Uh, what's happening CC?
They still call it the White House
But that's a temporary condition, too.
Can you dig it, CC?

...

There's a lot of chocolate cities, around
We've got Newark, we've got Gary
Somebody told me we got L.A.
And we're working on Atlanta
But you're the capital, CC

...

Hey, CC!
They say your jivin' game, it can't be changed
But on the positive side,
You're my piece of the rock
And I love you, CC.
Can you dig it?

Hey, uh, we didn't get our forty acres and a mule
But we did get you, CC, heh, yeah
Gainin' on ya
Movin' in and around ya
God bless CC and its vanilla suburbs

...

You don't need the bullet when you got the ballot
Are you up for the downstroke, CC?

...

And don't be surprised if Ali is in the White House
Reverend Ike, Secretary of the Treasure
Richard Pryor, Minister of Education
Stevie Wonder, Secretary of FINE arts
And Miss Aretha Franklin, the First Lady
Are you out there, CC?
A chocolate city is no dream
It's my piece of the rock and I dig you, CC
God bless Chocolate City and its (gainin' on ya!) vanilla suburbs

[ Chocolate City - Parliment ]

Seriously, though, let's start talking Obama's cabinet...

How do you find your music? Apple iTunes has added a new "genius" system to help you find stuff you like, based on the stuff you got. I kinda thought iTunes already had that with recommendations it made, but apparently something is more "genius" in the new system than the old. What's the real genius? Checking out what this new system is supposed to do informed me of the "new" Beastie Boys album which has been out for over a year. Seriously, how am I supposed to find the music I like, especially since I can't stand what they pump out over the radio...

So, how is it? Well, it's not rap, it's not really even hip-hop. Did you like the "b-side" of Check Your Head? Do you like instrumental funky-groovy mood music? I like it, but I answered yes to both of those questions... More importantly, how does one find out about the new music when they've grown so old that all the popular music seems quite unpopular to their ears? Oh, and their taste is so eclectic that they want the new "old skool east coast hip hop" as well as great nasheed, mbalax, cool jazz, blues rock, and who knows what else?

[ Fiesta Asia! ]

Don't say I didn't warn you, you have 1/2 a day to plan on going yourself...

Update: List has grown...

They tell me that babies like the music. Since I expect to have a baby back in my life shortly, I plan to put together some CDs for the baby. I don't particularly like the sort of Barney or Raffi type stuff that is pushed as music for children, but I do understand that small humans prefer simple music to more complicated stuff.

I just started this yesterday, so I don't have much yet, but I have a deadline looming so I'm asking the world at large for assistance. I figure I need 2 discs, one for waking up/car time/play time and one for nap/bed time. So far I have only 4 17 items that I am sure I want:

1. Big Rock Candy Mountain - Burl Ives
2. Goober Peas - Burl Ives
3. 500 Miles - Peter, Paul and Mary
4. Whistling Gypsy - The Clancy Brothers
5. Cotton-Eyed Joe - The Chieftains feat. Ricky Scaggs
6. Que Sera Sera - Dorris Day
7. Tacos, Enchiladas and Beans - Dorris Day
8. Scarborough Fair - Simon & Garfunkel
9. Good Vibrations - The Beach Boys
10. California Dreamin' - The Mamas & The Papas
11. Hotel California - The Eagles
12. For What It's Worth - Buffalo Springfield
13. Purple People Eater - Sheb Wolley
14. Mother Goose Medley - Spike Jones
15. Istanbul - They Might Be Giants
16. Take Me Home, Country Roads - John Denver
17. Rainy Days and Mondays - The Carpenters

Yes, so far it's all folk music, but I like folk music so nyah.

I'm hoping I can find some acceptable tunes in some other languages too, no need to limit baby so early.

What would you put on a CD for babies?

