Ignoring Rationality, I Subscribed to Sirius Radio Yesterday

Last week, I told you that the new iPhone application from Sirius Radio solved a problem I didn't have, namely gaining access to good music - which I can get from numerous sources, including my bulging iTunes library, Last.fm, Pandora, or even streaming radio sources built into iTunes itself, like those from Digitally Imported. But despite my protests, I gave in yesterday and paid up, making Sirius' foray into iPhone applications already responsible for at least one net new customer.

As I mentioned last week, I always had hoped to have streaming high quality satellite radio in my next car, but missed the boat when I bought a used 2006 model and didn't get the chance to configure it myself.

After initial struggles getting the app to work in the car, the application has worked beautifully for the remainder of the seven day free trial that came alongside the iPhone app. I have made turning on Sirius Radio (and primarily the station Area) part of the process of my turning the car on. And if you're a diehard electronic music and techno fan, I can tell you there is just no substitute for Sirius' set of stations on any network I have ever tried.


The Sirius Lineup on Pulsar
But if I were only using Sirius in the car, I still would have passed. Instead, I have also been playing my Sirius stations on my laptop, using an application called Pulsar, from Rogue Amoeba, that makes getting the music on my desktop very easy indeed. Now, I can listen to Area, and get shows from Robbie Rivera, Bennie Benasi, Paul Van Dyk, John Digweed, Carl Cox and Paul Oakenfold any time I am near the computer or the iPhone (which as you can assume is darn near all the time).


My Favorite Sirius Stations on Pulsar
And it's not just the unmatched content on the channel that had me convert. It's also the complete lack of commercials on Sirius, and of course, elimination of static. Pure satellite sound pumping through my BMW speakers on 280 is just amazing, as you can probably imagine.

Last week, when I was first talking about possibly buying Sirius Radio, Thomas Hawk repeatedly said "music wants to be free". But I will always pay for quality - and Sirius Radio has it. I cannot wait until the next long trip when I can charge up the iPhone, hook up to the dash and hit the gas, with perfect music flowing alongside. So don't tell me it was an irrational move, one that was a waste of money, or that I had better alternatives elsewhere. Music, like art, is emotional, and I have no qualms about reversing my position.

Sirius for iPhone Solves a Problem I Don't Have

Ever since I rented an Audi in 2007 while traveling that came with satellite radio preinstalled, I have been smitten with the idea of Sirius Radio, and specifically, the station Area, a great Dance and Electronic station featuring some of my favorite DJs, including Paul van Dyk and Paul Oakenfold. As my last car started to die, I always imagined my next upgrade would include Sirius Radio, letting me get crystal-clear music no matter where I drove.

As you already know, I got my next car after all, and it didn't come with Sirius Radio. So I've been holding out for the company's iPhone application to debut. I now had this fantasy of using the line-in feature to my car, streaming satellite radio through the iPhone and essentially reproducing the experience. That I already have thousands and thousands of songs in my iTunes library was really not an issue - for the geek in me wanted it anyway.


Browsing Sirius Radio on my iPhone
Last night, following the release of the iPhone's 3.0 software, I picked up the Sirius Radio application, registered for a seven day trial, and practically ever since, I've been hooked into the station Area. No commercials and outstanding music. I've had my headphones cranked up when at home, and I even hooked up Area when I have been at the office, preferring good music to being on the phone or engaging with co-workers.

But, surprisingly, I couldn't get Sirius to connect when I was driving, as I toggled back from Edge or 3G on AT&T's network. The one place I thought I could really use Sirius radio, so far, has been a complete zero, saying it was unable to connect.


If Only I Could Pay for Just This Station...
Given I already have days and days and days of music to catch up on, which is already at my fingertips at home or at the office, with my laptop, and also given that I can play this music in the car whenever I want, Sirius' offer fits a very small niche that I would have to work very hard to justify. And while others are complaining that Sirius has not preloaded the app with shock jock Howard Stern or some of its sports coverage, I don't care for Stern, and can get all my MLB games, in audio, using the MLB application for the iPhone.

I admit I love the station Area. Part of me wants to close my eyes and hand over the credit card, paying $12 or so a month to get that station alone - and just maybe I will, if I can get it to connect to the car consistently. But realistically, the debut of Sirius radio for a platform that already has formidable competitors in Last.fm and Pandora, not to mention my own bloated music library, is a tough one. Only if I feel a nagging itch to throw away more money on my music will this happen, and if I ever get too loopy, there's always the option provided to me by Apple of updating my entire library to iTunes Plus for about $400.

So for the next 6 or so days, I will crank up Area. And when that free trial ends, something dramatic will have to have happened to get me to do more than just uninstall. (See Also: Sirius Radio Now Looks Like an Outer Space WebVan)

AT&T Has Us Approach Intersection of Doing "Right", Common Sense

For the most part, I believe people are good and try to honor the law. Most people, regardless of religion or upbringing, believe it is wrong to lie, to steal or to cheat. But sometimes, there comes a perceived imbalance that drives a mob of people to collectively break the law and flaunt the rules, until the teeming anarchy threatens to break down the system, save it for a clear thinking authority figure who steps in and offers an acceptable alternative. We saw this with the boom of Napster and again with the rise of peer to peer networks for video trading. We saw it two years ago when users gloriously jailbroke their iPhones to install much-desired apps, and we are possibly seeing it again now that it looks like many existing iPhone 3G owners, shackled to AT&T for their service, are going to be unable to perform tasks possible from other carriers.

Going back to the root of the first two examples, with Peer to Peer networks and Napster, why were people sharing files and downloading like mad? For many people, it wasn't a matter of wanting to steal from the record companies, or to defraud artists. From the many stories I read and the people I talked to in that era, the most active Napster users were also among the ones with the largest legitimate music collections, the ones who made visiting a record store or concert a regular occurrence. But there came an imbalance between the ease of acquisition and the price of acquisition of the media, as prices for individual CDs rose from the $9.99 range to $13, $15, $18 and beyond.

Napster, Kazaa and other peer to peer networks, offered an alternative that delivered music of all types quickly, depending on download speeds, and for extremely low cost (free). And instead of downloading full albums, users could find individual tracks and get those alone.

It took a realistic alternative, like iTunes, that offered low per-track pricing and easy, trusted, downloads to push people to move away from illegal options, and for the most part, they have. Similarly, options like Netflix, Amazon Unbox and iTunes again provided users with trusted inexpensive video downloads that were less costly than the rapidly-rising theater experience, with its $10+ tickets (not to mention inability to pause the film).

In each case, consumers, with common sense, grew tired of the restrictions placed on them from an uncaring monopolistic industry. And while the traditional entertainment and media moguls are still reeling from having to adjust to the new rules placed on them by consumers, other old world giants think they can play the game and be a gatekeeper. AT&T's woes were painfully shown by Apple yesterday, who quietly called out the carrier for being behind in practically every important way - not enabling tethering for the iPhone, being incapable of supporting MMS, and giving all of us early adopters a dramatic case of sticker shock when we considered upgrading.

The world of common sense again says that if customers want to pay for cutting edge technology and are willing to pay for your services, they will. But they don't like being forced into a less than ideal situation that makes them feel like they are paying top dollar and getting lowest rung support.

I haven't slammed AT&T much and haven't championed them either. Phone services, like electricity and water, are a utility - something that should just work in the background. The fact that we are even talking about them now means something has failed. It's a relatively quiet group of folks, so far, who feel wronged by the phone monolith's position, but if the failures continue, they will start to break the rules, because common sense says they should, and eventually, the wrong will be right.

Pet Shop Boys Trump Depeche Mode in New Music Nostalgia Week

After two months of anticipation, thanks in part to an iTunes Pass to the band's 'Sounds of the Universe' album, Depeche Mode opened up the vault, issuing the remaining tracks this week, helping fill my iTunes library. But surprisingly, only a few days later, it's not this album from this 1980s megaband that's getting all the playing time on my iPhone. Instead, it's the much quieter release from The Pet Shop Boys called 'Yes' which has me hitting Shuffle and then Repeat.

Depeche Mode and the Pet Shop Boys occupy a special place in my permanent nostalgia file, reckoning back to high school and the years just before and after, joining Information Society, New Order and others. That they continue to put out great music is something of a miracle, but being a loyal listener, I buy every new song and album they release.

Given the hype and wait for 'Sounds of the Universe', I expected something amazing. And yes, while it's good, there was no hype for the Pet Shop Boys' 'Yes', and I simply can't stop playing it over and over. It was my airplane companion as I flew from Las Vegas to San Jose this evening, and the background when we arrived home and entertained the twins, who hadn't seen me in five days.

While Depeche Mode made headlines for their iTunes creativity, gaining me access to remixes and videos weeks in advance, the biggest surprise has been a special bonus track on the 'Yes' album, which contains audio commentary from the Pet Shop Boys, explaining how they arrived at lyrics, music, and how songs stayed off the cutting room floor. It's highly entertaining, just like the producer commentary on many of today's DVDs. And the album is classic Pet Shop Boys. From "Love Etc." to "Vulnerable" and "Pandemonium", many of the tracks exceed even the best from Depeche Mode's 'Sounds of the Universe'.

Depeche Mode may have far and away the most artist plays in my Last.fm library in all-time rankings, but at least for this week, in what should have been their return to glory, they're going to take a back seat. You can find both albums on iTunes, of course.

Britney Spears Passes Obama for Most Followed Human on Twitter

This evening, around 8:25 p.m. Pacific Time, pop star Britney Spears passed President Barack Obama for the most popular Twitter account representing an individual (Both trail CNN Breaking News). While Spears joined Twitter relatively recently, only 6 months ago, to Obama's more than two years ago, the diva and those who help manage her online presence have shot to the top of the rankings, as Twitter has moved out of the geek sphere and into the mainstream. Not surprisingly, she and Obama are trailed by other "real world" celebrities like Ashton Kutcher (#4 overall), Jimmy Fallon (#6) and Shaquille O'Neal (#7).


