DRM is Cracking
April 3, 2007 | 1 Comment
Digital Rights Management or DRM is a concept I have always opposed. In general I feel it is expensive and complicated for vendors to sustain, while relatively simple others to break, all the while punishing consumers and paying customers. I had never really summarized my thoughts on this other than the occasional verbal tirade.
After Steve Jobs shared his thoughts against DRM last year I felt it was no longer necessary for me to chime in since he hit the nail on the head. Finally someone with the ability to influence direction of DRM today and in the future was making bold statements about why it is ridiculously broken. However, were these merely words? Was Jobs making these statements to pander to the European Union who is blocking the international expansion of the highly successful iTunes music store?
Apparently not.
Casey pointed to the huge joint announcement this week from Apple and EMI about their planned release of the entire EMI digital collection in DRM free, higher quality (256kbps) AAC files for $1.29 per song. This is a 30 cent increase that is well worth it to gain higher quality and vendor neutrality in the future. To sweeten the deal, when purchasing full albums, there will be absolutely no cost increase for DRM free music! What about those of you who have already filled your music collections with EMI music that has the Apple DRM? For a mere 30 cents, you can upgrade to the DRM-free version! This new service will launch in May.
EMI’s diverse list of artists includes: A Perfect Circle, The Beatles, David Bowie, The Chemical Brothers, Coldplay, Dandy Warhols, Gorillaz, Ben Harper, Norah Jones, KoЯn, Lenny Kravitz, Pink Floyd, Queen, Radiohead, Relient K, The Thrills, KT Tunstall, Robbie Williams, Yellowcard, The Rolling Stones, Radiohead, Keith Urban, etc. There are many old school artists, as well as new artists I’ve fallen in love with from Virgin Radio or idobi Radio. In short, no matter what type of music you’re into, EMI has something for you.
Hopefully EMI will see great success from this initiative. In turn, this could cause all of DRM in digital music to crumble. As the music industry succumbs to delivering more consumer friendly, flexible music, video should follow. This is good for everyone.
Since the beginning of the digital music revolution, I have reduced my music buying habits. In fact, I have bought less than 10 CDs in the last 7 years. Prior to that, I had built a CD collection in excess of 300 CDs. These have all been ripped to my iPod. Additionally, I listen to a lot of podcasts. For new music, all of this comes from internet radio. I’m looking forward to finally being comfortable purchasing music again.
Tags: A Perfect Circle, aac, apple, Ben Harper, Coldplay, Dandy Warhols, David Bowie, DRM, emi, Gorillaz, idobi radio, internet radio, Keith Urban, KoЯn, KT Tunstall, Lenny Kravitz, mpaa, music, music industry, Norah Jones, Pink Floyd, podcast, podcasts, Queen, radio, Radiohead, Relient K, riaa, Robbie Williams, steve jobs, The Beatles, The Chemical Brothers, The Rolling Stones, The Thrills, virgin radio, Yellowcard
2006 in Review: What I’ve Been Listening To
December 30, 2006 | Leave a Comment
Podcasts were a new media for me to consume this year and in turn make up a majority of what I have been listening to. I received an iPod for Christmas in 2005 allowing me to get into podcasts. Looking back at the mix of podcasts and music I have been listening to, I think it helps me with perspective about what is in my head this year.
Podcasts:
- Ricky Gervais Show - The crown jewel of comedy podcasts. Ricky Gervais and Steven Merchant harass and berate Karl Pilkington, hilarity ensues. I enjoyed The Office, this led me to the podcast and now I consume all comedy that Ricky Gervais delivers (Flanimals, Extras, etc.) I am sad that this series has ended. Hopefully the trio will miss it and return soon.
- NPR Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me - I had been listening to this fairly regularly on NPR. Since it became available in podcast, I haven’t missed an episode. This is a great weekly dose of news with a funny spin. Think of it as a radio version of the Daily Show, presented as a quiz show.
- TWiT - Leo Laporte, Patrick Norton, and John C Dvorak are only a handful of the regulars who look at “This Week in Tech”. This weekly discussion about all things tech is fun for any tech savvy individual with an interest in current tech topics.
- Marvel Podcast - consistently good content, though the sound quality, editing, and ability to keep the RSS working properly all count as negatives here. These lack polish in the technology department.
