be together with family after missing last Christmas in New Zealand.

    For others this quotation rings true:

    Christmas is … an excuse for alcoholics to mercilessly crush their families, children to have their innocence strangled by overwhelming greed and people who hate each other to gather and inflict torture over a cheese ball and crackers.

    (from vegetarian Bill, as quoted by acclaimed journalist KZ.)

    Hitler was a violent herbivore non-smoker too, actually, though that is possibly just a coincidence.

    masons_2003_santa_smSpeaking of vegetarians, my surrogate family the Masons invited me to one of their favourite annual events, Chocolate for Breakfast. This is a CUPS Christmas fund-raiser for the homeless sponsored by Bernard Callebaut fine chocolates and terrific dance band The Dino Martinis.

    Appear Sunday morning in your PJs and dance away your decadent brecky! For the second time in the past 3 years the Mason clan won the grand prize, a huge gourmet chocolate Santa! (click on the photo to see a larger image.)

    Trust you are getting a break over the holiday.

    If you lack Christmas spirit, go see Love, Actually. It’s a chick flick but anyone would enjoy it — a Hugh Grant movie set in the weeks leading up to Christmas in London.

    I’m jolly. Life is good. The gym club is going well, my apartment building now fully rented and I’m healthy if not wealthy nor wise.

    I’m always cheered when days grow longer. Makes me pine for hiking adventures next summer.

    Know that I am one of those annoying MAC devotees who dis Windoze users while denying the faults of Apple computers. We Macolytes have never been flying higher.

    Time Magazine voted the Apple on-line music service iTunes the coolest tech invention of the year. (You can sample the service but it is still available only to Americans.) US$.99 / song — fast, easy, reliable.

    Rick KramerFinally Apple has made a dent in the real world — the 97% of people who use Bill Gates operating system. Apple iTunes works on Windows. (I even downloaded iTunes on to Mason‘s PC when he was busy dressing the kids for tobogganing!)

    Best song of 2003? I’d vote Where is the Love by the Black Eyed Peas. Great message, catchy song, great video. Uplifting too is Shania’s She’s Not Just a Pretty Face. Go girl!

    I’m finally back to Saskatoon for New Years. The Longs host a wonderful weekend with a giant bonfire on frozen Emma Lake. You have a terrific New Years too!

    All about the work,

    Rick McSchneider