<< Return to Home 

Audio Scrobbling


Audioscrobller is a pretty cool site that links into your audio player and notes everything you play building a statistical picture of your listening and suggesting music you might like or linking you with like minded users.

I've setup an account here, the only unfortunate thing being that the Windows iTunes plugin can't collate iPod plays meaning my stats will both be rarely updated and unrepresentative. Apparently the Mac plugin will do this but the Windows developer doesn't have an iPod so can't implement this into the Windows version.

There is an RSS feed of the tracks you've played available so it would be nice to parse this feed and display it here on the site although until they implement iPod recognition this isn't as interesting as it should be. That's interesting in inverted commas.

22:58 | 4 Comments, | permanent link

...................................................................................................................

Ripping Yarn


Look over to the right and you'll notice I finally updated my ripping stats. Been neglecting to do that for a while but as you can see I've leaped ahead in the number I've done. Not finished the racks yet with maybe another 170 to do, then it's onto all the CD's that don't have full cases (promos, magazine mounts, card covers etc) followed by box sets then singles. So a big chunk through but much more to do.

Ripping at work has helped no end and it hasn't been that disruptive to my working day, doesn't take more than a few seconds to change CD's and most of the time I've ripped everything I brought by 11am. In general I've been doing 20-25 a day depending on their length (though on Friday I ripped 33), these are then burnt to CD-RW's to take home where they're imported to iTunes. Well worth it when home ripping gives me 4x speed and at work ripping gives me up to 25x.

23:46 | 0 Comments, | permanent link

...................................................................................................................

New Start


Nice bit of synergy at the library last night. Spotted a Jacques Brel CD and my brane decided I should look for the double CD Infiniment that I've been hovering over in Avalanche for a while. Had a quick scan and there it was! Which was nice. Been curious to hear him for sometime what with the links he has to other artists (he's been covered in translated versions for years (he sings in French)) - you can trace back through from The Divine Comedy to Scott Walker to Brel. Covered by the likes of Marc Almond too (Jackie) and David Bowie. Listened to the first disc this morning and it's dramatic, romantic music. Recorded in the 50s/60s so lots of strings and horns. Slightly frustrating not understanding the lyrics since going by the English adaptations I suspect they're pretty interesting. Looking at AMG was interesting to note that his early records were called Jacques Brel 1, Jacques Brel 2, Jacques Brel 3 and Jacques Brel 4 tying in with Walkers decision to call his early solo albums Scott 1, 2, 3 and 4. Funny how you notice these interesting wee connections that had passed you by before. A couple of weeks ago I found out that Sandie Shaw had a song called 'Heaven Knows I'm Missing Him Now' (in case you, for some reason, don't know...Morrissey was a big Shaw fan and The Smiths have a song called 'Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now'). Such a fan was he that Shaw recorded a couple of Smiths songs with the band as her backing. At least Hand In Glove was a hit and she appeared with The Smiths on Top Of The Pops writhing about the floor in her trademark bare feet (apart from stockings on this occasion). She actually looked pretty cool even given it was 20 odd years since her first shot at success. (The Best Of Sandie Shaw was another CD I got from the library last night, interest being peaked by the reviews for a rerelease of a record of cover versions she did in the late sixties that sounded pretty interesting).

Also got out After Bathing At Baxter's by Jefferson Airplane of White Rabbit, Somebody To Love fame. This is their 1967 stab at over ambition that most bands tried that year. Never been that attracted to their records and this'll be the first I've heard. I'm curious though not holding out much hope that it'll be much cop. Nigel Williamson in Uncut seems to be a huge fan which is usually enough to put me off.

For those who have seen Gimme Shelter, the Airplane supported the Stones with Marty Balin(?) being laid flat out by stage invaders who thought they'd have a pop. Indication of the atmosphere that day before it all *really* turned scary when the Stones themselves came on.

My other memory of Jefferson Airplane (apart from Carrey singing in the Cable Guy) is at school during a music lesson we were asked to programme our ideal radio station (this must have been first or second year). Music clearly wasn't much a part of my life at this stage, think I listened to Radio 1 and maybe a bit of Clyde in those days but wasn't really buying records. I was struggling to come up with records and a concept for my station and the only track I remember adding to my list is 'Walking on Sunshine' by Katrina & The Waves which is rather embarassing. I thought that the music played on the radio should be happier and more upbeat. Ugh. I'm sure I liked that song for years after this but it's fairy execrable from where I'm sitting at this point. Anyway, this was related to JA. Honest. The guy sat beside me (Douglas Paterson) had put down White Rabbit by JA which I had never heard of but seems a pretty obscure records for a 14 year old to put down. I can only think that his parents had exposed him to it. I'm sure he felt a surge of superiority as he wrote it down thinking he was being all hip and obscure. I felt much the same back in Primary School when we were being played snippets of music by Mr Young and we had to guess what they were. He stuck on Pensylvania 65000 and my hand was immediately up saying that it sounded a bit like Glen Miller. I felt so proud that I knew this and I'm sure everyone imagined me at home pouring over 40's big band records and Mr Young marvelled at my knowledge of records around before I was born. In actual fact my quick answer was only down to having watched James Stewart in The Glen Miller story the week before which I'm sure proves something but I don't know what.

Glen Miller, of course, was on his way to Paris on a plane and was apparently shot down or crashed in thick fog before he got there although there was a rumour I heard a few years ago that he had actually died in a Paris brothel proving that even when dying 60 years ago you're not free from celebrity tittle tattle.

Jefferson Airplane evolved into Jefferson Starship and then into Starship who released the official proven by science worst song of all time 'We Built This City' (There was a poll, it must be true. Just look at Channel 4's Music Hall Of Fame). Wonder if they kept having to change their name because they were artistically bankrupt. (This is, of course, based on the usual 'received wisdom' having never heard any of their records)

Random Facts - 1
One of the members of Boards Of Canada used to work in Edinburgh Music Library.

15:11 | 0 Comments, | permanent link

...................................................................................................................

Hiding your geekness under a bushell


Someone walking into the office mentions they've just had a phone call from James Brown which causes someone else to burst into a chorus of 'Soul Man'. Ha Ha Ha. She funny.

I debate with myself whether to point out that the song in question was actually sung by Sam and Dave and not the funky cape shrugger offer who so hilariously shares a name with someone who had cause to phone my workplace. I, of course, don't point out my ill informed colleagues embarassing mistake as that would be rude in the circumstances, make me sound like a prat and open my geeky music knowledge to public scrutiny.

Instead I run here and post it to my blog. Which of course isn't geeky. Oh no.

12:05 | 0 Comments, | permanent link

...................................................................................................................

Impossible demands


I don't want to hear the album described as

"romantic, satirical, disturbing, oddly sexy, impossibly gorgeous and irksomely pretentious in the way that only an album recorded by two champagne-guzzling costume-wearing Brooklyn bohemians in a bathtub in Montmartre can be"

because there is no way it's ever going to live up to that description.

12:04 | 0 Comments, | permanent link

...................................................................................................................

Powered By Blogbear
(c) Copyright 2003-2004.