Internet radios certainly made the hot topic list at this year's CES held last week in Las Vegas. Everyone was talking about new devices that allow listeners to stream their favorite station. Lots of companies introduced new streaming devices: Philips, Acoustic Research, RCA/Audiovox, and VTECH. Chumby's tiny Internet radio/alarm clock was even featured as part of Sony Chairman Howard Stringer's keynote address. Sony will produce a next generation Dream Machine alarm clock in partnership with Chumby. According to sources including the blog Paid Content, Stringer said that in two years, 90% of Sony devices will have connectivity. In addition to streaming table top and stereo devices, Blaupunkt and miRoamer made news and a few "best of show" lists with an announcement of an in-dash Internet car radio, gaining kudos from industry blog Venture Beat and Popular Mechanics award for innovation. Mobile streaming platform Flycast was featured by PC World as one of the best products at the show as well. Thanks to Internet radio, technology and electronics are taking a second glance at radio. During his speech, Consumer Electronics Association CEO Gary Shapiro said Radio is deeply ingrained in the U.S. culture. "Radio in the 1930s lifted the economy out of the Great Depression," he said. People listened to news and entertainment and drew hope and inspiration from the broadcasts. Today, radio continues to play an important role in the consumer electronics industry, which generated $1 trillion in economic activity globally last year, Shapiro said. I'm not sure if Internet radio will lift the economy out of our current misery, but it sure is looking more and more like it might be one of the few bright spots in 2009 and that's a very good prospect.
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February 3, 2009 - 3:04 pm
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Music
The Byrds returned to the studio during the second half of 1967 and the relationships between the members were not pretty. Michael Clarke left, Gene Clark returned, David Crosby was fired, Gene Clark left again, Jim officially became Roger McGuinn, and the resultant album, The Notorious Byrd Brothers, was brilliant and became a classic 1960’s release. Rolling Stone Magazine would rank it number 171 on their list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. The original album cover featured three human Byrds and a horse. The horse was supposed to represent the departed David Crosby and at the time I thought he was lucky that they faced the horse forward. Despite all the turmoil, McGuinn and Hillman soldiered on. They would change several of the tracks that Crosby had left behind and ultimately would write or co-write nine of the eleven songs. They also hired musicians to fill in the blanks. Session musician deluxe Jim Gordon would provide some of the best drum work of the group’s career. The most important addition would be guitarist Clarence White, who had also played briefly on their last album. He would later join The Byrds as an official member and provide the perfect foil for guitarist Roger McGuinn. The album would be a compromise between McGuinn’s psychedelic tendencies and Chris Hillman’s country leanings. They would unite to present a fairly mellow affair which featured hauntingly beautiful music. Producer Gary User, a former associate of The Beach Boys, was back for a second album. He is one of the forgotten studio wizards of the 1960s. He created a number of studio bands such as The Hondells and The Superstocks, who featured layered harmonies and catchy music. His production of The Notorious Byrd Brothers was impeccable and his ability to give the vocals and the music an almost sonic quality was outstanding. His greatest achievement, however, may have been his ability to keep the recording sessions focused in the middle of all the chaos. The two non original tracks were written by the legendary team of Carole King and Gerry Goffin and continued the group’s tradition of superior cover work. “Goin’ Back” featured Roger McGuinns legendary 12 string guitar plus the vocal phrasing gave the lyrics new life and meaning which enabled the song to escape its pop foundation and become a memorable folk-rock tune. “Wasn’t Born To Follow” would feature one of the best vocals of McGuinn’s career. The album contains a number of other delights. “Draft Morning” is a gentle but effective anti-war song that remains a social commentary about the late sixties. “Change Is Now” is highlighted by Chris Hillman’s bass beat and gorgeous harmonies on the chorus. “Old John Robertson” is the best of the country songs and looks ahead to the coming of Gram Parsons. The final two tracks are a last hurrah for the pure psychedelic Byrds. “Dolphin's Smile” is David Crosby’s final brilliant gasp as a member of the group. “Space Odyssey” was written with the Stanley Kubrick movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey, in mind. While it was not used in the film it remains a unique psychedelic relic of the era. The Notorious Byrd Brothers has a timeless quality about it and is one of the better, if not the best release, in their outstanding catalogue of work. It is a stunning album that was meant to be listened too with head phones firmly in place.
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February 3, 2009 - 12:28 pm
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Music
The summer after my college graduation, I lived in a tent for three months. After selecting a tent in the consignment section of a local mountaineering shop, I packed my backpack with essentials and flew across the country to Seattle. I met up with a friend in Bellingham, and then we took a ferry across Puget Sound and drove onto San Juan Island. From the ferry terminal, we drove through the small town of Friday Harbor, and continued through the pastoral countryside for five miles and then turned left onto a dirt road. After following the road for half a mile into the woods we had arrived to a plot of land with a handful of tents in the middle of nowhere. That afternoon, after setting up my tent and unpacking, I was instantly restless. I had no cell phone reception, no running water, and no computer. At the time, I was still using an actual film camera. While I was waiting for the other residents (all recent college grads) of our little ’shanty town’ to get home so I could meet them, I sat in the vestibule of my tent and sketched my feet for two hours. The first week living in shantytown was rough. It wasn’t easy to be so disconnected from everything. I eventually grew to like the analog lifestyle and ended up having some great adventures that summer. One of the big lessons I learned from the experience is that it’s possible to exist without technology. For three months, my technological diet consisted of 30-minute PC sessions at the local library and limited cell phone use, when I could find reception on the island. Today, boy, have things changed. Now my life relies heavily on technology. I use the Internet for everything. I haven’t looked at a paper map, CD, or roll of film in years, yet have no problem getting around, listening to music, and taking pictures. I generally think technology enhances my life and that things are more efficient.
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February 1, 2009 - 9:12 am
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Music
Kreator are one of the Big Three of German thrash metal. Alongside Sodom and Destruction they've flown the flag high ever since forming way back in 1982. Their early demos saw them getting signed by legendary genre label Noise, and under the stewardship of founder member Mille Petrozza, they've been pounding away ever since. Their début album Endless Pain came out in 1985 and was an instant hit with metalheads, and it's one of the albums that is constantly hailed as a major influence by subsequent generations of bands. The follow-up, 1986's Pleasure To Kill, is even better. Kreator broke all the speed limits as they thrashed their way through classic after classic, with "Flag Of Hate" hailed as a metal anthem. Their final indie album of the eighties, Terrible Certainty continued their momentum and saw the major labels sniffing round, with Epic Records signing them for the LA recorded Extreme Aggression, complete with a big name producer in Randy Burns, MTV videos and US tours. However, as with many metal bands, signing to a major saw the first cracks in the Kreator story. With a new guitarist in tow, "Coma Of Souls" saw the critics knives sharpening. In response, Kreator threw their toys out of the pram as they responded with a series of experimental releases that saw them dipping their toes into industrial metal, goth rock, and the just plain weird, on albums like Renewal and Endorama. There were more line up changes, leaving vocalist / guitarist Petrozza as the sole original band member, and it seemed as though there days were numbered as Epic dropped them, and they headed back to indie land. But then the 21st century arrived, along with a new guitarist, Sami Yli-Sirniö, and suddenly Kreator returned. Violent Revolution was a fabulous return to form and to their roots, and the band saw their profile raised, and a new generation of fans arrived. A live album and a new studio release, Enemy Of God were also well received, but with four years passing without any new material, is there any gas left in Kreators tank?
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February 1, 2009 - 5:37 am
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Music