Frequent readers may remember my stupid plan to make a CD of music about coffee. One of the comments suggested a few more that I didn't have, and although I don't remember using this list to add more songs to the mix, about 1/2 of these ended up on the CD:

I am just finishing up a CD of coffee songs I am compiling for the people I work with (I work in a coffee shop, heh). I opted for Ella Fitzgerald's version of Black Coffee, and the Ink Spots on Java Jive, but have some of the same ones you do. I notice this post is about a year old, and I use Napster, not Rhapsody, but how about these:

• Coffee Song - Adam Hood
• Coffee Man - Calvin Owens
• Cowboy Coffee - The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
• Don't Forget The Coffee Billy Joe - Tom T. Hall
• Cigarettes and Coffee - Otis Redding
• What I Want is a Proper Cup of Coffee - Trout Fishing in America

[ david kearns dot com - Inane Pet Project ]

Yes, you heard correct, on the CD. I officially purchased my CD and it's in the car now. What made the cut?

All of these are available on Rhapsody as a playlist. The list ended up having a lot more "country" than I would have expected, but all in all I like what this ended up becoming. Next up: find around 20 tracks about video games...

The new Weird Al album is out, and I think it may be his best ever. I love his love song to his pancreas:

My spleen just doesn't matter
Don't really care about my bladder
But I don't leave home without
My pancreas

My pancreas is always there for me (ahh oooh ooh)
Secreting those enzymes (bop bop ba-ooh)
Secreting those hormones too
Metabolizing carbohydrates just for me

[ XVR27's "Weird Al" Yankovic Homepage - Lyrics - Pancreas ]

Not to mention a great new holiday song for Weasle Stomping Day, a warning to [Not] Download This Song, and Al mocks those that'd Sue You so easily.

Andrew brought this to my attention because of his seething hate of all things Canadian, and Al's Canadian Idiot anthem. Though the parodies don't stop with Green Day, Al does send ups of Chamillionaire, Usher, Taylor Hicks, and R. Kelly. All genius.

Perhaps I'm a glutton for punishment, but I think I have a new playlist for long trips in the car:

1. Ring Of Fire - Social Distortion
2. Ring Of Fire - Dwight Yoakam
3. Ring Of Fire - Wall Of Voodoo
4. Ring Of Fire - Frank Zappa
5. Ring Of Fire - Eric Burdon & The Animals
6. Ring Of Fire - The Regulars
7. Ring Of Fire - Olivia Newton-John
8. Ring Of Fire (Demo Version) - Grace Jones
9. Ring Of Fire - Johnny Cash

Unfortunatly there are additional gems that Rhapsody doesn't have the rights to yet, so perhaps I'll wait until they get a few of these:

1. Tom Jones
2. Duane Eddy
3. Ray Charles

Dari suggested Leonard Nimoy, but he seems to have only covered I Walk the Line.

Says Pron0 Dave told him about it. Any-which-way, code monkey like.

Yay, monkeys. This is not autobiographical, but I did indeed used to have a job writing software.

[ Jonathan Coulton Blog Archive Thing a Week 29 - Code Monkey ]

Though, what Rob made manager?

What ever happened to Guns 'n' Roses?

Ah, the oldies but goodies....

Update: removed embedded player, it was driving me crazy...

I've got the fever for the flavor of Dengue, or something like that.

Dengue Fever has surprisingly universal appeal. Vocalist Chhom Nimol, whose family is a pop music dynasty, not unlike a Cambodian analog of The Jacksons, regularly seizes the hearts of listeners (including the King and Queen of Cambodia). Zac Holtzman (Dieselhed) and his brother Ethan on Farfisa organ, Senon Williams (Radar Brothers), David Ralicke (Beck) and the seasoned drummer/engineer Paul Smith stay remarkably true to the crazy party music spirit of the '60's- and '70's-era material they perform, while their originals veer off into the darkened corridors of lost love and ghostly noir romanticism, dissolving into spaces of genuine bleakness and tragedy.

[ Dengue Fever ]

I'm loving the new global pop scene, or as I like to call it Pop 2.0. These guys have an infectious, funky, exotic sound without sounding so far off that you can't figure heads from tails. Like the Fantastic Plastic Machine and Pizzicato 5 that I've been digging lately, Dengue Fever has a retro chic that I just can't shake.

Props go out to the Koosh Moose, who would have blogged about them, but I only gave him about 18 hours to do so, and he's a busy guy.