As of 8:25 p.m. Pacific time on Saturday, @britneyspears topped @barackobama.
Both Spears and Obama have more than 620,000 followers as of tonight, following Britney's passing of Barack.

Note: Previous reports from sites like WeFollow, TwitterHolic and TwitterCounter were incorrect, as Obama's following statistics were undercounted by almost 50,000, stuck at 571,885 for some reason. (See some premature notes of Spears passing Obama on Twitter Search and a tweet by someecards to that effect.)


@someecards was premature, but on target.
Earlier this week, sparked by a New York Times story, Spears' account, as well as others, were highlighted as being operated by "ghost writers" - sparking outrage from some corners of the Web who thought they were authentic. Guy Kawasaki, who admitted to letting others tweet on his behalf, said he managed all direct messages and replies, while others were able to post links. But Spears' account was never really a secret - offering some transparency to the process. In December, you can recall an interview by Jesse Stay with Lauren Kozak, her social media director, that discussed how the account operated.

As she said then:

"Yes, we do get Twitters directly from Britney. We also get Twitters directly from Britney's Entourage. We provide announcement and tour information. We also have messages which are designed to drive traffic around Britney Spears' properties when we have something cool go on."

Ghost writers or not, the account has gained significant visibility and popularity - despite only adding a tweet about once a day. Of course, in contrast, Obama has only posted an update once since his swearing in on January 20th.

As Twitter grows, you can see the growth in the pair's audiences. Refreshing either's page will show a few dozen followers joining each minute, though Britney is increasing hers at a more dramatic rate.

The Spears and Obama teams operate differently when it comes to Twitter, not just in terms of frequency of their updates, but in how they follow back. Obama's account follows more than half a million, with 60,000 or so not being followed, for whatever reason. Spears' account, in comparison, follows fewer than 80,000. Of course, it doesn't exactly seem possible that either user, or their handlers, is really paying attention to the updates from fans - as the numbers are astronomical, and they probably have other priorities.

It's not clear if Britney can maintain the top spot for long. Kutcher joined Twitter in January, and his account is rapidly gaining, showing more than 583,000 followers as of 7:30 Pacific time this evening. At the current pace, it may be he, and not Britney, who tops the followers chart.


Ashton is Looking to Pass Britney Soon
Oh... and for the record, I don't follow any of these accounts, so my own data did not contribute.

Early Adoption Can Stem to Music As Well

This photo, unearthed from the archives in 1978, shows me rocking out to the tunes, bottle in hand, just like many other more aged musicians. But while some of these musicians used the bottle as a gateway to more recreational drugs, I never quite made that step. Instead, I continue to focus... on the music.

Anybody who follows my Last.fm activity, either through the site, or through my FriendFeed stream, knows I have an "early adopter" approach to music as well. I can hardly stand most contemporary pop, dabble only a tad in R&B, but have been a huge fan of electronic/trance music and techno practically since my first encountering of these unique sounds. Graduating from Depeche Mode, the Cure and REM in junior high school, I added on Information Society and the Smiths in high school before going head-long into beats from Underworld, Chemical Brothers, Orbital, the Crystal Method, and all matter of electronic DJs, including Paul Oakenfold, Paul Van Dyk, DJ Tiesto, and many others.

Yesterday, my partner in crime, Mike Fruchter, alerted me to an unexpected source for more down-tempo tunes, which I've had playing ever since, and plan to start again when I'm done. Adam Singer, of The Future Buzz, happens to be an excellent musician in his own right. I knew he was already a great blogger, but to do both at the same time? Outstanding.

If you share my musical interests, or just want to listen in, go check out www.adamsinger.org for a preview, where you can download his full albums in Zip form, which expand to MP3 and a perfect addition to your iTunes library. I particularly recommend "Lifeforce", "Drifting" and his remix of Depeche Mode's "I Feel You".

Rock on.

DRM = Doesn't Really Matter

If one of the biggest items to be delivered at tomorrow's MacWorld Expo is the elimination of DRM from songs on the iTunes store, as is rumored, then we are on the brink of the biggest snoozefests in technology event history. Forget that Mr. Steve Jobs potentially is suffering hot flashes, and is instead being replaced by Cupertino's wild-haired Pillsbury Doughboy, Phil Schiller. This Macworld has got to be the lowest-anticipated in terms of new product debuts that I can ever remember. And when it comes down to it, despite all the online horror and tongue-lashings, I'd venture a bet that the supposed evils of DRM that Apple has wrought on its users haven't really effected but a small percentage. I don't love DRM, but I live with DRM, and it doesn't really matter.

When Apple introduced iTunes and marketed it with the "Rip. Mix. Burn." campaign several years ago, music labels were furious, thinking the Mac-maker was embracing piracy, a second back to back blow to the maligned monopolists following Napster's runaway success. When Apple introduced the iPod in 2001, and later the iTunes Store in 2003, it had to bend over backwards to gain the cooperation of the labels, restricting who could play what songs when on what computers or iPods, and how many times they could burn playlists to CDs, all in the name of preserving profits.

Over time, some of the DRM rules were relaxed, and the advent of iTunes Plus meant you could some songs from iTunes without rights management, for an additional fee of 30 cents a song. The additional 30 cents, in theory, meant you could do whatever you wanted with the file, just like you can with any hard copy you own, be it cassettes, CDs, etc.

Although I've been an iPod user practically since the first day they were announced, and followed the Apple upgrade path through to my current 16 GB iPhone, and I now own almost 6,000 songs on iTunes, a significant percentage of which were purchased from the iTunes Store, I almost never encounter any issues with DRM. I've upgraded my laptop a few times, moving my data from one computer to the next and authorizing the new machine. I've synchronized new iPods and the iPhone and always been able to play them. My music plays on my Apple TV, and can be streamed from my wife's computer on our same network.

That my music is slathered over with Apple's proprietary DRM is not a big deal, period. I would practically have to go out of my way to find a way that having "suffered" through DRM for the better part of eight years with Apple has negatively affected my music experience. I do know that I certainly am better off than those who chose subscriptions with music companies that have disappeared and gone out of business. I'm better off with my digital music here than in stacks of CDs around the house. In fact, I gave all my CDs away to a co-worker when the babies were born as part of cleaning house!

For eight years, I've wondered if the fact I didn't care about DRM was because I am a hopeless Apple fanboy. Maybe I've fallen under the spell of believing Apple should make the rules for how I use what is ostensibly my music and media. But seriously, the drama of DRM and its limits has been so overhyped I don't even know where to start. If you want to buy your music somewhere else, go for it. There are alternatives. But there's a reason iTunes, iPod and iPhone have been such a success. It's because of what they let you do, not what they don't let you do. It's the best combo on the market, and I don't care one bit about the DRM wars which just might be coming to an end as we know it tomorrow. I never have.

AOL Radio Lulls Kids to Sleep... With Metallica?

It's really getting to the point where I believe my iPhone can do anything. You've already heard me say I sleep next to it, and that it should practically run unopposed in the smartphone market. But what you don't understand is that it is rapidly finding new roles and new ways to get intertwined with my life. The newest role is helping to put the twins to sleep, thanks to the AOL Radio application, and that app's Lullabies radio station - which shockingly extends beyond the Brahms Lullaby, offering music even I found fun to hear, from new mixes of U2's "Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" to a cover of Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters."

It's true I already have gigabytes and gigabytes of my own music on my iPhone. But, truth be told, my music is usually for getting energetic, with beats from Underworld and Paul Van Dyk or DJ Tiesto, instead of calming music aimed to lull people to rest. That's where AOL Radio steps in.


AOL Radio Features a Lullabies Channel
The application features many genres, from Blues and Country to Dance/Electronic and Metal. But if you choose the Kids genre, there are six channels, including one called "Lullabies", featuring "Soothing sounds for your baby and you." Trust me, I was quite skeptical of this channel, expecting to mock it - but the channel manages to deliver songs that are not only calming to both Matthew and Sarah, but also good enough to keep us entertained.


From Mozart... to Metallica Covers!
Tonight, following one Beach Boys cover and Adagio from Mozart, I heard the familiar strains of "Nothing Else Matters" stream from the iPhone, reminding me of unsuccessful junior high school crushes and long-ago settled debates over who was the best hard rock band... Metallica or Whitesnake. And guess what? The cover song was good enough I would have played it again, if given the option. (Listen to it here.)

AOL Radio does a lot more than play lullabies. It's actually also a good application for playing local music and other songs from just about any type of music you like. And it's free on iTunes. Find it here.

Is There a Long Tail to My iTunes Library? The Stats Tell All.

Having long ago passed the point where I could realistically listen to all my music on my iTunes library in a matter of days or weeks, I set up a number of smart playlists that help me to rediscover old music, sorted by the most recent time I played the song. (See: iTunes: Old Music Is New Again from March of 2006) By solely listening to this constantly re-generating playlist, I find myself avoiding repeated songs, and am constantly finding great music that's fallen by the wayside.

But as this playist has continued to expand, and I can't keep up, despite avoiding new purchases, for the most part, we now can further break down the list to see if there is a long tail to iTunes. Am I getting to every song, and what percentage of my songs have been listened to over specific time periods? Also, given I only have a finite amount of time, how many of the songs have been listened to only once?

Let's find out.

First: As of Midnight PDT on Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008:
There are 5,773 items, representing 23.7 days and 35.42 GB.


