WTF Pandora!?

seriously? audio ads. you do realize that one of your big perks was not having to listen to asinine commercials about TV shows i am less likely to watch with every add i have to see or hear. aside from being able to pick the type of music and artists to hear, the lack of ads was the best thing you had going. well, you always had ads, but they didnt interrupt the music. now, evidently they do.

ive praised pandora.com time and time again for preserving my sanity. theyve been drowning out the country and other crummy music that is piped into my office. i appreciate it, i really do. but if this add thing becomes regular, im sure there is another source for online music. say it aint so...

CAW!

andrew bird's new disk, 'noble beast' is up on npr.org, oddly enough. theres also an interview there, which is more in NPR's purview. i mean, i know those guys are all over as far as coverage, but it seems an odd spot for mr bird to pre release his album. anyway, it sounds good to this guy, and i get to see him in a couple weeks. for joy!

the R&R hall of fame 'snubbed' the Stooges again. its disappointing. but its not really surprising. i think the only reason that theyve been on the ballot recently is their album, The Weirdness, was recently released with high praise. but the stooges never really achieved great fame. and it is the Hall of Fame, not the Hall of Ability or Hall of Influence.

the Stooges and the MC5 had great ability and influenced rock and punk rock as we know it today. but neither were huge commercial successes, and its hardly surprising that Run-DMC were given the nod over them. i think that Run-DMC have every right to be in the R&R Hall of Fame. they were the first platinum hip hop act, and defined the genre. similarly, the Ramones were inducted as the acheived wide notoriety and defined the US punk scene. while i think the MC5 deserve a nod and the Stooges as well, and think they will get it, it will be a waiting game. there are planty of bands ahead of them as far as norotiety goes. it wouldnt surprise me to see U2, Radiohead, RHCP, Nirvana, and even the B-52's get in first. the void that was much of the 80's and 90's as far as real music ability may provide a chance for these guys to get the votes. either way, im okay with the stooges and the 5 staying a motown secret.

music gadgets

so i mentioned Myine Electronics before when they were mentioned in the Freep. i decided to swing back by their website and see what progress had been made. well the site is pretty well developed and nicely designed. its simple and thats good.

the big news is that they have two pretty cool products on the site, an internet radio device called the Ira lets you search thousands of online stations by genre or by geography. this is all without a computer, which i think is pretty bad ass. plus its wireless so you can just set it up with your home stereo and start listening without any more cables. another device, called the Abbee, records FM radio and removes all the talk and commercials for you. it also will record a song at the touch of a button. it can hold up to 500 songs and has a 12hr rechargeable battery. my biggest problem with the idea of the Abbee is that FM lacks many of the artists that i like and reception can be an issue. still a very cool idea that would be great for less computer savvy folks and people with more mass market music tastes. i think my parents would love this.

oh, and beside having some pretty innovative ideas and products, theyre based out of Ferdale, MI, just outside Detroit. therefore, im pulling for 'em extra hard, but im not getting paid for this.

oh yes, it very nice-uh.

Dan Auerbach's much anticipated(at least by me) new solo album entitled Keep It Hid will be released on February 10th. i mentioned this a month or two back when i first got word. if you click on over to his page on Nonesuch Records youll find that three of the new tracks have been posted. i think youll also find them rather enjoyable. as i suspected these three songs vary a bit from the Black Keys mold, but benefit from that. he remains soulful in all the new tracks, but heads folky on Trouble Weighs a Ton while remaining typically simplistic. its just Dan, Guitar, and an accompanying vocalist. on I Want Some More he has his Keys' wail back, but in a more psychodelic style with the addition of a keyboard. its still bluesy and definitely rock, but a bit outside the Keys' mold. The Prowl is the most Keys-esue of the preview tracks, and wouldnt be out of place on their most recent record. its a rather dark sounding tune, but has a unmistakable beat that will get your head nodding and foot tapping. i cant wait for the rest of this. or for the show in late in February here in the district.