But you can. What a great line up planned for this weekend:

2nd Annual Silver Spring Jazz Fest
Starring Wynton Marsalis
September 10, 2005, 2:00 to 10:30 p.m. - FREE!
At Fenton Street and Ellsworth Drive in Downtown Silver Spring.

[ Silver Sprung ]

Silver Spring, Jazz, Good Times, how can you go wrong? Kojo says he's going, why not you?

Though who says it better than this?

I bongo
with my lingo
And beat it like a wing yo
To Congo
To Columbo
Can't stereotype my thing yo
I salt and pepper my mango
Shoot spit
Out the window
Bingo I got em in the thing yo
Now what? I'm doing my thing yo

[ M.I.A. on Rhapsody ]

Immortal words from M.I.A.'s track Sunshowers.

And he's made us wait long enough. Just the first single off of his upcoming album has been released, but it has succeeded in whetting my appetite. Feels Just Like It Should is as funky as Jamiroquai ever gets, and the Rhapsody review agrees.

The in-Rhapsody homepage had 2 tasty tidbits this morning when I logged in. The first was a playlist put together by Mike McGuirk entitled "25 Worst Covers of All Time", and I think he's done his homework:

1. Mexican Radio - Celtic Frost
2. Enter Sandman - Pat Boone
3. He'll Have To Go - Joe Pesci
4. Wild Thing - Sam Kinison
5. 911 Is A Joke - Duran Duran
6. Mississippi Queen - Ozzy Osbourne
7. Sympathy For The Devil - Guns N' Roses
8. Helter Skelter - U2
9. Street Hassle - Simple Minds
10. Whole Lotta Love - Perry Farrell
11. A Hard Day's Night - Peter Sellers
12. Spleen / Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds - William Shatner
13. Smells Like Teen Spirit - Tori Amos
14. Born To Be Wild - Evelyn Glennie
15. Kick Out The Jams - The Presidents Of The...
16. Send In The Clowns - Grace Jones
17. (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay - Sammy Hagar
18. Hotel California - (Live In Japan) - Wilson Phillips
19. Johnny B. Goode - Frank Marino
20. Ramblin' Man - Andre Williams & 2 Star Tabernacle
21. Shop Around - The Captain & Tennille
22. Ticket To Ride - The Carpenters
23. Ohio / Machine Gun - The Isley Brothers
24. Anarchy In The U.K. - Motley Crue
25. Desperado - The Langley Schools Music Project

[ Rhapsody Playlist ]

The second tidbit is information that I wanted to know the other day, but figured it was impossible:

RHAPSODY TIP

To cue music to the mixer without playing it, hold down the "Ctrl" key while clicking a play button in the Music Guide.

[ Rhapsody Home Page ]

Which would have been helpful on Friday as Asjouré and I were Nostalgically playing Hip Hop and Funk tunes from days gone by.

Rhapsody doesn't have this yet, but I liked it:

"The first time we heard Grandmaster Flash rapping on a hip-hop track, everybody was like, 'OK, we know this because this is tasso [the rhythmic oral history in Senegal]," he says.

[ NPR : Daara J: Senegalese Hip-Hop ]

Why should you care? Maybe you shouldn't, but I don't want to forget their name.

Certainly I doubt they'll get much retaliation for this:

Overseas, yeah, we try to stop terrorism
But we still got terrorists here livin'
In the USA, the big CIA
The Bloods and The Crips and the KKK

[ Black Eyed Peas Lyrics - Where Is The Love? ]

But you have to wonder if picking a fight with the CIA, Bloods, Crips, and the KKK is the smartest thing to do in an internationally released single.

Before I even read the email telling me to upgrade my Rhapsody, G$ was all over the place telling everyone to upgrade:

Listen to the music you love on-demand, with the #1 rated digital music service, Rhapsody Unlimited. Rhapsody's ever-growing catalog of over 1 million songs comprises one of the largest collections of music anywhere. Play today’s hottest hits, find yesterday’s classics, and discover the new artists you'll love tomorrow. Just find the songs you want and hit 'Play', it's that easy

[ Rhapsody.com - Music Services ]

Why? 'cause it's hot!