My iTunes Library, Songs Sorted by Last Played
Of these nearly 6,000 songs, I've managed to get to over 1,000 of them in the last three months, and an additional 500 or so in the prior three months (with no overlaps). But that means more than 4,000 songs have not been touched in the last six months, representing more than two and a half weeks of solid music.

While I've tried to get to every song with some regularity, there's still almost a day's worth of music that hasn't been listened to in more than 10 months.


My iTunes Library, Songs Sorted by Play Count
Additionally, of the almost 6,000 songs in my iTunes library, about 1,000 songs have been listened to greater than 12 times each since iTunes started counting. This compares with about 3,200 songs that have been listened to between 5 and 12 times apiece, and more than 1,500 that have been listened to between 1 and 4 times.


Using a small utility called iTunes Timer, the accumulative play totals for the songs in my library suggest that I've listened to iTunes for more than 195 days and 2 hours. Surely, if I stay connected to the laptop or my iPhone with some good regularity, I can power through those songs I haven't heard in more than six months, or listen to those tracks that haven't gotten enough airplay. But realistically, I shouldn't be letting the statistics drive my listening habits. It's common for people to find their favorite songs and play them a whole lot more than those that don't quite strike their fancy. But with iTunes, and the power of Smart Playlists, I can actually dive in and find out. And to watch me try and catch up, check out my Last.fm page.

What do your iTunes stats show?

The Real Genius in iTunes 8? Apple Will Make More Money.

At times, it seems like the mainstream press hasn't yet figured out how to preview Apple events. That Apple periodically updates its iPods or iPhones or computers and software is really no surprise. The home runs are typically saved for MacWorld San Francisco, with big announcements sprinkled in at the company's WorldWide Developers' Conference (WWDC) and the occasional one-off event. But even when the company makes largely expected announcements, some go into severe hype in advance, and severe lows following. And like the illegal drug users who share the same spike and eventual crash, they're usually left looking for more. But behind the acid trip rainbow iPod Nanos and and upgraded iPod Touch, there was an element of real genius - as iTunes was upgraded with a new tool making it even easier to spend even more money on the popular online music store.


An iTunes Genius playlist, based on ATB's "Do You Love Me"

One of the major new features of iTunes 8 is called "Genius", which will leverage your own iTunes listening history, as well as that of other iTunes users, and try to create a playlist of songs similar to that which you are listening to. Like "Party Shuffle", it will get some mixes right, and some wrong, but it's following along the path of Pandora and Last.fm to use a crowd's information to provide recommendations and guess what other songs or artists you would like.

(See also: ReadWriteWeb: iTunes 8: The Genius in the Box and Mark Evans: Is Apple’s Genius Good or Evil?)

The breakthrough for Genius isn't so much that you can rediscover old music that you've neglected, although for some that is no doubt true. The real value is in the Genius sidebar, which is plastered with "Buy" buttons linking to the iTunes Music Store. In a time when so many Web services are hoping ad clicks will provide them with a way to the promised land, the simplicity of how Apple rolls out new services that enable a larger revenue stream is impressive.

For me, Apple iTunes long ago became my default source for new music. Even if I found a song on the radio or through Last.fm or another source, the first step is to head to iTunes to get it and download it. If iTunes doesn't have the song or album, it might as well no longer exist. I won't be heading to another service to find the song, but I may buy something else instead. That Apple has now made a mainline to my credit card every single time I fire up iTunes is a great way for me to continue making regular donations to my favorite for-profit Cupertino-based charity.

Of course, given I already have 4,342 songs totaling 18.3 days worth of music which hasn't been listened to in the last six months, according to my "Neglected" playlist, maybe I should be satisfied with what I have. Now that would be true genius.

Hitting Last.fm's 'Love' Button Is Getting Me Back In Tune

I'm an unrepentant music-ophile. Through a combination of CD purchases and burns and iTunes downloads, my music library is a swollen 35 Gigabytes, featuring almost 6,000 songs, which would take more than three weeks to listen to straight through. As a result, it's no surprise there are a ton of great tunes that I haven't gotten to in a while, as I'm not constantly listening, as unfortunate as that is. But recently, I've been using Last.fm a lot more frequently, letting me broadcast my playlist to friends who follow me, and letting them know what I'm listening to, making it a more social, and fun, experience.


A Pet Shop Boys discussion from Thursday on FriendFeed
I have been a longtime Last.fm user, having first sent my data to the service back in 2005. Prior to that, I was also a happy user of MusicMobs, starting in 2004, which merged into Last.fm in November of last year. Both sites collectively offered a great way for me to catalog my listening history, find out which artists and songs I hit up most frequently, and discover new, similar, artists.


Another discussion on FriendFeed re: DJ Tiesto
But as fun as statistics are, it's just a new form of navel gazing, and I never really delved into finding "friends" and seeing who my "neighbors" were on the site. But now that Last.fm is integrated into the various lifestreaming applications out there, like MyBlogLog, and especially FriendFeed, I'm having a good time going through artists I've neglected, and hitting the "Love" button on Last.fm's desktop application, which tells people which songs I'm particularly enjoying.

What I've found is that you never know just who might share the same interests. For some reason, I've had people say they're surprised I listen to such electronic music and techno as DJ Tiesto, Underworld, Depeche Mode, Paul Van Dyk and Armin Van Buuren. I've also taken people back a decade or two by listening to classics from the Pet Shop Boys, and Information Society.


Last.fm tells me my top artists
Through Last.fm, I've found that Jeremiah Owyang is a Tiesto fan, that Steven Hodson has fantastic musical tastes, introducing me to Mind In a Box, which led me to Edge of Dawn, and that Kevin Fox likes Pet Shop Boys. Although I have to admit that in the last few months, I haven't had the laptop pumping out iTunes as much as it used to, largely due to not wanting to unnecessarily wake up the twins, sharing my tastes via Last.fm is getting me back into the music in a big way.

You can find me on Last.fm here:
http://www.last.fm/user/louismg

You can see my "Loved" tracks on FriendFeed here:
http://friendfeed.com/louisgray?service=lastfm

iPod Touch As An Apple TV Remote? Cooler Than I Thought.

When Apple's iTunes application store opened up last week, I, at first, skipped over the free Remote application that offered the option to manage iTunes or the Apple TV from your iPhone or iPod Touch. It just seemed stupid at worst, or a proof of concept at best. Why would I want to duplicate the Apple Remote's capabilities with a much more functional device, I thought? But after checking the application out the last few days, I can attest to the fact I've been pleasantly surprised, and am now taking my iPod Touch with me around the house, acting as a DJ on the move.

As the screenshots included in this post show, the Remote application on the iPod Touch or iPhone does more than just meet the same capabilities offered by Apple's miniscule white remote. Benefitting from the wide touchscreen, I can browse thousands of songs, albums and artists quickly, and see a mirror image of what's playing on my Apple TV, letting me change the song with a single tap of my finger, anywhere in range of the Airport wireless network that both my device and the Apple TV share.


In contrast, the white remote has always been painstakingly slow to browse large libraries, practically forcing an indent into my thumb as I held the down key just to pass the letter "M". Given my library has almost 6,000 songs on it, and 23.6 days worth of music, that can be a frequent problem.

Once the Remote application is synched up with your Apple TV, using it is very simple. Choose "Playlists", "Albums", "Artists", or search for a song or any band. Unlike the white remote, you can actually type on your iPod Touch or iPhone, making this very quick.


Now, instead of relying on my iTunes on the laptop, and just turning up the sound to full blast, or resigning myself to not listening to my music as I move around the house, I can leverage the sound system on my TV set, and play DJ from room to room. I can even go to the "More" tab and select what the Apple TV was always intended to do - play movies and TV shows. But overnight, this little would-be useless application has become a must-have. I'm not leaving my iPod Touch laying around any more.

My iPod Touch is Rarely Used for Music

Almost three months ago, we welcomed the iPod Touch to our family.

At the time, I was looking forward to taking videos with me on trips, for surfing the Web via WiFi, and for listening to scads of music. After all, Steve Jobs once said the iPhone, and ergo the iPod Touch, had the best iPod experience ever created. But it's been interesting to see that while my first iPod was all about music, the iPod Touch hardly ever gets used for that purpose.

So what am I doing with my iPod Touch? The overwhelming majority of activity is to browse the Web via WiFi, whether just away from the laptop, or at a friend's home with WiFi. Given the iPod synchronizes its bookmarks with my Safari Web browser, and with the addition of widgets for e-Mail, stocks and weather, just about anything I need is a few "touches" away. And the iPod Touch, to be honest, is the best device I can think of for taking the Web into places where a laptop wouldn't make sense. Ever take a PowerBook into the men's room at work? Didn't think so. But an iPod Touch fits right in your pocket...

As expected, I have used the iPod Touch for viewing movies and TV shows, especially on plane flights. Before my flight to Boston last month, and for this shorter trip to Phoenix, I made sure to rent one or two films before taking off. While Apple hasn't gained the fullest of movie libraries for rent yet, I've found a number of titles worth watching, especially when my alternative is craning my neck to see whatever United or US Airways has on tap. (My latest iPod Touch movie? Punch Drunk Love... and you can skip it.)

With Web access and TV or film, the need to play music is fading. While on my laptop, I almost always have iTunes going, but for my iPod Touch, iTunes is almost a forgotten app.

Recent Apple advances have made iTunes music even less important since I first got my iPod Touch. I've added custom icons to my home screen for Facebook, louisgray.com, FriendFeed and Twitter, and each offers me one-click access to where I'm most frequently engaged and communicating. I'd have added buttons for TechMeme and SiteMeter as well, but so far, I've chosen appearance over functionality, as neither site has a good custom icon. (Here's a great "how to" from Webomatica.)