- Comic Geek Speak - As a Marvel only comic fan, I only listen when Marvel is the core of the discussion, but whenever something Marvel hits the show notes, I tune in. I’ve especially loved the Civil War episodes. If you are a comic fan, these guys can satisfy your need to hear and enjoy in depth conversation about events happening in comics right now. Most of us aren’t fortunate enough to have many real life comic fan counterparts to do this with…
- Never Not Funny - I would give this a 3 out of 5 on the funny scale. Not something I would ever pay to listen to, but plenty entertaining to fill a long car ride or as background while doing chores. Jimmy Pardo and Mike Schmidt could use more guests on their show to play off of. Instead, they mostly play off of their producer…
Music Podcasts:
Pub Songs Podcast
Irish and Celtic Music Podcast
Both of these are from Marc Gunn and are pretty solid. I think there is great potential in the near future for music podcasts to take off. Their ability to introduce subscribers/listeners to new and interesting music within a defined genre is greatly powerful.
Radio:
Almost exclusively I listened to idobi Radio. The constant stream of advertisement free punk kept me entertained almost all day of nearly every work day. I’d like to expand this list and find other great radio stations. If anyone knows good alternative rock, punk, celtic, or classical radio stations that are streamed at at least 128 kbs, I would love to hear about them.
Sweet Bands/Albums:
- Green Day: Bullet In A Bible - I can not even count how many times through I’ve listened to this entire CD. I don’t usually like live CDs, but the energy captured here is intoxicating. If you like Green Day, or punk in general, you must own this.
- The Bloody Irish Boys - I discovered these guys on the before mentioned Pub Songs Podcast. I just can’t get enough of their punk Irish mix of music.
- Ceann - Another Pub Songs Podcast find, this Pittsburgh based band mixes music I love with
- Ik Ben - Scott Hylbert’s band is wonderful. I cherish every track they have released.
Music Singles:
These aren’t necessarily new, but they are six selected tracks (five was too hard) I couldn’t get enough of this year. I have excluded any of the artists/albums I mentioned.
- Welcome to the Black Parade: My Chemical Romance - idobi radio introduced this to me just before it started getting insane amount of radio play. I say play away, this song is so sweet.
- Masters of the Universe: Army of Freshmen - As a lifetime He-Man fan, this song is an absolute blast.
- Blackbird: The Beatles - out of the blue I heard this Beatles song which I previously had not heard much. I’ve always liked The Beatles and it was fun to find a “new” song I love.
- Surrender: Cheap Trick - this was used in the sadly cancelled Sons and Daughters partial improv TV show. I get a bit sad when I hear this since I loved the show, but it is still awesome.
- The Suffering: Coheed and Cambria - Al introduced me to this tune. I love it so much.
- 24: Jem - this was in the Ultraviolet trailer and totally sold me on the film… until I saw the movie and hated it. Oh well, the song is still awesome.
That’s it, everything that has colored my audio landscape this calendar year. The iPod made is a banner year for audio in my house. I hope I find half as much great stuff in 2007.
Tags: 2006, audio, bullet in a bible, ceann, celtic, green day, ik ben, internet radio, irish, karl pilkington, marc gunn, music, npr, podcasts, pub songs, radio, ricky gervais, Scott Hylbert, twit
Civil War Podcasts
July 28, 2006 | Leave a Comment
If you’ve been following Civil War, like me you probably need some sort of fix to help between issues. Thankfully Marvel and Comic Geek Speak have put out a pile of fantastic podcasts. One of the primary reasons I blog about comics is to achieve a sense of discussion and community. These podcasts allow you to think about the comics you are reading and at least hear some discussion about the characters.
Here are links to the current Civil War related podcasts. Most of these are really great.
Marvel Podcast: Millar/Civil War Podcast
Marvel Podcast: Straight from the Trenches: Civil War: Front Line Podcast
Marvel Podcast: Civil War: X-men, Runaways & Young Avengers
Comic Geek Speak: Civil War - Episode 1
Comic Geek Speak: Civil War - Episode 2
Tags: cgs, civil war, comic geek speak, marvel, millar, podcast, podcasts, runaways, spider-man, spiderman, x-men, XMen, Young Avengers
Amanda Congdon: Unboomed
July 5, 2006 | 1 Comment
In stunningly upsetting news, Amanda Congdon of Rocketboom fame has been ousted from her lead role in Rocketboom. Click the image above to watch her video revealing her departure.