That's hot.

[ Paris Hilton ]

And I agree. Better player, better quality sound, larger library, new free subscription, new to go subscription, now allows your local library and the Rhapsody library to combine, new personalized offering, and just plain cooler. Though I do keep blocking out the fact that they're owned by the evil empire.

Props to G$ for pointing out this clever website:

Musipedia uses the "Melodyhound" melody search engine. You can find and identify a tune even if the melody is all you know. You can whistle or sing it to the computer or directly use the Parsons code. To "name that tune", you don't need to know the key signature, exact rhythm, or intervals.

[ Musipedia: The Open Music Encyclopedia ]

Apparently another idea that struck him at some point, only to find out that people had built it already. If only I had a mic on my work PC to check out the WoSII (whistle or sing it interface).

It's addictive. Ever since playing Katamari Damacy I have been listening to tons of Japanese Pop Music, mostly the likes of:

• Puffy AmiYumi 
• Fantastic Plastic Machine 
• Pizzicato 5 
• Takako Minekawa 

Though among those I really appreciate the Bosa Nova influence in FPM, it's downright viral. And I think influenced the soundtrack to Feel the Magic XY/XX so much you could say it was stolen.

But I don't think it's required to enjoy this excellent music video:

Frankly, I can not speak in English.(a friend of mine helped me to write this one) but it would be quite comfortable for you to watch movie which I had made, because there is quite few letter and words. Please make yourself at home while watching it

[ amalloc of SamBakZa ]

The story then continues with step 2. Perhaps even more on SamBakZa.net, but as I said I don't speak Korean.

Props to Ed (who has no web page).

I love Rhapsody, however there are certainly many usability issues. One I've just stumbled across is the inability to mail a custom radio station. Therefore if you want to listen in on the sort of thing I'm listening to this morning, you'll have to create your own radio station as such:

Cool Jazz Artist List

1. Vince Guaraldi 2. Stan Getz 3. Miles Davis 4. Dave Brubeck 5. Chet Baker Similar artists you will also hear include: Tommy Flanagan, Ramsey Lewis, Oscar Peterson, Modern Jazz Quartet, Gil Evans, George Shearing, Gerry Mulligan, Duke Ellington, Clifford Brown, Charlie Byrd, Billy Taylor, Billie Holiday, Art Pepper, Wayne Shorter, Thelonious Monk…

And, I assume, you can use the above suggestions on a non-Rhapsody service, or even on iTunes.

I don't know why, but I always seem to like a cover, good or bad. Long story short I was in the mood for the Turkey Song this morning, and remembering how Elliot used to drive us crazy with that song I sent the Rhapsody link to Tom. Good call too, he clued me in to the most excellent cover CD ever, "Pigs Fly CD":

I don't have to go to smoky clubs, or listen to crap pop radio stations, and get to find great music. Sure it's a few years old. Sure Sousa's been listening to this guy for years, I'm sure. But I like a new find:

Fantastic Plastic Machine is the project of Japanese DJ Tomoyuki Tanaka. Much of his music reflects a strong bossa nova influence; other tracks are representative of Happy Charm Fool Dance Music

[ Variety Is the Spice of Life - Fantastic Plastic Machine ]

FPM on Rhapsody Radio for those so inclined.

When Dari got me hooked on this stuff, I had no idea:

Listen, if you haven't yet, to the great pop stars of Senegal: Youssou N'Dour, Cheikh Lo, Baaba Maal. You'll adore what you hear and discover what they have in common, like the hustle and ping of their sound, etched with koras and horns. The other is what they sing about: transfixing passion, not for earthly lovers but for the holy men, marabouts, the Sufi saints of Islam.

[ Caught Up in the Aura of a Senegalese Saint (New York Times, requires registration) ]

I don't know much about this West African Sufi movement, but my brothers in Senegal sure know how to play some great tunes. If you Rhapsody, or even Napster, I recommend at least sampling a few tunes. Come to think of it, Dari digs the Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan too. Based on his recent post, perhaps I should check out the Sufi roots of Hall and Oates.