Gaining the new widgets now puts .Mac and GMail in my pocket, with send and receive functionality. It's not quite able to replace the Blackberry yet, but I've grown quite adept at touch typing on it, more so than I had originally expected. Adding movie rentals to iTunes also made going to P2P networks for films much less inviting.

I'm near my laptop at home and work so often it's a rare time that I need to use my iPod Touch for music. I'm glad it's there if I ever need to tap into it, but over time, it's becoming less and less. Now it's a lot less about finding the right playlist, and a lot more about finding the best open wireless hotspot. That's more than I would have expected when Apple first debuted their original iPod years ago.

MusicMobs Disappears Into the Ether

Today, Om Malik reported the music tracking and playlist service, MusicMobs, had shut down, and the founder, deciding the best policy was to join the competition, rather than continue to do battle, has now become part of Last.FM. Now, the two services have become one, and in an instant, the dedicated artist, song, and genre pages I'd generated over the last few years were obliterated.

You can see some of my prior mentions of MusicMobs here, here and here.

Now, instead of a site full of charts, album covers and trends showing which artists and songs were the most popular, we've got a note saying the site's moved, and a single link to download my user playlist. Had that been the focus of why I used MusicMobs, that'd have been okay, but I would have preferred it if I could have been given the option to say... download my own generated pages as HTML and host them elsewhere. Maybe I could even utilize the software from MusicMobs or Last.fm and simply point them to the new page, continuing to synchronize my stats.

But it looks like it wasn't meant to be. For the want of a single developer, an entire site was lost. While I still like Last.fm, I hate seeing others I like just go away without warning. Word to the wise would be to go backup your user files at services not named Google, Microsoft, Yahoo! or Apple. On second thought, back those up too. You never know.

Faithless Bombs Video: Amazing Music, Piercing Message

One exposure to music from Faithless, led by lead singer Maxi Jazz, will make you sure you've never heard any sound quite like it. I first fell in awe of Faithless' unique vocals in the epic "Insomnia", and gained immeasurable respect for his work with the Iraq War-themed "Mass Destruction", released in 2004. But even that didn't prepare me for the raw message and real emotion shown in his video titled "Bombs" from his latest album, "To All New Arrivals", which hit the iTunes Music Store in early November. While the album hit stores about a year ago, starting in Europe, I only found it today, and ... Wow.

While I highly encourage you to purchase the album (and two accompanying videos) from iTunes, below is the "Bombs" video, courtesy of YouTube. It's very impressive to see an artist I really already like taking such a strong political stance, regardless the consequences.

Direct link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6Ps_MBXEdA



If you found this music strong or the message moving, pass it along. I'm dismayed it took me so long to find!

Leopard iTunes Best Served With Jelly

If you have your hands on Apple's Mac OS X 10.5 (a.k.a. Leopard), head over to your iTunes Visualizer, select "Jelly" and turn on Visualizer. Your screen will fill with some amazing visuals, much like those sampled above. Though it's been a long time since Apple highlighted the iTunes Visualizer in their marketing, it's a lot of fun to see the company's whimsical side.

Jelly is best experienced with Trance, Techno, Electronica or Drum 'N' Bass.

300 More Inexpensive iTunes Trance Tracks

Offers like this are excellent reasons why we've moved away from physical CD purchases. Rather than purchasing and storing 24 individual CD cases, or taking the time to import each of the 24 CDs individually, the iTunes Music Store makes it drop dead simple to add 300 new tracks to my music library, with just a few clicks. And if that weren't enough, the cost for me to purchase these 300 tunes comes in even lower than 3 "real world" CDs. I guess that explains why, after this most-recent iTunes binge, I'm up to 5,431 songs, comprising 22.3 days and more than 31 gigabytes of music.

Thank goodness I've got my 200 gigabyte hard drive humming away.

If you're into artists like Jan Vayne, M.I.K.E., Vincent de Moor, and Elevation, or think you might be, a great way to start filling up your iTunes library with hundreds of new trance tunes, is to start at the following links:

Trance Top 100 | Top 100, Vol. 2 | Top 100, Vol 3

Good music. Cheap music. Easy to get music. Nice combo.

Prior Posts On this Topic:

7 Hours of iTunes Music: Just $9.99
iTunes Offers Up Massive Song Sets
100 More iTunes Trance Songs for Less than $20
100 iTunes Trance Songs for Less than $20

Underworld Releases First New Album in Five Years

This morning, while making a comment on Steven Hodson's WinExtra blog, a little note caught my eye: Listening to: Underworld - Oblivion with Bells - Crocodile. His blog software will imprint the song he's listening to, but for me, an avowed Underworld afficionado, to not know of this song, was outlandish. I demanded to know where he got it. His answer: iTunes. Duh. Stupid me.

On October 16th, Underworld released a new album, Oblivion With Bells, into the iTunes Music Store, and I had gone an entire 48 hours without knowing. After seeing the world-renowned group in concert twice, and owning virtually all their previous albums, this was a virtual call to arms.

I don't really need to tell you what I did next - I downloaded it. And I'm listening now. The songs are back into the classic Underworld sound - electronically altered vocals, catchy rhythms, and haunting intermixing of sounds, loops and unique lyrics.

After 2002's A Hundred Days Off, which had a pair of excellent songs, and more pedestrian tracks, I can only hope this one is as engaging as the epic Dubnobasswithmyheadman, Underworld and Beucoup Fish, which led my musical library through college and shortly thereafter.

More on Underworld: Underworld Live

Information Society Brings New Music to Old Band

Information Society was one of those bands I fell in love with in junior high and high school - with the unmistakable deep, European voices mixed in with electronic, synthesized beats. The band hit the big time with "Think", "Pure Energy" and "Peace & Love Inc.", but in a flash, disappeared into "Where are they Now?" oblivion.

Today, iTunes sent me an alert that they're back - and I'm all set to cram their new album into my iPod for the drive to Sacramento.

Their new album, appropriately titled "Synthesizer", was released September 4th, and if iTunes' 30-second song samples are any indication, should be a lot of fun, as I both enjoy the new tunes and reminisce of just where I was and who I was when Information Society's first songs were new.

Related Posts on this Topic:

iTunes Offers Something New, Something Old, Something Blue
New Pet Shop Boys Album is Fundamental
iTunes is My Only Source for New Music

7 Hours of iTunes Music: Just $9.99

Long-time readers of this blog know I just can't get enough good electronic/trance/techno music. As my Last.fm and MusicMobs profiles will attest, I don't like spending too much time away from my iTunes. That's why when I find surprise treasures on iTunes with a vast number of songs well beyond the typical CD, I'm ecstatic.

Last night, I picked up a compilation titled "Afterhours Ibiza: Deluxe Edition" from Global Underground for the standard $9.99. But rather than just over an hour's worth of music, the album serves up 63 tracks, with 7.7 hours of music, including three hour-long continuous mixes. There's no doubt I'll be listening to the soothing, occasionally upbeat sounds of Ibiza for weeks to come.

Related Posts on this Topic:

iTunes is My Only Source for New Music
In Depeche Mode Overload and Loving It
iTunes Offers Up Massive Song Sets
100 More iTunes Trance Songs for Less than $20

iTunes is My Only Source for New Music

With radio losing much of its value, thanks to the homogeneity of music from station to station, I simply don't discover new music while I'm in the car or listening at home the way I once did. Instead, the iTunes Music Store is my only source of new songs and albums from artists I already know well and new artists I'm just now getting to know.

While the total offerings on iTunes were once quite light, especially for those of us who don't worship Top 40 and R&B, the last few years have seen an explosion of available tracks. Now, I can safely assume my favorite bands' latest releases will be there, and they, in turn will lead me to similar music from other artists.

iTunes helps this process along in a few ways, most notably with "My Alerts", which tracks my favorite artists, and lets me know when new songs are out. Secondly, there is the "Listeners Also Bought" feature, which tells me that other people with similar tastes to mine also bought other albums. Sometimes, I may already have those albums, and other times, I'm delighted to find somebody I've never heard before. Additionally, should I hit a wall there, I can always go to the genre's main page (i.e. Electronic) and find new releases that 30 seconds later, just may become new downloads.

Some of my most recent purchases I'm most pleased with include:

Paul Van Dyk / In Between

Paul Van Dyk is one of the world's best DJs, period. This album marks his return to the fore, after a few years lower on my list. I simply can't get enough of the song Talk In Grey, and have been known to listen to it a second time just after it's been completed...

Ulrich Schnauss / Goodbye

Some of the best downtempo, ambient electronic music out there. I first discovered Ulrich Schauss thanks to Sasha's sampling of his work on a few tracks. A few iTunes searches later, and Ulrich Schnauss has himself risen to the top of my most listened to artists out there. His work is beyond listenable, and is the perfect complement to more traditional fast-paced techno.

The Chemical Brothers / We Are the Night

When I'm not in the mood for the calming forces of Ulrich Schnauss and want great beats to tap my feet and bob to, The Chemical Brothers sure know how to fit that need. My favorite off the new album? A track titled Burst Generator. Just outstanding.

Based on the above three albums, can you outdo iTunes and give some strong recommendations? Do you even buy in a "record store" any more?

In Depeche Mode Overload and Loving It

Back in January, I noted that Apple had teamed up with Depeche Mode to offer an ultimate collection of songs through iTunes, capturing all of the band's albums, plus previously unreleased live recordings and remixes, delivering 647 songs for "only" $169.99, approximately 26 cents per track, down almost 75% from the typical 99 cent price. After six months of trying to be good, I took the plunge last week, and finally bought it. Now, I'm in Depeche Mode heaven, listening to song after song, hour after hour of some of the best music ever - trying to remember note for note, word for word, each of the songs I first held dear on long-since discarded cassette tapes over the last two decades.

