Richard Lennox
- found a bug in Firefox - doubt it'll get fixed though!
- How Big is Social Media in the UK? [VIDEO] http://bit.ly/aIYgrs
- "Technical Issues" on the BBC homepage - something you don't see everyday!
Archive for the ‘Music’ Category
Internet Radio Day of Silence
Today we got a feel for what internet radio could be like in the near future….silence!
Listening to internet radio for at least an hour occurs at least 5 days out of 7 for me. I enjoy an eclectic mix of music, most of it through Pandora or my iTunes catalogue and IPod, as I can easily match my mood and get a full playlist to match what I want.
Pandora, as an internet radio, has taken part in the "Day of Silence" for internet radio stations, highlighting what it may be like in the near future. The case seems to be that in the US, where most of these stations are based, the costs of playing a track over the internet will be so great (due to extra royalties and alike) that it will put them out of business.
I am not against the artists getting a fair amount of royalties but I know for a fact there are more than a few albums I have bought having heard some tracks on Pandora. A degree of fairness and compromise should be agreed.
As I am not in the US there is little I can do about supporting the save net radio campaign except spread the word…
Pandora
The latest addition to my Internet entertainment world is Pandora. This is Internet radio with a difference and has got many techies out there excited. Input an artist or song name into the player, and using the music genome project Pandora will create a radio station just for you based on your initial selection. Tell Pandora that you agreed with their choices and it will improve the quality of you personal "station".
While this is great, it has one slight drawback: you end up reaching for the deadly bit of plastic and buying music which you love. My iPod is going to love it, especially as it links directly to iTunes!
Note to self: I must write a post summarising my Internet entertainment suite!!
Women With Standards
On Saturday night, Susan and Jenny took me along to see Women with Standards at the Gilded Balloon (Teviot). A group of 4 Australian vocalists and a local jazz trio making the most of some powerful voices belting out not only Jazz standards but other Diva-esque songs. And boy can those Women sing. I don;t know if any one has seen the TV advert for Sheila's Wheels insurance with four Australian Women singing a really dodgy song. Well having said yes I wouldn't mind being entertained with some Jazz standards on a Saturday night, Susan then puts that into my head and the vision of the dodgiest ad and those four Australian "singers", which got me looking. Was I not relieved when they belted out the first number.
The Filthy Six at The Lot
The Filthy Six are a Soul Jazz Funk sextet from London. Having read reasonably good things about them, I decided to go along to the Lot and check them out.
An interesting mix of players, as with many fringe music events they were using session players to cover for those with real jobs!! However the core seemed to be there. It was an unusual makeup with the down on their luck Russian Mafia Groovy Head Nodders on guitar and base, the "too cool for my jeans and flip-flops" band leader and trumpeter and the jiving Duracell bunny on Speed leading the way with some admittedly fabulous organ riffs.
Festival Time Again
The Edinburgh Festival is almost upon us again. One of the better sides of living in Edinburgh is that once a year, everything by way of entertainment comes to you. Whether it be opera, jazz, blues or any other sort of music you can think of; theatre; musical theatre; dance or comedy, the Fringe has it all and right on my door stop. There are a few things that sound really good to me this year.