It's true:

Washington's largest alternative rock station, WHFS 99.1, was replaced by an all-Spanish music format. WHFS, an indie favorite in the D.C.-metro area since it's inception in the 1960s, saw many changes over its lifespan. Originally a home for music that couldn't find a home elsewhere, it became an Infinity station in 1996

[ washingtonpost.com - Live Online ]

Of course Infinity made it suck even more than it had already started to. I blame Seattle and “Grunge” for killing WHFS. Viva El Zol! (www.whfs.com).

More props to el Dari.

Update:

Of Infinity's five stations in the market, WHFS was its weakest ratings performer. In the Summer 2004 survey, the station had a 1.6 overall share and a 3.3 among its 18-34 target. Infinity's own Rhythmic Contemporary Hit Radio WPGC-FM is the top-rated station and the 18-34 leader.

[ Media Week ]

Time Warp Playlist!

• Supertramp
• ELO
• Styx
• Yes
• REO Speedwagon
• Rush

Mostly greatest hits albums. Debated putting some Boston on there too...

For a while now I've thought of putting together a playlist and burning a CD of songs related to one of my passions, coffee. So far I have about 1/2 what I need for a full CD. Can anyone think of something (available from Rhapsody) that would fit this list?

 Coffee

1. "Black Coffee" - Bobby Darin
2. "Cigarettes And Coffee" - Otis Redding
3. "Black Coffee Inn Bed" - Squeeze
4. "Coffee In A Cardboard Cup" - Mandy Patinkin
5. "Pot Of Coffee" - Frankie Paul/Pinchers
6. "Tom's Diner (A Capella)" - Suzanne Vega
7. "Let's Have Another Cup O' Coffee" - Glenn Miller
8. "The Coffee Song - (previously unreleased, alternate take)" - Frank Sinatra
9. "Java Jive" - Manhattan Transfer
10. "Jumpin' East Of Java" - The Brian Setzer Orchestra

And yes, the Rhapsody thing, unfortunately leaves Prince's Starfish and Coffee of the list. (Why Prince, why?!?!?)

Including:

• Madness
• The Specials
• The English Beat
• The Police (there's some Ska Influence there...)
• Save Ferris
• Smash Mouth
• No Doubt
• Hepcats

Truly the genius of a service like Rhapsody, for me, is the ability to find things that I wouldn't hear by my lack of listening to the radio and/or watching the music television (MTV and otherwise).

Jurassic 5 formed in 1993 as the union between two separate hip-hop groups, Rebels of Rhythm and Unity Committee, both frequent participants at The Good Life. The two groups came together to release a spontaneous, one-off single, "Unified Rebelution," which made a deep impression with true hip-hop heads everywhere. Its success emphasized the chemistry each of the artists had with one another and they decided to form Jurassic 5 as a singular musical unit.

[ bio content ]

Now we're talking. They're lyrical, nice flow, great influence, enunciate, clean enough lyrics (on their clean versions, though a bit too much of the N-bomb), and they are funky fresh. I've also been digging the Blackalicious, but not as much as J5. For those with Rhapsody, I've been all over the “Jazz Rap/Hip Hop” category which includes J5 and Blackalicious.

Anyone have a subscription to Rhapsody? I thought I should check it out, but the first step already has stumped me. If you do, or did, and have an opinion, I'd love to hear it.

RHAPSODY
All Access

$9.95/month
7-Day FREE Trial

Get access to everything we've got. Over 20,000 albums from more than 9,000 artists in every imaginable genre. Rock, hip-hop, R&B, country, jazz, classical...major label and indie...it's all in here. Want to listen to complete albums and create your own playlists? Want to build a library of your favorite music? Subscribing to All Access is like having a music megastore at your fingertips for less than the price of a CD.

• Play what you want, when you want, without limits
• Includes a subscription to Radio PLUS (see below)
• Burn your own CDs - just $.79 per track

RHAPSODY
Radio PLUS

$4.95/month
7-Day FREE Trial

The ultimate Internet radio. Get access to over 50 professionally programmed radio stations in a wide variety of genres. Create custom stations based on your favorite artists. Listen in CD-quality sound. Skip the tracks you don't like. Want to listen to your favorites while we introduce you to great new music? Want to take control of your radio? Radio PLUS is for you.