In the video Amanda sits sadly in front of an upside down map and explains how she owns 49% of Rocketboom while her business partner owns 51%. He wanted her gone and so she departs. For me Rocketboom was always “The Amanda Congdon Show”. I tuned in for her spunk and personable nature. I look forward to a new video podcast from her soon. I wish her all the best.
Off to go unsubscribe from Rocketboom…
Tags: amanda congdon, podcast, podcasts, rocketboom, video podcast, video podcasts, vodcast, vodcasts
Ceann - Bad Pirates, Almost Irish, Mostly Perfect
June 20, 2006 | 2 Comments
I personally discovered Ceann while listening to Marc Gunn’s Pub Songs Podcast. The song that first intrigued me was “The Worst Pirate Song” off their “Almost Irish” CD.
Thr lyrics go:
If you’re a pirate I don’t believe it
I don’t believe that you are capable of such deeds
If you’re a pirate let’s see your wallet
and we will see if you are licensed for the seas
Are you capable of swinging from the riggings of a ship
Or wearing a black do-rag when it really ain’t that hip
I don’t think so,
I don’t think so, at allCHORUS:
So where’s your eye patch
Where’s your peg leg
If you’re a pirate
Where’s your gun
Where’s your booty
Your sassy parrot
I can’t picture you on a bottle of cheap rum‘Cause You’re the worst pirate,
the worst pirate in the world
You’re the worst pirate,
the worst pirate in the world
‘Cause you’re a girlSo all you females just put your swords down
I’m not a fool and I’m not amused
You’ve got no hook hand, no secret island
And pirates never go to the bathroom in twos
So if this isn’t some sort of cheap prank
Then tell me who exactly walks your plank
Not me, not me
No, nay, never, not meCHORUS
A pirate vessel is not a bedroom
No walk-in closet, there’s no bidetThere’s no pink loofah hanging in the shower and
pirates don’t worry about what shoes they wear todayBecause everyone knows that pirates just wear black
They raise a flag of skull and bones when they attack
Not birds and flowers, not birds and flowers, no way!CHORUSx2
Those lyrics with the sweet pub song melody had me hooked. When I started exploring I found their main site and their MySpace page. Sampling some of their available songs, I quickly fell in love with “Almost Irish”. The song is in many ways the story of this ragtag almost Irish band. They have Irish heritage and they play in an Irish style, but beyond that they’re mostly american, it’s true. This rings quite true with my own feelings and heritage.
I was further engaged with the band when I started noticing a general Pittsburgh, PA recurring theme in their songs. Especially great is “Ahrn at This Bar” which is steeped in Pittsburghese with more references to that city than you should be able to cram into a song. The tune is done to the melody and beat of the classic Irish song “Whiskey in the Jar”, which anyone with any claim to an Irish heristage is at least a bit familiar with. My love for Pittsburgh and the ability to travel back there if only in song would be enough to sell me on them alone.
If you like the Pogues or the Dropkick Murphys, you have to check out Ceann. If you like pirates, pittsburgh, or fun and entertaining songs, you gotta check these guys out. Plus they’re independent music, so buy their CD and put money in the pocket of true artists without padding to many sucky music executives and copyright lawyers.
Tags: Ahrn at This Bar, almost irish, ceann, ceann na caca, dropkick murphys, heritage, independent bands, independent music, irish, marc gunn, music, pa, pennsylvania, pirate, pirate song, pittsburgh, pittsburghese, podcast, podcasts, pogues, pub songs, worst pirate, Worst Pirate Song
Marvel Podcasts
June 5, 2006 | 3 Comments
I am silly amounts of addicted to the Marvel Universe. As part of that I was pretty excited in January when I first discovered Marvel’s podcasts. Since then I have found myself waiting less than patiently for the semi-monthly or so releases. The insight into the authors, artists, and overall creative teams at Marvel has engrossed me even further into the Marvel Universe and the many exciting events that are currently taking place there.
