I don't think I'll make a habit of posting Winter fun advice on this blog... but here are some wise words from Geddy Lee:
Saturday, 14 March 2009
Free Download Friday #2
I was pleased to discover that Classic Rock magazine has started offering a free Daily Download - a daily review and link to free music. They are mostly linking to up and coming bands, for example today's download was from The Steepwater Band - a band I'd never heard of but one that I'm now tempted to get more of.
So far there's been a bit of a mixture of Blues and Rock for download and I hope they are able to keep it going for good we while.
If you want to follow what they are doing, you could bookmark the page for items tagged Track Of The Day or you could subscibed to their RSS feed. Let me know what your favourite free tracks are by leaving a comment on this post.
So far there's been a bit of a mixture of Blues and Rock for download and I hope they are able to keep it going for good we while.If you want to follow what they are doing, you could bookmark the page for items tagged Track Of The Day or you could subscibed to their RSS feed. Let me know what your favourite free tracks are by leaving a comment on this post.
Wednesday, 11 March 2009
Where's the YouTube Rock Band?
I wrote in my Education blog about the YouTube Orchestra. I think this is a great idea and wondered if anyone has ever done anything similar with a Blues or Rock band?
I'd heard of eJamming AUDiiO which apparently lets musicians collaborate in real time over the Internet. However, recording video separately and then mashing it together to create a group video would seem to be a low tech alternative. Clearly, there are timing and tuning issues, not to mention video editing problems, but with a bit of good will and effort from all involved it should be possible. Certainly, this chap has managed to do it:
Are there examples of amateur musicians cooperating to create music together in YouTube or elsewhere?
I'd heard of eJamming AUDiiO which apparently lets musicians collaborate in real time over the Internet. However, recording video separately and then mashing it together to create a group video would seem to be a low tech alternative. Clearly, there are timing and tuning issues, not to mention video editing problems, but with a bit of good will and effort from all involved it should be possible. Certainly, this chap has managed to do it:
Are there examples of amateur musicians cooperating to create music together in YouTube or elsewhere?
Monday, 9 March 2009
YouTube and PRS Fall Out
Just the other week I said that it was good to see some record companies seeing the value of offering free mp3 downloads. I was hopeful that the musical powers that be were beginning to understand the Internet and use it to promote music rather than fighting to block things at every turn...
Then I read this:
So while the business people bicker over money, the fans and the bands lose out... I suspect only the lawyers will win financially out of this one.
Then I read this:
YouTube to block UK music videosOh dear.It's not clear who is being sillier here, YouTube or the PRS. My gut says its the PRS that are missing the point again and are in danger of killing the goose even as it lays the golden egg. However, it is equally possible that Google/YouTube is throwing its weight about as it tries to work out how it can profit from all this video it now has. (Heard on the radio earlier tonight that Google are struggling to make money from YouTube despite it being the second most popular search engine - after Google of course!)
YouTube is blocking all premium music videos to UK users after failing to reach a new licensing agreement with the Performing Right Society (PRS).
So while the business people bicker over money, the fans and the bands lose out... I suspect only the lawyers will win financially out of this one.
Friday, 6 March 2009
Free Download Friday #1
It's a Friday and I hope this is the first of a semi-regular series of links to free downloads... so Free Download Friday seems like a good name. (Better the Zero Cost Zursday anyway!) So, lets start with a biggie...
I mentioned in my post about last.fm that I am a relatively recent convert to Dream Theater but making a debut on this blog is Airbourne. On the face of it, these groups do not have a lot in common. Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band whereas Airborne is an straight out hard rock band from Australia. What links them is Roadrunner Records. This is a record label that has a number of big names on its roster (including Nickelback and Sammy Hagar) but also has a load of other groups that I didn't know much (or anything) about before I found my way to the Roadrunner site. New discoveries that I'm impressed with include Black Stone Cherry (excellent southern rock), The Parlor Mob and Theory of a Deadman.
The UK Roadrunner site is a great source of information about upcoming tours and releases, and it offers the occasional free download, for example, currently you can download Carnival Of Crows by the Parlor Mob (and I would recommend you do!). However, for the mother lode of free downloads, you have to head to the American site.
When you first arrive you are offered the chance to subscribe and download a free album. In fact you get a choice of two: Annual Assault (thirteen tracks which feature some of their more metal acts) or Between Rock and a Hard Place (eleven tracks which feature some of their more rock oriented acts). I subscribed and went for the rock album and Daughter Number Two joined for the metal one... but both of us liked both. :-)
Even better, many of the artists' pages on the American site offer a free download track. Here are some of my favourites (in alphabetical order):
I mentioned in my post about last.fm that I am a relatively recent convert to Dream Theater but making a debut on this blog is Airbourne. On the face of it, these groups do not have a lot in common. Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band whereas Airborne is an straight out hard rock band from Australia. What links them is Roadrunner Records. This is a record label that has a number of big names on its roster (including Nickelback and Sammy Hagar) but also has a load of other groups that I didn't know much (or anything) about before I found my way to the Roadrunner site. New discoveries that I'm impressed with include Black Stone Cherry (excellent southern rock), The Parlor Mob and Theory of a Deadman.
The UK Roadrunner site is a great source of information about upcoming tours and releases, and it offers the occasional free download, for example, currently you can download Carnival Of Crows by the Parlor Mob (and I would recommend you do!). However, for the mother lode of free downloads, you have to head to the American site.