Now, I'm re-acquainting myself with lesser-known excellent tracks from Depeche Mode like "Work Hard", "Dangerous", "Kaleid", "Route 66", "Oberkorn", and "Behind the Wheel", in addition to those that have gained the most airtime, like "Policy of Truth", "Personal Jesus", "People are People" and "Somebody". Like any good snob, it's the ones that didn't get the radio play that I like the best. (See my Last.FM track list for live updates)

Depeche Mode helped bridge the gap between electronic pioneers Kraftwerk and the DJs and techno artists of today like DJ Tiesto, Underworld and Chemical Brothers. Their songs, some a decade or two old, are just as good as the day they first hit vinyl. And having already approved payment for this latest splurge on my credit card, I have no regrets.

For $33.75, I Could Ditch DRM from 130 iTunes Songs

Apple's iTunes Plus project launched today, giving me the option to strip digital rights management (DRM) from a select subset of my musical library for 30 cents per affected song. As the promotion only covers a fraction of the total available iTunes Store, I was curious to see how many I would be offered, and at the end of the first day for this promotion, I could upgrade 130 songs for $33.75, Apple says.

What would I get?

With iTunes Plus, I would remove the iTunes and iPod-only barrier from these songs, letting me pass songs to friends, copy to multiple computers, or in theory, play on other, inferior music devices. Additionally, the songs would be offered in higher quality bit rates.

On the first day of announcement, bands in my purchase history that are available include Coldplay, Beastie Boys, Royksopp, The Chemical Brothers, M83, Fatboy Slim and Cosmic Gate.

While others are excited about the move and hate all things DRM-related, I haven't seen Apple's limitations as much of a hindrance to the way I enjoy music. The iTunes and iPod combination work for me, and I won't be paying a premium to convert my library to iTunes Plus any time soon, whether it was $3.75, $33.75 or $337.50.

New TAB Post: Apple iTunes vs. Comcast On Demand

This weekend we had a chance to utilize Comcast's On Demand service, renting one movie and watching some previously aired episodes. In all, it was a good experience, bringing my entertainment immediately, without waiting for time to download, or taking up hard disk space. Also, the cost for a relatively new movie was only $3.99, contrasted with the $9.99 to $12.99 I could expect to pay for a movie from iTunes. I continue to feel that iTunes is a much better option for music than it is for video, to date.

That's the background behind my most recent contribution to The Apple Blog, titled How Will Apple Compete With “On Demand”?. Per agreement with them, I will not be cross-posting the piece, but instead, have provided a link. Enjoy.

Blonde Redhead: Mesmerizingly Intriguing

When it comes to music and other media, I typically try not to be suckered into falling for the latest promotions and commercials, or buying into the hot band. But tonight, after seeing Blonde Redhead perform their song "23" on the Late Night with Conan O'Brien show (a TiVo'd episode from Friday), I just had to check out the iTunes Music Store and pick it up.

As one reviewer on iTunes said, the lead singer, Kazu Mikano, offers up a soothingly indecipherable croon, a nice way of saying she sounds great, but I have no idea what is being sung. Yet, like Bjork, the pure tone and melody is entrancing.

I can't vouch for the rest of the album or the six others iTunes reports the band has delivered, but I expect "23" will be rotating on my playlist for weeks to come before fading down the inevitable road to obscurity.

iTunes Offers Something New, Something Old, Something Blue

Apple's iTunes "My Alerts" feature continues to bring me some great music from artists the service already knows I like, thanks to past purchases. My biggest limitations these days? Determining what to buy, and what to let go. But with $50 in new iTunes gift cards obtained from yesterday's belated birthday bash, I'm being a little more liberal in my tune acquisitions.

Last night, I uncovered three new additions to the iTunes store: something new, something old and something blue, as the saying goes.

Something New

DJ Tiesto's "Elements of Life". Released April 10th, this is DJ Tiesto's latest solo album that doesn't consist of his remixing other artists' tunes, following on to "In My Memory" and "Just Be". I've seen DJ Tiesto in concert, and was even briefly featured in a DVD called "Another Day at the Office", which included a Bay Area stop at Shoreline. Tiesto is easily the world's #1 DJ today, and I'm already enjoying the new tracks. iTunes listeners are calling it the "Best Trance Album of 2007", but... it's only April.

Something Old

Information Society: Peace and Love, Inc. This one debuted on iTunes on March 27, even though the CD itself debuted in 1992. Peace and Love Incorporated was one of my favorite albums in high school, and it died an antiquated death when I left cassette tapes behind, moving to CDs, MP3 and the iPod. Now, I'm all too tempted to pay iTunes for the privilege of going digital, to enjoy "Peace and Love, Inc.", "Crybaby", and "Where Would I Be Without IBM" again. An excellent album that brings back a ton of memories from high school.

Something Blue

Eiffel 65: Contact Though Eiffel 65 is featured as a 1990s one-hit wonder, with their Blue (Ba Da Bee) song hitting the airwaves in 1999 and 2000, I actually didn't even find that track to be the best on the album. Instead, the album's leading song, Europop is the 15th most listened to song in my iTunes library, with 34 plays since iTunes started counting. Now, we've found an obscure follow-on album in 2001 and are enjoying the group's unique sound.

It's not just weddings that can benefit from something new, something old, something blue. See if you can pull off the trifecta with your iTunes.

How Apple Could Crush Netflix Now

Let's make this clear. I have almost zero interest in owning my movies or TV shows. Unlike music, which I could listen to over and over until I had the lyrics memorized, TV shows and films have a very limited shelf life. It is a rare film that fills me with the need to see it more than once. TV shows are even worse. Outside of The Simpsons, once I have seen a show, I'm done with it. When I record shows on TiVo, I always delete the episode when I'm done. When I have watched TV shows I've purchased from the iTunes Store off my Apple TV, I delete them.

(Also see: What is the True Value of an Entertainment Download?)

Today, Apple announced that MGM has added its movie library to the iTunes Store, joining other Hollywood names like Paramount, Disney and Lions Gate. But when I go to the iTunes Store and shuffle through the offerings, I'm not buying. Not a single film. I am not going to pay $9.99 to $14.99 for a film that I will need to download and then watch once or twice at the most. But I most definitely would be happy to sign up and pay $20 or $30 a month to Apple for the privilege to download a set number of films per month, or of course, an unlimited number, even if Apple set restrictions such that I could only watch the downloaded films once or twice, or even tracked how many films I had downloaded, such that I didn't have too many "out" at one time - just like NetFlix does.

Apple's iTunes application tracks how frequently I listen to my music, or if I have watched a TV show. The Apple TV knows to only synchronize those shows that are unwatched (i.e. Plays = 0). If we take this a logical step further, Apple could allow customers to download films, and once the play count reached 2, they would no longer be playable, either on the Apple TV or on my laptop. And yes, I know that one way to trick iTunes would be to stop watching the film before it had reached zero seconds remaining, but that goes back to Apple only allowing a set number out at one time.

In Variety's coverage of the MGM announcement, they note that Apple isn't selling many movies online, and that the rate of adoption is hardly increasing. (Also: PaidContent's take). The company's online movie sales grew from 1.3 million from September to January, to 2 million-plus today. That's not much growth. Maybe the millions of people who have access to the iTunes Store, as I do, are happy with using NetFlix and that company's subscription model. Maybe it's a bandwidth issue. But regardless, they're not exactly jumping on it.

How do you fix that problem?

1) Apple keeps DRM on iTunes movies.
2) Apple introduces a subscription model for iTunes movies.
(3 movies a month for $12.95, 5 movies for $19.95, etc.)
3) Apple enhances the DRM to not play the file after a certain number (say 2) of plays.
4) Apple keeps the option to buy the films if you want, and at a reduced rate if you have already "rented" the film.

I would do that. If Apple introduced this feature, I would cancel our NetFlix subscription tomorrow. The portability of iTunes via the laptop and the Apple TV is nearly as good as any DVD, doesn't require shipping, and won't force me to wait days from when I order off NetFlix to get my movie fix. Apple has all the tools - the DRM, the Media Store, the desktop application, the iPod and Apple TV media players. It just needs to look Hollywood in the eye, and give customers what they want.

New TAB Post: How Smart Are Your Playlists?

It's no secret I am a hardcore iTunes user. MusicMobs reports I've listened to nearly 30,000 tracks in the last three or so years, while Last.fm similarly reports more than 15,000 listens since early 2005. Doing the quick math, and knowing both services likely undercount, and don't include listens from the iPod or on other machines, we're looking at 20 to 30 songs a day, every day.

Meanwhile, we've amassed 4,000 tracks in iTunes, meaning the management of those tracks and my time to listen to them is fairly tricky. That's why I've turned to Apple's Smart Playlists feature in iTunes to help me rediscover tunes I've not heard in a while, or to remind me when I've not listened to one frequently enough.

That's the idea behind my most recent contribution to The Apple Blog, titled How Smart Are Your Playlists?. Per agreement with them, I will not be cross-posting the piece, but instead, have provided a link. Enjoy.

New TAB Post: Apple Adds “My Alerts” to iTunes Store

It's not intentional, but of late, my posts on The Apple Blog are increasingly iTunes-centric. I swear I use Mac all day long, but iTunes is where I see the action happening. Yesterday, I perhaps belatedly noticed that Apple had added "My Alerts" to the iTunes Store, making it that much easier to purchase songs from artists I like without waiting for a dedicated e-mail.

I believe that with time, Apple will increase their offerings in this space, much as TiVo has with its WishList. Some day, I'll be tracking actors and film-makers much as I do bands today.

That's the idea behind my most recent contribution to The Apple Blog, titled Apple Adds “My Alerts” to iTunes Store. Per agreement with them, I will not be cross-posting the piece, but instead, have provided a link. Enjoy.