[ RHAPSODY's Catalogs - The Best Music On The Web ]

And when you go to order, they tell you the pricing of the quarterly plans: $24.95 for All Access and $9.90 for Radio Plus, making the choice even more difficult.

I caught VH1's Hip Hop Honors, and unlike some other awards shows or hall of fame inductions, this was the real deal. MCs, DJs, Taggers, Breakers: all were in the house, all in full effect.

With what I believe is the first annual Hip Hop Honors (at least I hope so) VH1 honors those who have started a movement we call Hip Hop:

• DJ Hollywood
• DJ Kool Herc
• KRS-One
• Run-D.M.C.
• Public Enemy
• Rock Steady Crew
• Sugarhill Gang
• Tupac Shakur

And everyone was in the house, at least the east coast was well represented. I didn't see Dre, or Snoop, though Ice-T was there and Tupac was honored. It appeared that they went way back (thus DJ Hollywood and DJ Kool Herc) to start this tradition where the lifestyle began. I expect if this is repeated next year will be more “west siiiide” and eventually honorees will be pulled from all over.

Although the crowd didn't seem to get into it as much as I did (they seemed to be more hyped for Fat Joe), the Beastie Boy's tribute to Run-DMC was great. Doug E Fresh joins toward the end with the beat box, and even Flavor Flav can get into it.

If you do catch the show, you may believe as I do, KRS-One is the happiest guy around these day. He just doesn't stop smiling.

And Doug E Fresh started his set, in which he ended up MCing with 3 DJs, with Kid Rock. And I must say Kid Rock is not bad, it's clear he hasn't kept up his DJing skills while becoming a performer in his own right, but he can work the wheels of steel mos def.

I heard it was good. And I resisted.

[ davidkearns.com: Cowboy Bebop ]

The geekery continues. I found an Amazon.com seller who had the Cowboy Bebop Movie, Series, and soundtrack for a decent enough price that I just had to order. Seems like they were all made for the Chinese market, but the DVDs appear to be region-free, and seemingly legit, so I'm happy.

I can't say enough about this trio from New York. The new album is funky fresh, and kickin' It is a bit anti-Dubya, which will please some, and there is way too much of the f-bomb, but I hope to get the “Wal-Mart sanitized” version so I cans share with my daughter.

Many great references, old school feel, and crazy wack lyrics like this:

'Cos I'm a freaky streaker like Winnie the Pooh
With a T-shirt and no pants and I dance the bugaloo

[ To The 5 Boroughs ]

They are certainly back from hiatus, and def'er than ev'r. So do your self a favor, and check it.

Unfortunately not. Spork rarely appears on camera. But I think they could make this medley their own. (Warning: This is a direct link to a WMV file...)

[ Mario Medley ]

...Spork was finally able to locate a practice area. I don't want to give too much information since we'll need to focus on playing and, let's face it, actually remembering our songs. If we announced the location, we'd surely have to contend with swarms of Spork-starved fans.

[ Perfect Utensil - Home of the band "Spork" ]

And this, my friends, is a good thing.

Black 47 (a name deriving from the year 1847, the blackest year of the Irish potato famine) is a New York-based band made up of Irish expatriates and led by songwriter/playwright Larry Kirwan. In addition to Kirwan (vocals, guitar), the band consists of Joseph Mulvanerty (uilleann pipes), Fred Parcells (trombone, tin whistle, vocals), Geoff Blythe (saxophone), Thomas Hamlin (percussion), and Andrew Goodsight (bass). Black 47 plays a mixture of traditional Celtic folk music, rock & roll, rap, and reggae, all topped by the idiosyncratic songwriting and persona of Kirwan

[ The State ]

They put on a great show. Highly recommended.

[ Beastie Boys ]

OK. So it took me like 5+ years to get around to picking up a copy, and the boys from Manhatten have apparently been waiting for me to do so before releasing their next.

