Top Ten Ways to Find New Music

I've been a music fan my entire life. Conservative estimates would have me owning over 4,000 albums across five formats - vinyl, 8 track, cassette, compact disc, and digital. I hate to think of the money that I've spent on music in my lifetime, especially for the same title purchased in multiple formats. Scary.

Before music went digital, I was in a horrible music rut. The Minneapolis radio scene was a complete disaster as it had a narrow focus on heavy rotation adult contemporary. The songs that were played were horrible, and there was no truly new music on the horizon. My massive CD collection of 3,500+ titles was a gaudy and dusty eyesore. My schedule and location prevented indulgences in live shows.

It was at this point where I literally felt my days as a huge music fan were over. I had finally got to the point where the CDs needed to go, and through a used music service, I boxed many of them off and shipped them off for a pretty penny. Really rare titles were sold on eBay - there were a number that I sold for over $75 each. I kept those titles that were the absolute most meaningful, and resigned myself to a future of talk radio and sports stations.

In the middle of this great sale, I won a just-released iPod at an ecommerce marketing industry event, and my life got turned upside down. The move to digital was revolutionary. Access to bands and genres was no longer limited to what the crappy radio play list provided. I was back to a music consumer, and in a big way.

Since then, I've been exposed music that was completely unimaginable to me 8 years ago. There is so much incredible music being made right now, and finding a way to effectively appreciate it at times feels like drinking from a fire hose. It can be completely overwhelming. That being said, there have been some incredible tools that have aided me, and I wanted to pass along my top ten methods of finding (and appreciating) new music:

10) iTunes' free single of the week - Every Tuesday iTunes releases one track for free. Usually these songs are pretty crappy, but this was where I first got exposed to Matthew Good. If for no other reason, this tool will forever be more than worth it.

9) Band websites - There are a lot of generous bands that make their material available for free on their websites. Kathleen Edwards is a great example of site that provides wonderful exposure to new music

8) Facebook - The "Fan" feature of Facebook allows the user access to communication streams of their favorite bands. Savvy bands are using it to announce free/discounted music, new releases, and tour dates. I'm currently following 46 bands via this method.

7) Pandora internet radio - With Pandora, users can create a "station" based on an artist or a song. Armed with that information, Pandora serves up music that "matches" the desired sound via their complex tagging and database system. And if it happens to serve up a song that really appeals, listeners are just one click away from purchasing it on iTunes.

6) Amazon's free music - Just like iTunes, every Tuesday Amazon makes about 20 songs available for free on their website. Some are crap, but there are other definitely some gems out there. I really enjoy seeing what they have available every Tuesday morning before I go to work.

5) iTunes' recommendation engine - Based on what I've previously purchased, iTunes serves up recommendations by using an algorithm of the purchase history of other users. It bats about .500 for me, but I've found some great bands by interfacing with this engine.

4) Shazam music finder - This is one of the most useful apps ever created for the iPhone. If you hear a song you like (on the radio, playing in the background at a restaurant, on TV, etc.) simply bring up this app, "tag" the song (basically, the app "listens" to the song and codes it into 1s and 0s), and the tag is sent to their database where the name, band, and album is instantly returned. If you really like what you heard, you can click a button and instantly buy it from iTunes.

3) iTunes' interface - iTunes has created the ability to dig deep on artists, identify songs and albums that are ranked highest by the community, and acquire what would be desired by one single mouse click. To date, I've spent $734 on single songs and albums through that addictive interface.

2) Sirius Satellite Radio - I will never listen to terrestrial radio again. With Sirius, I have access to every genera imaginable, and all commercial-free. My hands-down favorite station is Sirius/XM-U, a fabulous indy station. Exposure to that station alone has resulted in at least $300 in individual downloads.

1) Paste Magazine - My wife bought me a subscription to this magazine, and it opened a whole new world for me. It leans pretty heavily indy, but does cover a wide swath of genres. And with every issue come 20-25 new songs (either in CD or MP3), and while only about 50% of them strike a chord with me, some of my finds have been revolutionary. With a premium subscription, you're given access to multiple bonus albums and live recordings. The magazine comes out for me about the 15th of the month, and I act like a little kid around that time waiting for it to finally arrive in my mailbox.

Vikings Defense Dominates Dallas

In their greatest game this season, the Vikings defense ended up completely dominating the Dallas offense to push the beloved Purple to the NFC Championship. While they started with a couple of uneasy “bend but don’t break” drives, eventually the D took the game completely over. Dallas QB Tony Romo was hounded, sacked over a half dozen times, and forced into mistakes. The performance of the defensive line alone harkened back to the days of Eller, Marshall, Page, and Larson.

Now the big question: How much did the noise provided by home field aid the defensive play? If the answer is “a lot,” next Sunday’s game could be a long one for the Vikings. Brees is twice the quarterback Romo is, and Reggie Bush appears to finally be peaking after a seemingly season-long slumber. However, if the answer is “not much,” things should bode well for our Norsemen.