New TAB Post: iTunes Offers Up Massive Song Sets

Today my iTunes library reached the 4,000 song barrier, exactly. This was in no small part due to my discovery of 50-song trance albums Apple has posted to the online music store, for only $9.99 apiece. So far, I've found six, with two new ones being downloaded today, meaning I've got 300 great songs for less than $60 bucks. (See Previous: 100 More iTunes Trance Songs for Less than $20)

While these offer the best price/song ratio I've found on iTunes, there are plenty of other ways you can fill your iPod, including ways to download 400+ U2 tracks or 600+ Depeche Mode songs in one swoop. (See Previous: Apple Says: Download Every Depeche Mode Song Ever) I went out and found quite a few more.

That's the idea behind my most recent contribution to The Apple Blog, titled iTunes Offers Up Massive Song Sets. Per agreement with them, I will not be cross-posting the piece, but instead, have provided a link. Enjoy.

100 More iTunes Trance Songs for Less than $20

Last year I stumbled upon two 50-song albums from iTunes for only $9.99 each. While iTunes typically sells tracks at $.99 apiece, these 100 trance songs could be grabbed for about 20% of that cost, even though the quality of the new music was very good. I didn't waste any time posting the news to this blog, and e-mailing the links out to friends.

It turns out that promotion must have been a success, as iTunes has added two more trance albums with 50 songs apiece for the low, low price of $9.99 each. You had better believe I already clicked the "Buy Now" button on both.

To set yourself up with 200 Trance Songs in four easy clicks, try those links below:

1. 50 Trance Tunes, Vol. 1
2. 50 Trance Tunes, Vol. 2
3. 50 Trance Tunes, Vol. 3
4. 50 Trance Tunes, Vol.4

If you're just now building out the trance section of your iTunes library, or are looking to complete it, all four are must haves. Good music and plenty of it for a good price.

What is the True Value of an Entertainment Download?

Hollywood and the big media music and television moguls are struggling to determine how to price their entertainment offerings in a new technology landscape. As consumers, we have more flexibility than ever to obtain music, TV or video from more sources than ever, including TiVo, NetFlix, iTunes, YouTube and other less legal methods. As such, we have the power to realign our expectations for what we are willing to pay, rather than sitting as victims to what are often monopoly-seeking businesspeople.

Approximately four years ago, the music industry was being eaten alive by illegal peer to peer music file sharing. In April of 2003, Apple introduced the iTunes Music Store, and established a legal way for customers to download music, inexpensively, setting a pricing model of 99 cents per track, and typically, $9.99 per album, pricepoints which closely mirror those by nearly all other online music labels to date. While these prices were less expensive than one would expect to pay in a music retail store like Sam Goody or Tower Records, it was, for the music industry, a much-appreciated alternative to free, and the record labels had a new partner who encouraged customers to not steal music. Now, Apple has successfully sold more than 2 billion tracks, and appearing on iTunes is a must for artists - established or otherwise.

Later, Apple added the ability to sell television shows through the store, establishing a price of $1.99 per episode. Season passes, downloading every copy of the show for a full season, ranged much higher, sometimes on the order of $30 or $40. While only ABC had joined on initially, other networks followed suit, meaning I can now download current or back episodes for everything from South Park to Fox's 24, or Law and Order.

Now, this introduction was truly a new wrinkle. Consumers with TiVos or even a simple VCR have had the ability to record shows without charge since the advent of those technologies - and most still watch the shows as they are aired, commercials and all. Now, Apple and the networks are trying to establish the value of a television show where free was the original price, clearly harder to do. If I instead have the option to set up a season pass for a show on TiVo, I can do that for free, and skip iTunes, saving me money.

Meanwhile, back in the analog world, watching a feature film in a theater can cost anywhere from $7 to $10 and up per ticket, depending on where you live, what time you go, and how long the film has been in theaters. Whether the movie is 80 minutes, like Borat, or a 3-hour Titanic or Dances With Wolves marathon, the price is the same, so you're not paying by the minute, or for the actors' time. Instead, you're paying to cover the actors' contracts and the film's marketing costs. Outside of the Internet, the price to attend movies in a theater has remained fairly inelastic over time, increasing only with inflation. As a result, consumers don't often shop around to choose the theater with the best price, instead going with the theater that offers the closest location, or is showing the movie you'd like to see at a time you'd like to see it.

And this leads us back to the iTunes store. In 2006, Apple added feature films like Pirates of the Carribean and Cars, to their media library. Again, they've tried to implement standard pricing, from $9.99 for established films to $14.99 for new releases. Now, instead of the $7-10 or more per ticket to see the film in a theater, you have the option to buy the film to own, to watch on your laptop, in most cases, and soon, with Apple TV, you can project it to the flat-screen, effectively bringing the movie experience to your home.

All that said, music and TV shows and films are very different beasts. A music track you purchase from iTunes can be played again and again, as people don't tire of music as rapidly as they do visual media. Some of my most frequently listened-to tracks have been heard a few dozen times each, and others, much less. Television shows are typically watched a single time, and then deleted (from TiVo or your computer). If it's a rerun, the value of the show has greatly diminished. Meanwhile, feature films are almost strictly a once and done affair - unless you have the feeling of guilt for purchasing something and watch it again to justify the cost. it takes a rare feature film to get me to see it in the theater more than once, and DVDs I've received as gifts often make their way back into the dusty bin of our entertainment center. This once and done mentality is why our society gravitates toward renting DVDs from NetFlix and BlockBuster instead of buying them, and why feature films eventually leave theaters altogether - no matter how good the film. The audience that saw them once probably isn't coming back.

Looking back at iTunes, this means that while downloaded songs are the cheapest commodity, they are also the most-often enjoyed, while the higher you go up the price charts, to richer media, the fewer times you are going to typically enjoy the purchase. While you could make the argument that an iTunes song is shorter in minutes than a TV show or a movie, and you would be right, the value you receive from each download is greater. If my favorite song is 6 minutes long, and I've listened to it 20 times, I've received a perceived 120 minutes of value from it for 99 cents. In comparison, a downloaded CSI episode for $1.99 only would 40 or so minutes, without commercials, and costs twice as much. I would have to watch it more than four times to receive the equivalent minutes of enjoyment per dollar spent. And even if you move the spot on the graph to say I only listened to that iTunes track 10 times, for sixty minutes of entertainment at $.99, I would still need to see Gil Grissom examine the corpse three or more times before I've reached a similar return on investment, for my $1.99.

So while I can gain 120 minutes of entertainment from a single iTunes track, heard 20 times, those same 120 minutes of entertainment, in the form of a feature film, will cost you at least $9.99. Additionally, a lot of movies are getting shorter and shorter. The aforementioned Borat would be almost halfway through its second showing by the time you reached the two hour mark.

This tells me that the market for paid movie downloads will remain much smaller than that for music, unless costs decrease. Consumers will almost always select the cheapest way to a goal. If the perceived value of a TV show or a movie is not significantly more than that of a song, consumers will shy away from the significantly higher prices needed to buy films and TV online, even if the entertainment media moguls try to convince us that the actual value is higher. This will drive consumers to illegally download entire films for free rather than pay iTunes or other services, until the disconnect between actual and perceived values is closed. While there are free legal alternatives for television shows (via basic TV), and music has decreased in price such that the draw for peer to peer networks has lessened, it is my feeling that the price of feature films has not come down significantly enough to encourage today's consumers to purchase them with the frequency they do music. It's not just a matter of consumers needing highest speed broadband to get the files. It's return on investment.

Apple Says: Download Every Depeche Mode Song Ever

Apple hates me. They want to bankrupt me and my family. That's all I can figure after finding I've been targeted with their latest digital box set featuring Depeche Mode, the band I grew up listening to in the 1990s, the band I've seen in concert twice, and the band which currently occupies the #1 position in my iTunes history, both on Last.fm and MusicMobs.

Due to the fact I've purchased Depeche Mode songs from the iTunes Music Store over the last three years on more than one occasion, I received a special e-mail inviting me to know about their exclusive digital box set, The Complete Depeche Mode.

This is no ordinary box set. Apple says it has 644 tracks, including "over 60 remixes, live recordings, and other rarities you can't get anywhere else"... all for the low, low price of $169.99. How could I resist, when it's so easy to hit the magic button that says "Buy Album"? Just one click, and my little hard drive is sure to fill up with gigabyte after gigabyte of old Depeche Mode songs that I no doubt already have - or had on cassette tapes before they were mercifully antiquated.

It's like offering heroin to an addict who's just left the rehab clinic. They know they shouldn't, they know they don't need it, but wouldn't it sure feel good? So far, we're not buying. But I haven't yet deleted the e-mail, and maybe I'll find a good reason to hit "Buy Now". After all, how can I be happy with the mere 148 songs and 13.5 hours of Depeche Mode I already have in my iTunes when I could quintuple it immediately?

Darn Apple. Why didn't they offer me the Bee Gees or something?

Microsoft's Zune a Complete, Humiliating Failure

We're biased in favor of Apple and the iPod. That much is clear. But ever since Microsoft announced the Zune media player and began shipping, critic after critic has come out and said Redmond's efforts are a dud. Instead of a hip, well thought-out device, the company issued a cheap copycat rife with limitations. In fact, the Chicago Sun Times says "Avoid the Loony Zune", calling it the experience "about as pleasant as having an airbag deploy in your face."

Ouch.

Well, what's wrong with it? It turns out from the installation to purchasing and playing songs, every little step is flawed. It doesn't integrate with other devices or other applications well. It doesn't even accept real money, but instead "points" that are credited to song purchases. Worst of all, Microsoft sold out to the record companies, who get a few bucks for every Zune sold, something they've no doubt hoped Apple would do for some time. This is because, in the words of one record executive, "These devices are just repositories for stolen music, and they all know it."

