Mp3 shuffle - 5/6 & 5/8

Here's a fun little idea: I put my mp3 player on shuffle and write down the first 10 or so songs that play. I usually completely refresh the 300-400 songs on it every couple weeks, so you get a fairly good idea of what I'm listening to at the moment.

5/6/9:

Dio - Don't Talk to Strangers (live)
Laurie Macallister - I'm Only Sleeping
Entombed - Wolverine Blues
Carolann Solebelo - Ophelia
Looker - Spit for your Shine
Music Go Music - Walk Alone
Motorhead - Lost Johnny
Girls on Film - Vaporized
The Steal - What's Your Name?
Dio - Rainbow in the Dark (live)
Antje Duvekot - Judas
Solas - Seven Curses
Ani Difranco - Lost Woman Song
Juliana Hatfield - New Waif

5/8/9

Dio - Heaven and Hell (live)
Charlotte Martin - Cars on Crescent
Abbie Gardner - You Got to Move
Red Aunts - Baby Tough Luck
Miss Tammy Fae Starlite - I Knew Jesus Before He Was a Superstar
Red Molly - Seven Years
Oi Polloi - The Earth is our Mother
Long Blondes - Lust in the Movies
Red Aunts - Brian Has a Car
Miss Tammy Fae Starlite - Surrender
The Launderettes - No Good
Alice Rock - Mail Order Bride

Interesting that both days started with live Dio.

payplay.fm

I've recently started using a download service in addition to eMusic - payplay.fm. You can read a review from PC Magazine.

eMusic is still my primary download service. It has a much larger selection than payplay and better pricing (my eMusic plan breaks down to .25/track while payplay is .88/track). With eMusic you pay a subscription fee for X downloads/month. Payplay is pay as you download. The flexability is nice even if pricier than a subscription.

Even though eMusic has a larger selection payplay is sometimes more comprehensive. For example the material that got me to try payplay in the first place - Red Molly and related artists. I had picked up Red Molly's Love and Other Tragedies on eMusic. It was good enough to make me want to try the various members solo projects. eMusic did have Laurie Macallisters These Old Clothes and Abbie Gardners self-titled EP. Payplay has quite a bit more - Macallisters The Things I Choose to Do, Gardners Honey on my Grave, and Carolann Solebellos Just Across the Water as well as Red Mollys self-titled EP and first album Never Been To Vegas.

Two other albums I consider 'scores', though. Buckner and Garcias Pac Man Fever album (I bought this on vinyl in '82!) and Barnes and Barnes' Voobaha. I'd been casually looking for that last one for 28!!!! years.

Very casually, obviously.

Not Fade Away

Charles Hardin Holley September 7 1936-February 3 1959

eMusic recommends

eMusic has a new recommendation engine which uses information from past purchases to post items on the front page you might like to download.

So far I'm mostly impressed. Some of the albums recommended I either am already planning to pick up or already have. Really impressive is that it has correctly been surmised that I am interested in rockabilly when I have downloaded very little from that genre so far.

Less impressive is that, apparently based on my download of a Twisted Sister Christmas album, 80s hair metal is pretty consistantly recommended. Nothing's perfect I guess ...

Joan Jett

Happy birthday Joan! It is either her 50th or 48th depending on who you ask. Either way, happy birthday!

And God I feel old now ...

eMusic August 08

Some actually from September, I think ...

7 Year Bitch - Viva Zapata

Well, what genre would you think? There's a story behind this one.

Abigail Washburn - The Sparrow Quartet EP

Trad. With cello. And some of it is in Mandarin.

Abigail Washburn and the Sparrow Quartet - Abigail Washburn and the Sparrow Quartet

See above.

Camera Obscura - Let's Get Out Of This Country

Indie pop with vocals best described as "sweet".

Hyperbubble -Solid Pop

Synthpop, with robots and everything.

Po' Girl - Vagabond Lullabies

Trad.

Rasputina - Cabin Fever

Goth. I guess. It features cellos. Cellos are cool. Not as cool as basses, but still cool.

The Be Good Tanyas - Hello Love

Oh how I dig this band. Trad.

The Gits - Frenching The Bully

A companion of sorts to Viva Zapata

The Wailin' Jennys - 40 Days

But how I do like harmony. Trad.

eMusic July 08

I started off July intending to concentrate on Japanese bands, but ended up getting some non-Japanese stuff, as well as springing for some extra downloads.

5, 6, 7, 8s Bomb the Twist

Japanese. Very reminisciant of late 60s pop. Mostly known in the US for performing in the movie Kill Bill.

The Arrows and Friends "I Love Rock & Roll"

Re-recording, but at least some of the original Arrows.

Funsong Band "I Love Rock & Roll"

Kids

Gito Gito Hustler Love Roll

Japanese. All-female pop punk.

Guildo Horn Party with Sven Parker "Ich Find' Schlager Toll"

German language rewrite of "I Love Rock & Roll".

Guitar Wolf Jet Generation
Guitar Wolf Planet of the Wolves

Japanese. Loud 50s-style garage.Guys, but they get away with it cuz they're so dang cool. Absolutely icebox. They cover Eddie Cocharan, pretty much worship Joan Jett, sing about UFOs, and in Wild Zero they fought zombies. Guitar Wolf pretty much drip cool from every pore..

Hayseed Dixie "I Love Rock & Roll"

Bluegrass. Band name is a play on AC/DC.

Hit Crew "I Love Rock & Roll

Kids.

Lenni Jabour "I Love Rock & Roll"

Anabella Lwin "I Love Rock & Roll"

Lwin was the vocalist with Bow Wow Wow.

Kizooks! band "I Love Rock & Roll"

Kids.

Kirsty Maccoll The Stiff Years

Stiff was her record label in the 70s and early 80s, and shame on you for thinking anything else was implied.

Malaria! Compiled 1981-1984

German. The '!' is part of the band name.

Pickin' On Series studio band "I Love Rock & Roll"

Bluegrass.

Musique "I Love Rock & Roll"

Raleigh Ringers "I Love Rock & Roll"

Bells.

Shonen Knife 712

Japanese. Pop-punk. Well-liked in the 'alternative' scene, deserved to be more widely known in the West.

Julia Stjerneskudd "I Love Rock & Roll"


Supersnazz Diode City

Japanese.

The Pebbles First Album

Japanese. Think 60s go-go club music.

Uncle Earl Going to the Western Slope

Very American. Trad harmony and bluegrass.

Victoria Williams "Love "On Time"

Trad, although "Love" is more of a standard.