It’s said that defense wins championships. Can the defense do it without their home crowd screaming at jet engine decibel levels? That will be the question.

A Cry for Help from Haiti

My brother-in-law works for the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. The Oblates travel the world bringing Christ's message to the poor and needy. In conjunction, the Oblates also do things like teach improved farming techniques, and establish medical clinics, schools, and radio communication centers. They physically and spiritually care for the orphaned, the elderly, and the oppressed.

Haiti has always been a focus of the Oblates, so when the earthquake hit, the Oblates were already there.

Many times when situations like this occur, you'll see communication passed along in emails as legitimate, yet the origin of the communication is usually not what it seems. Here is something altogether different: a letter from an Oblate priest in Haiti that was ultimately passed to my brother-in-law.


Report of Fr. Provincial to Fr. General (15/01/2010 - Haiti)
Port-au-Prince, 14 January 2010
Fr. Wilhelm Steckling, omi
Superior General
Rome

Good morning, Father General,

I am using what is left of the battery charge on my laptop to write you this message. You have certainly learned that on Tuesday, 12 January 2010, at 4:53 p.m., a violent earthquake (a magnitude of 7.3 on the Richter scale) passed through Haiti and has practically destroyed the city of Port-au-Prince.

Most of the big buildings have collapsed.

The provincial house was seriously damaged and the new construction (the annex) has collapsed.
The scholasticate has also caved in. The two formators (Frs. Muscadin and Almonor) as well as the two scholastics who were there (Ronel and Johnny), and Fr. Jean-François Printemps who was visiting there, are safe and sound.

The other scholastics were at a conference at CIFOR, being presented by a Brazilian doctor. The CIFOR building collapsed and the conference presenter died, as well as an Oblate scholastic, Weedy Alexis, and a Spiritan scholastic, Stéphane Dougé. Presently, the minibus of the Monfortain scholastics is blocked under the debris, with 14 passengers aboard, 9 of them Montfortains. They can do nothing, up to this point, to rescue them. One of them is alive for his voice can be heard and they are talking with him, but that is all that can be done.

It's a catastrophe, total devastation in Haiti. Since Wednesday evening, the inhabitants of Port-au-Prince have to sleep under the stars, as do we, for there are aftershocks from time to time. Everyone is afraid and we do what we can to take precautions.

There are no means of communication or of information. With a bit of luck, the telephone might work. I have not yet been able to communicate with our confreres in the province.

There is no electricity, no water at the provincial house, no internet. I imagine that it is the same situation just about everywhere in Port-au-Prince.

Yesterday, Father Loubeau and I were obliged to go out onto the streets to get to the scholasticate. Everywhere there is crying, weeping and wailing. The streets are piled high with dead bodies.

There were other collapsed buildings: the Port-au-Prince archbishop's residence, the National Palace, the Cathedral, Sacred Heart church, the Major Seminary at Turgeau, the Major Seminary for philosophy at Cazeau, the Episcopal church of the Holy Trinity and several other large churches and schools, Catholic and Protestant.

It was only yesterday morning that they were able to retrieve the remains of Mons. Joseph Serge Miot, Archbishop of Port-au-Prince. The Vicar General is still under the debris: they no longer hear his voice. A professor at the Major Seminary at Turgeau and three seminarians were trapped inside the seminary. No one can hear them.

Up to this point, they have named eight dead among the seminarians of Cazeau. (But the Oblates at Blanchard and Sibert have been spared).

Some aid arrived yesterday morning from the United States, France and the Dominican Republic. But they cannot do much because there are still the aftershocks. They are saying that the aftershocks should end by Friday evening.

The deceased Oblate scholastic had to be buried yesterday afternoon together with the Spiritan, in the courtyard of the Spiritans (their church and their house were also destroyed). There is no functioning morgue. There is still no help. This morning at 8 o'clock, we are going to have a funeral service together with the Spiritans.

You can understand, Fr. General, that the damages must be immense. One still cannot estimate them, even though the Prime Minister has spoken of about 100,000 deaths. The total is much worse than that for there are still the wounded, the disappeared and the material damages.

Several priests, brothers and religious women are unaccounted for.

Fr. General, this was simply an attempt to describe for you what we are experiencing. Because I must hurry so as not to use up the battery, you can understand that I am unable to tell you everything or respect formalities.

Thank you for your understanding and your solidarity.

We know that you are thinking of us and that you are lifting us up in prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, our helping mother.

Fr. Gasner Joint, omi

These words from Fr. Gasener speak for themselves. It is incumbent in these situations that those that have need to give, and the options are many. A great choice is to give to the Oblates themselves, and a link to give can be found here.

The suffering is immeasurable. Please give, and pray.

I Met a Hero Today

I was doing some clean up through some files on the PC, and ran across the folder where I used to do some writing when the mood struck me. There's a lot of crap in there, but some are OK. Every once and a while I'll dust one off and plop it here for your perusal.