Bull. I've purchased every song I have in my iTunes, except for those that were free for download, at the artists' volition. I've purchased thousands from the Apple Music store, and have hundreds of CDs. Just check my closet, my credit cards, or ask my wife. We're tired of being treated like criminals, just because the music executives can't seem to figure out new media and new technology.

The good news is that the Zune won't break any sales records. On Amazon's list of top MP3 players, it's currently at #18 overall, behind a host of iPods and other brands. Meanwhile, the Chicago Sun Times says "The Zune will be dead and gone within six months." We can only hope.

Additional gnashings of teeth around Microsoft's DOA product are here:

MSFTextrememakover: Is this really the best you can do?
BusinessWeek: The Soul of a New Microsoft

Listening to ''High Storage'', by D-Factor (Play Count: 1)

100 iTunes Trance Songs for Less than $20

Last night, I made a comment on GigaOM's report covering Microsoft Zune, where I said my experience that contrary to some media's findings, my iPod was filled with legally purchased songs, not instead from illegal peer to peer downloads. This led to a strong jump in traffic to the site today, from visitors perusing the online copy of my iTunes library, to see the 1,200 or so songs I claimed to have purchased from Apple's iTunes Music Store in the three-plus years since it arrived on the scene.

Now, that count is up a full hundred, to 1,348 items, thanks to a discovery of two 50-track trance sets on iTunes that sell for the standard price of $9.99 an album. Having sampled a few of the tracks, and finding them to my liking, I purchased both albums, and having been parted of less than $20, I now have 14 hours of new trance music to go through - at one-fifth of Apple's usual price per song (99 cents).

Typically, compilation albums from artists I've never heard of don't turn out so well, but if purchased at a record store, I'd likely be parting with $19.99 for maybe 15-20 tracks, not a full 100, and I'd still have to have the CD and album cover lying around, even if I didn't like the songs. With iTunes, I can just delete a song that cost me all of 20 cents if I don't like it - and that's a good thing.

To check out the latest tunes I'll be diving into over the next few weeks, try the following links to the iTunes Music Store:

50 Trance Tunes, Vol. 1 | 50 Trance Tunes, Vol. 2

Underworld Web Releases Avoid iTunes

The British techno duo Underworld has always danced to their own beat. One of my favorite bands for a decade now, the group has performed in the best pair of concerts I've ever seen in my life, released the concert DVD that pushed me to by my first DVD player (which I still have), and continues to push the cutting edge on musical style and distribution.

The group, now a duo after losing famed DJ Darren Emerson, has often leaned toward longer tracks - in the 10-plus minute variety, rather than easy-bake radio hits that venture from three to five minutes, as the vast majority of pop artists do. But even these lengths seemed unwieldy to the oddly creative group, who has now found a home, at underworldlive.com, to issue exclusive tracks, which can range anywhere from 20 minutes to more than half an hour. The tracks, not bound by any Digital Rights Management (DRM) software, as Apple's iTunes and other offerings do, cost 5 British pounds apiece, are only available to registered users of their site, and download, encoded in Zip format, to a full track, as well as thirty-plus pages of the band's artwork.

I told you they were creative...

In 2005, the band first took the leap to direct from the Web sales, with its RiverRun project, issuing the singles "Pizza for Eggs" and "Lovely Broken Thing". Earlier this year, they continued, with "I'm a Big Sister, and I'm a Girl, and I'm a Princess and this is my Horse." (Don't ask) For customers like myself, who purchased all three, fans get a bonus download of "The Misterons Mix", only available to those who invested in triplicate.

Though best known for their Trainspotting-fueled classic "Born Slippy", Underworld has pioneered some of the most pure, electric sounds in the genre. It should be interesting to see how lucrative they find this eclectic move, with a bare minimum of publicity. It is especially interesting to see their avoidance of forced music lockdowns. On their site, they write, "We are not using any copy protection or drm as we prefer to start from the point of trusting our customers. If the system is abused, we will have to review how we provide content."

This is yet another amazing testimony to the Web - giving artists direct access to the fans, avoiding the middleman. The next time Underworld comes to your town, go see them. Until then, make sure you visit underworldlive.com. You might like what you find.

Listening to ''Pizza For Eggs'', by Underworld (Play Count: 6)

Apple's iTunes Store Database Needs Cleanup

As previously noted, the Apple iTunes store is by far my #1 source for new music over the last three-plus years. Though the store initially launched with a very limited number of artists I found interesting, Apple has continued to add new artists, albums and songs every week, and it's getting harder and harder to find songs I'd like but the iTunes store doesn't have - even for those who listen to music on the fringe, as I do. However, as the store database becomes more cluttered with millions and millions of songs, I'm noticing that inconsistent variations between artists or music genres makes obtaining new music that much more confusing.

For example - one of the world's best electronic DJ's is DJ Tiësto, from Holland. His last name being what it is (Tiësto) means that if you search for Tiesto, you find one set of music, if you search for DJ Tiesto, you find another set, and lastly, spelling DJ Tiësto exactly as so gets you a third grouping.

Even worse, when multiple artists choose to join forces, a listing is created that highlights the pair, rather than displaying the work in the listing for each, individually. That seems silly. Again, Tiësto is a great example. Earlier this month, the DJ collaborated with Maxi Jazz, the lead singer for Faithless, on a great track, "Dance 4 Life". But you won't find it under DJ Tiesto or Faithless. I was lucky to stumble upon it at all.

Apple isn't perfect, but in order to best serve its loyal customers, in my opinion the company needs to put as much attention into the back-end database for the iTunes Store as they do in the way the application looks to ensure highest satisfaction.

Listening to ''The Tube'', by DJ Tiësto (Play Count: 3)

iTunes In Trouble? I Don't Think So...

As popular as it is or once was to trash Microsoft and all things related to the Redmond software monolith, Apple has recently received its share of potshots from people eager to see the company's leadership in online music sales and MP3 players erode. A recent doomsday-like article out of the BBC says that the iPod has lost its cool, now that they are as ubiquitous as MySpace pages, "Digg This" buttons and Google AdSense. The article goes even further saying that the average iTunes user is avoiding the iTunes store, and that the average iPod user has only purchased a few dozen songs.

This is derived from the overly simplistic math that with 1 billion-plus songs sold on the iTunes store, and 60 million iPods floating about returns a iTunes/iPod ratio of about 20.

Now, while I may be on the lunatic fringe, my own iTunes spending habits have been fairly regular, ever since the store opened in early 2003 (around the time I got married). In fact, the major impacts on any lulls in purchasing can usually be tied to:

* New music or lack thereof from tracked artists
* Willingness to spend money (especially when funds are tight)
* Available time to look at new artists or music

My iTunes library reports that I currently have 3,495 songs, of which I purchased 1,179 songs from the iTunes store, a 34% rate. The overwhelming majority of other tracks were ripped from CDs I already owned, or from DJs who make their music available online for download.

From April 28, 2003 to June 30, 2003, I purchased:  114 songs
From July 1, 2003 to December 31, 2003, I purchased: 69 songs
From January 1, 2004 to June 30, 2004, I purchased: 136 songs
From July 1, 2004 to December 31, 2004, I purchased: 285 songs
From January 1, 2005 to June 30, 2005, I purchased: 129 songs
From July 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005, I purchased: 181 songs
From January 1, 2006 to June 30, 2006, I purchased: 236 songs

And since July 1 of this year, I've purchased an additional 29 songs. Okay, maybe I'm nuts. But if you look at my buying history, you see consistent purchases since the introduction of the store, and I know I'm not alone. Even if I may be in the higher echelon of iTunes customers, it would take a million people just like me to bring the store to a billion tracks purchased.

It's a lot of fun to target the leader - and expect Apple will be brought down by music-playing cell phones, by Microsoft or Sony, or even Google, but nobody has yet found an integrated inexpensive, simple way to enjoy your music the way that Apple has. And honestly, it's not a Mac vs. PC thing. It's simply a better way to do things altogether. That's why nobody else is taking away Apple's throne.

Listening to ''Reach Out (Technikal Remix)'', by Elemental (Play Count: 6)

Web iTunes Library Updated

You've probably noticed I spend quite a bit of time while on the computer listening to iTunes. A friend of mine, Andrew Zamler-Carhart, a software developer behind all the great Mac OS X software at KavaSoft, released an application that helps Web developers and bloggers highlight their own iTunes libraries on the site, called iTunes Catalog.

Recently, Andrew issued an update to Kavasoft's iTunes Catalog program, and my own library was updated this evening - as you can see at http://www.louisgray.com/music/.

If you like iTunes and have a blog or a Web site, you can download iTunes Catalog from here.

Some highlights: iTunes Catalog even lets you jump directly to playlists, artists and songs, just like you can with regular, plain-old iTunes.

(Examples: Top 200 Songs Played, Recently Purchased Songs, Top 100 Most Recently Played Songs)

New Pet Shop Boys Album is Fundamental

In the 1980s, the Pet Shop Boys forged their unique sound on the radio waves and dance floor with "Always on My Mind", "Left to My Own Devices", "West End Girls" and other hits. But after their 1991 Discography greatest hits album, all went silent for the duo, as time tends to take its toll on bands of all flavors.

Imagine my surprise today when I saw that iTunes was featuring a brand new album by the Pet Shop Boys, called Fundamental. The CD, or that which I've heard so far, hearkens back to the original sounds and tunes that made the band famous in the first place. Anybody who fell in love with the sounds of the Pet Shop Boys, New Order, and Information Society, not to mention a host of others in this period, will at least want to give a cursory glance to the latest offering from the band.