The first one of these I casually listened to was with Damon Lindelof talking about Ultimate Wolverine vs Hulk. Of course I have been rabidly following that series, at least for the first two issues. Where’s issue #3 Lindelof/Marvel?!?
Next, I heard Joss Whedon talk about his Astonishing X-Men series, which I immediately sought out the trades and am now following monthly. In fact, if you want to get in on a modern X-Men title, this is the one to read. The team consists of Cyclops, Emma Frost, Kitty Pryde, Wolverine, Colossus, and Beast. The series has dealt with some fantastic plot twists and events, including a story line about a mutant cure whihc is eerily familiar to X-Men 3’s major plot line. Understanding Whedon’s reasoning for building the team he did and why he is playing with the stories he is made the whole experience that much richer.
Craig Kyle was interviewed about the Ultimate Avengers movie. After listening I of course bought the DVD on launch day. If I hadn’t heard him explain in great detail about why he had changed many of the major story elements, I may have been annoyed at the film. Instead I enjoyed every minute of it and again found insights into the changed characterizations.
I was surprised to find Keith Giffen and editor Andy Schmidt raising my interests for Annihilation and all the cosmic Marvel heroes featured there. I had previously had every intention of being blissfully ignorant of this major event which follows primarily characters I find out of place and uninteresting in Marvel. Instead, Silver Surfer, Drax the Destroyer, and Nova have all captivated me into this major event. In fact I’m trying to find back issues of Drax the Destroyer which are proving to be as elusive as honest politicians… Granted, I still find Ronan and Super Skrull about as boring as anything ever written… but you can’t win them all.
The X-Office episode was an amazing amount of fun to listen to, but I haven’t been able to find much that is too interesting in most the X-Men comics these days. The exception is of course Joss Whedon’s previously mentioned Astonishing X-Men. The banter between the many editors, writers, and artists who participated in this episode made for the occasional laugh out loud moment and definitely made a flight from Orlando to Manchester entirely more tolerable.
The two Civil War episodes added to my already frothing excitement for this event. In fact, I’m not sure anyone has ever felt so giddy about an upcoming set of comics as I do about Civil War. I just wish I could sit down and read the 30+ comics that will make up this massive event in one long binge. Alas, I will have to wait for Mark Millar to layout his tale slowly over the next six months…
I could go on, because there are more great episodes to highlight (Neil Gaiman on Moon Night, Ed Brubaker on Daredevil, Daniel Knauf on Iron Man, etc). However, I just need to say thanks to Marvel and hopefully encourage at least one person to listen to these amazing podcasts. I’m certain they will continue, especially if the marketing team learns how addictive they may prove to be.
I will warn you though, listening to the Marvel podcast will be hazardous to your wallet! You’ve been warned, now go listen and spend money on comics.
RSS feed of the Marvel Podcasts
Tags: "astonishing x-men", "Damon Lindelof", "ultimate avengers", Andy Schmidt, Beast, civil war, colossus, comic books, comics, Cyclops, Daniel Knauf, daredevil, Drax the Destroyer, ed brubaker, emma frost, hulk, iron man, joss whedon, Keith Giffen, Kitty Pryde, mark millar, marvel, marvel universe, moon knight, Neil Gaiman, Nova, podcast, podcasts, ronan, rss, Silver Surfer, super skrull, ultimate hulk, ultimate wolverine, Wolverine, x-men
Homestar Runner Video Podcast
April 11, 2006 | 3 Comments
With much joy I found that HomestarRunner.com is now offering Strong Bad emails as free video podcasts on the iTunes music store! Having Strong Bad pushed to my iPod on a regular basis is about as cool as it gets. So check it out. No, seriously, go check it out…
If you are looking for other Homestar Runner related goodness, I highly recommend the fan-run Homestar Runner Wiki. There is an absolutely excessive quantity of Homestar information, facts and transcripts from basically everything that’s ever been done on the site.
One other cool thing to check out is this great interview with the Homestar Runner creators, the “Brothers Chaps”.
Tags: brothers chaps, cartoon, flash, homestar, homestarrunner, hrwiki, interview, ipod, mike chapman, podcast, podcasts, strong bad, strong bad email, wiki