Since winter up here continues its depressing grind, here's one from the summer of 2006. It's got thunderstoms, heroes, and ice cream. What more could you want?

I hope you enjoy:


I’m pretty sure I met a hero today.

My wife and I stopped at the local ice cream shop for a Friday night cone. The skies had erupted, and the quick 10 foot sprint to the dry sanctuary of the store still rendered both of us soaking. That’s where I saw him.

I was first met with a broad smile that’s shared by human beings (but especially Minnesotans) anytime one of us encounters hardship brought on by the weather. The smile clearly said, “Man, you guys are wet!” The smile was broadly returned, just as it always is in any of these types of situations.

Shaking off, the next obvious thing in the shop was that our smiling greeter was standing on two brand new prosthetic legs.

We exchanged small talk and ordered our ice cream. My wife and I then retired to a table, while our greeter took a seat on the bench and began to read the paper. I wanted to say something, especially “Thank you for your service,” but a dozen doubts crossed my head. What if he lost his legs on a motorcycle, in a farm accident, or something other than the war? Judging by his age, his eyes that belied his chronological age, his high/tight haircut, and his physical conditioning, he had to be a vet. But what if my thanks caused him pain? That wouldn’t be good. So like so many others, I chose to do the easy thing and continued to sit on my ample rear end, did nothing, and ate my ice cream.

In the mean time, I watched the sights developing around me. Families and kids entered and ordered, making the scene something that a 2006 version on Norman Rockwell would relish. The picture evoked one that was a complete stereotype of America. Family. Security. Ice cream on a summer night. The kind of thing defines what our fighting forces are paying the ultimate prices to protect. And to the side sat our man, and I wondered what he thought as the din from the kids grew and the little shop filled up. I wondered if he was proud, or sad, or angry, or regretful, or…

Soon the rain let up, and it was time to leave. We got up the same time as our guy, and our eyes met again. Once more that big smile hit me, and we simultaneously nodded at each other, but I said nothing. We headed for the door and went our separate ways. On the drive home, I was struck by that smile, coming from someone that had obviously seen and been through so much. And I thought of how I frown so easily when pathetic little things happen to me in my little insignificant life. When it comes to honor and dealing with adversity, I’m unworthy to be in the same room with the likes of him, or any our veterans for that matter.

I’m pretty sure I met a hero today. And despite multiple opportunities, I failed to tell him, “thank you.”

At least I’m consistent.

McGwire Used Steroids. In Other News, Pope Admits Being Catholic

The longest home run I ever personally witnessed was Cecil Fielder hitting one completely out of Tiger Stadium. Note: Cecil definitely WAS NOT on steroids. With a body like that, if he was on steroids, he should have asked for his money back. The picture at left was Cecil in his "skinny" days.

The second longest I ever personally witnessed was Mark McGwire smashing one against the upper plexiglass of a suite in the Metrodome. In left field. The same left field where the distance down the line is 344 and left-center is 385. He was about 10 feet away from an upper deck shot in left field. It had to be a minimum of 500 feet.

McGwire can cry all he wants, but the bottom line is that he's a cheater and a liar. That will forever taint everything else he did. He'll never make the Hall of Fame, and all of his statistical accomplishments with be served with the dreaded asterisk.

There is only one person to blame for this shame - Mark McGwire.

MacGruber's New Sidekick?

Instead of Darrel, maybe MacGruber needs to hang out with Harry "No Negro Dialect" Reid.

Trigeminal Neuralgia Update - Another Reason to Hate Minnesota Winters?

Over the past two weeks the pain has definitely kicked up a notch. I'm at a fairly constant low grade headache, with infrequent zaps. I'm wondering if the cold makes things worse (like I need another excuse to hate the cold). Likewise, stress levels at work are quite high right now.

With dinner the past two nights I've had wine, and that definitely helps. It likely magnifies the Carbamazepine, and I need to keep an eye on this. A number of folks with this malady self-medicate their pain with alcohol, and we don't need to go down that road.

As always, sleep turns it all off, and that's a nice respite. It's not much fun, though, when the first thought upon waking is to ask "I wonder if today will be a good day?" and immediately get your answer via a stab in the head.

At least things are ebbing and flowing for me. I can't imagine having the really bad stuff be a constant, like some suffers do. I hope we never get to that point.

Terrorist Successful? We Lose. Terrorists Unsuccessful? We Lose.

Over early morning coffee today, my wife and I were discussing the government's new move to conduct virtual strip searches on passengers (and if you've seen the photos, that is exactly what they are). We wondered aloud why it was that when terrorists struck (successfully or unsuccessfully), we lost freedoms and conveniences.

Isn't that the ultimate goal of the terrorists?

Then I bumped into this article from Steve Chapman of the Chicago Tribune, and he says basically the same thing. Worth the read.

It feels like we're in the early innings of a baseball game, and the opposition is slowly putting up runs on us.

I just hope that by the time we've reached nine innings we don't look up to the scoreboard and wonder how we lost.