And isn't it great knowing I don't have to go to Tower Records or Amazon to get this music? iTunes always has it, and it's just a download away. Thank God for Apple.

Listening to ''Psychological'', by Pet Shop Boys (Play Count: 1)

Crystal Method Teams Up With Apple and Nike

If you are an avid electronic music fan, then there is no question you are familiar with The Crystal Method, the duo behind hits including "Born Too Slow", "Busy Child", and "Trip Like I Do". Their 1997 album, Vegas, put them on the map in a big way, and 2004's "Legion of Boom" kept the beats pumping.

As previously noted on the site, my wife and I attended a concert in San Francisco featuring The Crystal Method and Paul Oakenfold, and though the two of us weren't the standard hard core, thrashing fans common at their concerts, we came away very impressed, even more than we had been with Oakenfold's set, which followed. In the time since then, we continue to hear The Crystal Method's efforts, on the show CSI, on commercials, and elsewhere.

But most recently, The Crystal Method was recruited to provide Nike a 45-minute continuous mix for iTunes, intended as background music for a fleet of runners (wearing Nike apparel, allegedly), and they delivered. The piece, titled "Drive: Nike+ Original Run" aims to give energy to exercising and "goal-oriented activity that goes along with working out," according to the digital booklet which accompanies the download.

In fact, the 45-minute piece varies in intensity along the lines of an anticipated workout, building gradually, offering the runner time to "warm up and find a steady rhythm", before accelerating through peak, and eventually cooling. This is an interesting salvo from the Nike and Apple partnership, one that should find its way to iTunes libraries everywhere, even if your idea of exercising, like mine, involves moving the computer mouse or lugging a laptop.

Listening to ''Drive: Nike+ Original Run", by The Crystal Method (Play Count: 1)

iTunes iMix: Asypta v.1

Rather than keeping all my tunes to myself, where only I can enjoy them, I've posted an iMix featuring twelve of the tracks I've been listening to of late to Apple's iTunes Music Store. Featuring music from Daft Punk, the Chemical Brothers, Depeche Mode, Blank & Jones, M83 and others, each of the tracks is unique and plays well - either for working out, for working with it in the background, or driving in the car.

You can access the iMix, and download it, or individual tracks, here.

http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewIMix?id=165245625

Listening to ''Technologic'', by Daft Punk (Play Count: 7)

Paul Oakenfold Back on Track With "A Lively Mind"

Long considered one of the world's best DJs, Paul Oakenfold hasn't gotten the most rave of reviews for his solo album efforts, best exemplified by 2002's "Bunkka", which brought us the hits "Ready Steady Go" and "Starry Eyed Surprise". And while enjoyable, the one time I saw him in concert in San Francisco, I wasn't exactly blown away. Tag-teamed with Crystal Method, I actually enjoyed their opening act more than Oakenfold's repetitive spinning and visuals.

With that said, last month iTunes alerted me to a new album by Oakenfold titled "A Lively Mind." Being a loyal trance junkie, it rapidly found its place in my Purchased Music list, and has been a staple in my music rotation of late. The tracks "Feed Your Mind" and "No Compromise" are some of the better tracks, adding good background energy to any task I'm pursuing on the laptop (by far my #1 music source).

If you're not familiar enough with Oakenfold's work, try out "A Lively Mind" from iTunes, and then travel over to Amazon to get his back tracks. There's plenty there.

Listening to ''No Compromise (Featuring Spitfire)'', by Paul Oakenfold featuring Spitfire (Play Count: 5)

How to Cope With Bad iTunes ROI

I'm impulsive when it comes to purchasing new music from iTunes, which no doubt makes Apple very happy. Inherent features of the iTunes Music Store, including other best selling songs by artists, and what others who purchased the song you're viewing also bought are very tempting tools to expand what may have been a $.99 or $9.99 purchase into something larger than that. And if you've had a chance to take a peek at my iTunes Library of late, you'll see I've already got thousands of songs to listen to - which if I sat down to consume in one gulp would take more than two and a half weeks of uninterrupted absorption. That means that some very good songs no doubt don't receive their fare share of attention, and it also suggests I don't need to purchase more songs, but instead listen to those I already have.

With that in mind, I looked into finding which songs I had purchased from the iTunes Music Store that hadn't been listened to more than say, 3 times, which would indicate a price of 33 cents per play or higher. I created a Smart Playlist consisting of songs in my "Purchased" playlist, and added another parameter that their "Play Count" was 3 or less. According to my real-time results, that consists of 53 items, and 6.4 hours total of entertainment to go - including one mix for 1 hour, 21 minutes.

So now, we're looking to fix my abhorrent spending habits, and we're becoming acclimated to those songs that so far have had a "Bad ROI".

Listening to ''Rush (Vinyl Version)'', by Purple Haze (Play Count: 1)

Life Is Better With a Techno Soundtrack

If you've got the right music in the background, almost any chore can take on a whole new feel, and it doesn't seem like a drag. There are some artists in my iTunes library, that when their music is playing, you can't help but be having a good time. I'm not one for listening to the blues, or slow, dragged out adult contemporary and folk music. I'm not interested in tapping slowly and shaking my head side to side, but instead prefer music you can beat out a good rhythm for, one that features intelligent ups and downs with multiple layers recognizable in the music, music that evolves from beginning to end, and in the best cases, leads you almost unknowingly to the next track.

I play music wherever I can get the opportunity. It's always on at home, in the car, and I've even snuck in an Apple iPod Shuffle to the office for when I really want to focus. I'll even leave the earbuds in when taking calls if I'm confident it won't get in the way. When I have the earbuds in, and there's no distraction between me and the monitor, that's when my best writing takes place, the most quickly. While some people can't do homework or read with music on, I can't exist in silence, for my mind gets too restless. That's where techno comes in. Some think good electronic music is intended just for the club scene, but I've got rhythmic bass from my car at 7:30 in the morning as much as I do at 10:30 at night.

Techno is the natural evolution of music. As I've famously said, Mozart came and died so that you could listen to techno. The best artists: Blank & Jones, Paul Van Dyk, DJ Tiesto, ATB, and those lesser known, like M83 or Royksopp, have real talents and offer my life a pulsing soundtrack that adds enjoyment to every note.

Listening to ''Desire (Short Cut)'', by Blank & Jones (Play Count: 4)

View Your iTunes Library on the Web

I may have mentioned KavaSoft on this site before, but the one-person company just released an update to their iTunes Catalog software which dramatically improves their online cataloging features - making it appear just as you were viewing your iTunes library, and it browses your personal music as if you were at the iTunes music store.

If you have a Web site, or just want to poke around with one of the very best independent software applications for the Mac I've ever seen, check it out. And it handles large libraries just fine, as you can tell with my 3,400+ song, 18 days, 28.5 Gig demo.

http://www.louisgray.com/music/

iTunes: Old Music Is New Again

When you're a music junkie like me, there comes a time in your life when you simply can't get to all your music as much as the tunes deserve. Right now, I have 17 days worth of music - a full 28.16 GB worth, according to iTunes, which means that even if I devoted 8 hours a day to listening, it would be more than seven weeks before I got through every song at least once. Problem.

So, utilizing one of Apple's tools, Smart Playlists, a while back, I designed a playlist called "The Neglected", which, appropriately enough, contains songs that haven't been listened to all the way through for the last 12 months, and populates based on iTunes' metadata information. When I first created the list, there were several days worth of songs that hadn't gotten attention for a full year, and after much dedication and focus, I'm pleased to say I've whittled the to-do list down to about an hour. Following a handful of Orbital tracks, we'll be down to zero - only to see all those songs I last listened to on March 28, 2005 be added to the pile tomorrow.

Listening to ''Lost'', by Orbital (Play Count: 7)

Watch When I Listen

Last.fm has an interesting service, which tracks what you listen to, and posts your stats to their site. Now, you can display what you listen to on your blog, as I have done, above. Now, should you choose to do so, you can get an idea as to what's running through my laptop speakers any time.

Great Electronic Music Available for Free

It's no secret that my musical tastes lean more toward electronic and techno music than mainstream top 40 nonsense or even what's deemed alternative these days on the radio. Unfortunately for me, that means the radio doesn't have any kind of solution if I'm looking to hear the latest songs from Underworld, DJ Tiesto, Blank and Jones, ATB or Dave Clarke.

iTunes is only now starting to archive the best of electronic music out there, making it available for download. In the last few months, I've managed to get early access to some incredible albums on iTunes, including "Far Away Trains Passing By" by Ulrich Schnauss, and "Shivers" by DJ Armin Van Buuren, to name a few. If you're not familiar, click on the links and visit iTunes to preview a few songs. I don't think you'll be disappointed. But it's honestly not enough. Whereas in years past, we used to have a few hours on the radio dial with Subsonic on Saturday nights with San Francisco-based Live 105, even that show has been canceled for more standard offerings.

"Our goal for 2006 is a more unified station," claimed the station's program director. A serious cop-out, abandoning those listeners, like myself, who had followed the show religiously for the better part of a decade.

But all is not lost. The Internet has opened new exposure to new artists. MusicMobs offers you the ability to match up artists to those you already like, while Last.FM chronicles your musical list and shows you other artists or people who share your interests. And some artists have opened up the vault to their music library so you can sample hour-long or more tracks and live sessions. The best of which who I have enjoyed is an artist named DJ Irish. I have nearly 2 and a half days worth of his remixes, from Hard Trance to Assorted Trance and live sets at clubs where he has performed. Best of all, it's free. He posts a new set, and e-mails those on his list to let you go get it.

You can find his sets here: DJ Irish and DJ Nyman Music Archive. I hope you'll enjoy it. For more insight into what I'm listening to, check the MusicMobs and Last.FM links above.