Category: Music

  • Music Reflections

    When I first started making money, my goals were to be able to buy LP’s of music I liked. I put together stereo from old components, an old heathkit amp and tuner, some hand built (not great) speakers, and I splurged on a decent Technics turntable. What music did I buy?  Well, bands like Kiss…

  • Is the music collection headed for the dustbin of history?

    When I first started making money (delivering the San Jose Mercury News), I put together a hifi system (old components, amplifier, and turntable) and started buying music.  I was addicted to the extension of my collection, which ran to hundreds of LPs, including some rarities, and bootlegs. I remember the thrill when I first got…

  • Oh crap. I think I am in trouble… (GarageBand edition)

    I was cleaning up some programs that I am not likely to use on my new MacBook Air (iPhoto, iMovie), and I figured I would also blow away Garage Band.  Before I deleted it, I thought I would open it up and see what it was all about. Then I found the Lessons part. Damn,…

  • A gem: The Phoenix Musical Instrument Museum

    Yesterday, on a lark, we visited the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM). I wasn’t sure what I expected. Perhaps exhibits of seminal instruments, and artist histories (they do have that), but I was blown away. First, it is in a gorgeous building, with fabulous architecture, and a well thought out plan. We started on the second…

  • Music Streaming – conclusion

    TL;DR version: Spotify wins To round out the saga, I needed to make a decision on whether to keep Google  All-Access or Spotify for my online streaming pleasure. If you recall, I signed up for a trial of the Google all access, and was comparing it to Spotify.  While I am an Apple fan, I…

  • Google All Access versus Spotify Premium

    Recap:  After Google announced their “All Access” plan for their Play service, I jumped on the free week.  The intent was to compare it to Spotify which I had been a premium customer for about a year and a half (I went premium there to get rid of the ads and the “sponsored tunes” which…

  • Spotify vs Google “All Access”

    Last week, I posted about pitting spotify (premium) against the newly announced “Google All Access”, and today I am going to post an update. To be fair, I have only been using it for 4 or so days now, but the one thing that drove me nuts about using my collection in Play was that…

  • Google’s “All Access” vs. Spotify Round 1

    I have written in the past about the music “locker” services. I have been a user of Amazon, Google’s Play, and Apple’s iTunes Match. But I have actually gone to using Spotify pretty much across the board. They have a great library, very deep, and lots of great genre’s to experiment with and explore. Since…

  • Music Theory

    I am a guitar player. Have been for a long time (better than 30 years now). I started with some lessons from a fellow BBS’er Vernon Anderson (He ran the”Rat’s Nest” BBS). I learned a lot very fast. I do remember the basics of music theory. How to build the scales, all the modes, the…

  • The first Supergroup – Emerson, Lake and Palmer

    This weekend, I completed my collection of ELP albums. I started listening to them in the 70, and had worn out so many copies of Brain Salad Surgery (with the H. R. Geiger art on the cover), that I was glad to finally be able to buy it as a CD. Ah…