Wednesday, May 28, 2008

MP3: Hey Brother Can You Spare A Dime?

The recent Writers Strike finally broke the hold on me that LOST, 24, Heroes and about six other TV series had on me in any given fall/spring. To fill this void left by the lack of good drama and crass marketing tie ins I turned to my massive collection of growing Audio Dramas and I rediscovered my desire to collect more music as a byproduct of the odd web search. I ended up making a few wish lists, I read up on some new media players and I rolled around the net to occasionally hear a few new bands. Here are some highlights of my ventures into Music tech.

Rent A MP3 For A Dime?: I am one of those folks who misses the Specialty "old school" Record store. Snobbish people who knew their store like the back of their hands who also made the occasional great recommendation is something that I do actually long for every time I go to a Big Box retailer to pick up a new Limited Edition of the new release of the week. Don't get me wrong I like buying music Online [as long as it isn't iTunes]. But I don't know if I am ready to step back to the era of "pay per play" unless it involves a smoke filled pool hall. See what I mean by this article that talks about an experiment to see if people will rent a MP3 for a dime.  

http://michaelrobertson.com/

MP3 Licensing: You do know that MP3 is not an open format right? Companies have to pay a licensing fee to use the format. Learn about this and the new MP3 Surround initiative at the link below. 

http://mp3licensing.com/

Flobots: I heard this band's single "Handlebars" a few months ago and it didn't instantly stick for me. But hearing it a few times more has me now hooked. If you took a look at my CD pick for March, Quarashi, you may get the impression that my musical style is all over the place. Well this little band from Denver fits my off beat sound and it is on the Amazon Wish List.

Youtube link

http://youtube.com/watch?v=AuK2A1ZqoWs

Flobots My Space page
http://www.myspace.com/flobots

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