When you first arrive you are offered the chance to subscribe and download a free album. In fact you get a choice of two: Annual Assault (thirteen tracks which feature some of their more metal acts) or Between Rock and a Hard Place (eleven tracks which feature some of their more rock oriented acts). I subscribed and went for the rock album and Daughter Number Two joined for the metal one... but both of us liked both. :-)
Even better, many of the artists' pages on the American site offer a free download track. Here are some of my favourites (in alphabetical order):
- Airbourne - Runnin' Wild
- BiffyClyro - Mountains {A fine Scottish band.}
- Black Stone Cherry - Please Come In {A very mellow track compared to other stuff of theirs I've heard.}
- Dream Theater - Forsaken
- Opeth - Burden {I don't usualy like band with a "Wooorrraaargh!" approach to vocals but these chaps are growing on me.}
- The Parlor Mob - Hard Times
- Sammy Hagar - LOUD
- Theory Of A Deadman - Hate My Life
Thursday, 5 March 2009
Separated at birth?
I mentioned in a previous post that I'd picked up the Victor CD in a local charity shop.
(Victor was the side project of Rush guitarist, Alex Lifeson.) For some reason, I didn't get this CD when it came out but I heard someone else's copy and at the time I was very unimpressed. Odd! Listening to it now, I find I really like it. Some of the tracks are excellent - for example Start Again and Mr X are now both rated as five stars on my iPod. However, Start Again was driving me nutty. Not surprisingly, some of the riffs sound very Rush-like but I couldn't place the riff in Start Again. It took me ages to realise it wasn't a Rush song it reminded me of - it was Four Sticks
from Led Zeppelin!
So what tracks remind you of others? I'm not just talking potential lawsuits (I think Joe's on a hiding to nothing here - at least that's my humble opinion) but it could be a deliberate reference like The Spirit Of Radio
and Tom Sawyer
in Grade 9
. Any suggestions?
(Victor was the side project of Rush guitarist, Alex Lifeson.) For some reason, I didn't get this CD when it came out but I heard someone else's copy and at the time I was very unimpressed. Odd! Listening to it now, I find I really like it. Some of the tracks are excellent - for example Start Again and Mr X are now both rated as five stars on my iPod. However, Start Again was driving me nutty. Not surprisingly, some of the riffs sound very Rush-like but I couldn't place the riff in Start Again. It took me ages to realise it wasn't a Rush song it reminded me of - it was Four Sticks
from Led Zeppelin!So what tracks remind you of others? I'm not just talking potential lawsuits (I think Joe's on a hiding to nothing here - at least that's my humble opinion) but it could be a deliberate reference like The Spirit Of Radio
and Tom Sawyer in Grade 9. Any suggestions?
Monday, 2 March 2009
Where do I get my music?
I occasionally buy new albums online or in music shops. (I try to avoid supermarkets. I'd rather support shops like Fopp - even though they are no longer independent. I like physically browsing through stacks of CDs - something you don't really get to do online or in supermarkets.) I also pick up a fair few CDs in charity shops. (Latest finds being A Crow Left Of The Murder
and Victorat £1.99 each.) However, for the last year and a bit, the place I've bought most of my new music is eMusic.
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With eMusic, the focus on independent music rather than the big mainstream labels but there is still a huge range of stuff to choose from and they do have are some big names. (Although, it pays to do a bit of checking first as some of the downloads are obscure live recordings or dodgy "before they were famous" stuff.) A year on and I still have no problem downloading 75 tracks per month and have a backlog of albums that I want to download next.
Here are a few of my favourite finds so far to give you a flavour of what's there:
Rainbow Live in Munichg(16639188)a(1620968))
: Pretty much the definitive Rainbow line up as far as I'm concerned and with some extraordinarily long tracks, you get a lot of musical bang for your download buck!
Joe Bonamassa - Sloe Gin: Sorry to keep going on about this... but Joe Bonamassa is currently my most listened to artist.
Chris Whitley - Dirt Floor: Painfully stark, stripped down acoustic Blues. Beautiful!
Motörhead-Motörizer: Loads of Motörhead stuff is available on eMusic including this, their most recent.
If you find yourself stuck for ideas, get back to me and I'll give you some more suggestions such as Thin Lizzy, EndeverafteR and Lethargy. As well as bucket loads of old Blues.
The best thing about eMusic though is that you can sign up, download fifty tracks for free. Then, if you don't like the look of what you see, you can cancel your subscription and keep the fifty tracks you've already downloaded.
With fifty tracks to gain, what have you got to lose?
and Victorat £1.99 each.) However, for the last year and a bit, the place I've bought most of my new music is eMusic.With eMusic, the focus on independent music rather than the big mainstream labels but there is still a huge range of stuff to choose from and they do have are some big names. (Although, it pays to do a bit of checking first as some of the downloads are obscure live recordings or dodgy "before they were famous" stuff.) A year on and I still have no problem downloading 75 tracks per month and have a backlog of albums that I want to download next.
Here are a few of my favourite finds so far to give you a flavour of what's there:
Rainbow Live in Munich
Joe Bonamassa - Sloe Gin
Chris Whitley - Dirt Floor
Motörhead-Motörizer
If you find yourself stuck for ideas, get back to me and I'll give you some more suggestions such as Thin Lizzy
The best thing about eMusic though is that you can sign up, download fifty tracks for free. Then, if you don't like the look of what you see, you can cancel your subscription and keep the fifty tracks you've already downloaded.
With fifty tracks to gain, what have you got to lose?
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