MCA, Mike D, Adrock let me now formally appologize for taking so long to purchase your latest, this should now clear the way for further albums.

And on the cool check in
Center stage on the mic
And we're puttin' it on wax
It's the new style

[ Beastie Boys ]

It happens. You say one phrase in passing: “It's the new style”, and next thing you know it all Beastie, all morning. Also about time I bought a copy of Hello Nasty...

I've been a victim of limited selection:

But fans who venture onto any of the pay music sites will not find the most popular band ever, the Beatles. They will not find other top-selling acts, such as the Dave Mathews Band, Garth Brooks, the Grateful Dead, AC/DC and the Cars.

They will find that top-selling acts Madonna (news - web sites) and Red Hot Chili Peppers sell their songs by the album, but not as singles. They will find some musicians on one service, but not on others.

They will find puzzling choices: Led Zeppelin fans can buy a 47-minute spoken-word biography of the band online, but no Zeppelin songs because the band has not licensed them for sale on the Internet.

[ Yahoo! News ]

I like an all Zeppelin day every once in a while, Napster only seems to have 3 tracks, only one appears to be available for streaming. I also wanted a good dose of the Grateful Dead the other day, Napster has none. While I can appreciate that people want to protect their property rights and their copyrights, they'd better face the music soon, and get their music out on the Internet, or else. (How's that for an empty threat?)

Main Entry: dictionaraoke
Pronunciation: 'dik-sh&-"ner-A-O-ke
Definition: Audio clips from online dictionaries sing the hits of yesterday and today. The fun of karaoke meets the word power of the dictionary.

[ Dictionaraoke Mirror Site ]

Courtesy of Dari

You can stream video game music and pretend that you're playing:

January 1st, 2004 marks the one year anniversary of Gaming FM. What an interesting adventure it’s been! In twelve short months, we’ve risen up the ranks to become the number one video game radio station on the planet!

[ GamingFM ]

Or if you refer covers, as apposed to the original music, check out the Neskimos or the Mini Bosses.

[I am] now a Napster Premium member, which means [I]'ve got half a million tracks at [my] fingertips. [My] Napster Premium service includes unlimited streaming and downloading of full-length tracks, commercial-free radio, unbridled access to exclusive community features, and much more. Don't forget, every track or album [I] purchase goes right to [my] hard drive and is [mine] to burn, transfer or do whatever.

[Napster Welcome Email]

Which so far, is not bad. The streaming isn't all messed up like some online radio stuff. And I'm assuming that most anything that is streamed to me is easily located and purchased, if I wish to burn CDs of music for listening “off-line” like in my car.

I'm also assuming that this will curb my urge to spend mucho dinero on the purchase of music from Napster, and only buy the really good stuff.

Well, not really. The only vestiges from Napster's previous incarnation appear to be the name and the logo.

Napster is now open for business, and located right inside Windows Media Player. If you have this swell little media player installed, you can go to “Premium Services” and install Napster from there.

The claim to have at least 500,000 tracks by now, and are adding more each day. I warn you, however, you might spend a few bucks if you check it out. I've already purchased They Might Be Giants: Flood, a Kurtis Blow track from back in the day, “I'm Chillin'”, and the new Sting Album: Sacred Love.

The sound quality is good, and since I already use Windows Media Player for playback, it's convenient. I expect that it's best for buying brand-new music that is more expensive than the $9.95 that Napster charges, or for getting one or two tracks off of otherwise lackluster albums. Also, nostalgia is a big factor, and it's easy to throw together a quick mix play list, and then burn it to CD.

AP - Unexpected and insidious, the earworm slinks its way into the brain and refuses to leave. Symptoms vary, although high levels of annoyance and frustration are common. There are numerous potential treatments, but no cure.

[ Yahoo! News - Oddly Enough ]

This is crap, there are 2 main cures:

1. Queen's Bohemian Rapsody
2. More cow bell

Take your pick...

It occurs to me that I might have a "Greatest Album of All Time" and then it occurs to me just after that, that most people might not have an opinion that strong.

So, what is your candidate for the "Greatest Album of All Time"?