The blues is many things in the year 2008--and many of them are represented on Elvin Bishop's new gathering of talent, "The Blues Rolls On." The roiling licks of Trucks, the gutty crossover rock of Thorogood, the classic panache of B.B. King, and even some dashing newcomer riffs all convene.
- Topics:
- Blues,
- Free MP3 of the Day
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Dutch deity DJ Tiesto has mastered taking dancefloors on fantastic journeys through prolonged breakdowns and fantasy-filled electronic melodies--so much so, arenas sell out left and right even when he's solo on the bill. Though he started out playing unabashedly anthemic trance tunes, Tiesto has grown into spinning and producing a blend of upfront trance and progressive house that keep fans salivating.
- Topics:
- Free MP3 of the Day,
- Electronic & Dance
- Tags:
- free mp3,
- download,
- music,
- electronica
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Playing with the cool, homestyle bounce of "Joints & Jam"-era Black Eyed Peas, these ebullient Michiganders show us that soul/funk/hip-hop can be as appealing circa '06 as it was in the innocent '90s. Juke-joint piano, rumbling bass, and adamant crew flows lead the charge.
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- Hip-Hop,
- Free MP3 of the Day
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Truck stop rocker Kid Rock has been one of the poster boys for the "ignore downloads" crowd.
Bawitdaba da bang a dang diggy diggy.
His latest album, Rock and Roll Jesus has not only sold more than 2 million albums, but has continued to sell lots of copies long past its release date--this week, nearly a year after release, it's still at No. 7. That's almost unprecedented in this day and age, when top-selling pop artists (think Mariah Carey) sell hundreds of thousands of albums in their first week then plummet off the charts. Why the staying power? Some argue it's because the hit single from the album, All Summer Long (which is basically a reworking of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama") hasn't been available as a digital download on iTunes or anywhere else. If you want to own the song, the only way to get it has been to buy the full CD.
That changes today: you can now download the entire Rock and Roll Jesus album--and Kid Rock's entire catalog if you're so inclined--through the Rhapsody MP3 store. The albums are also available to Rhapsody subscribers. You still can't buy the single on its own, as Kid Rock considers himself an album artist and wants you to hear the full package. And still no iTunes, as Apple frowns on album-only sales. It'll be interesting to see if digital availability has any impact on sales, or whether fans keep preferring the CD.
Is the market's roller-coaster ride freaking you out? Need a little diversion? Indulge yourself with a dose of high-end audio bliss from Peachtree Audio.
Check out the Decco--a stereo vacuum tube amplifier with a built-in digital-to-analog converter with USB, Toslink, and coaxial digital connectivity. And since some music lovers are still listening to analog sources they gave the Decco a pair of old school stereo inputs to accommodate a cassette deck and maybe an AM/FM radio.
Peachtree Audio's Decco
(Credit: Peachtree Audio)I listened to the Decco with a pair of compact Era Design 4 Satellite speakers. Hook up chores via USB were dead simple, and I had iTunes up and running in just a few minutes.
I love the look of the Decco's curvy cabinet and satin-finished aluminum front panel, decked out as it is with a row of five input buttons and a silky feeling volume control. Trust me, you won't ever need to consult the owners manual to play the Decco; you select a source, say, USB, and adjust the volume to your liking, that's it. Oh, and sitting behind the little "window" next to the volume control you can't miss the vacuum tube. Its golden glow is a welcoming beacon to audiophiles, a visual conformation that the Decco means business.
The tube handles preamplification duties while the built-in solid-state power amplifier pumps out 50 watts per channel. The rounded casework is distinctive and Peachtree's build standards are comparable to high-end components selling for more than double the Decco's MSRP of $799; the speakers run $599 a pair.
Era's D4 speakers
(Credit: Peachtree Audio)The Decco/Era system produced a remarkably spacious, yet nicely focused soundstage behind my iMac. That's what first caught my ear, but then while listening to folk singer Teddy Thompson's meditation on fame, "Shine So Bright," the sound was disarmingly natural. Thompson's soaring vocals and sumptuous string arrangements erased any thoughts of evaluating the sound as mere computer audio. No, this is high-end audio, albeit shrunk down to fit on my desktop.
You can read my full review on the Home Entertainment magazine site.
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- Hardware
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- Peachtree Audio,
- Decco,
- desktop audio,
- computer audio
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Sharon Little stopped wondering if she was in the right biz around the time Robert Plant and Alison Krauss picked her to open for them. The "Raising Sand" pair, Americana's reigning tastemakers, were right-on. Little's sound mixes coffeehouse intimacy with a decidedly un-latte guitar fire.
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- Country,
- Rock and Pop,
- Free MP3 of the Day
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Here's a thought: instead of wading through dozens of ringtone-making apps to find one suited to your iPhone, why not try--what else?--iTunes for Windows and Mac?
In this Insider Secrets video, CNET Editor Brian Tong gives you the lowdown on producing ringtones for your Apple phone using nothing but Apple's own free music library and player.
Fierce postpunk guitars meet with brainy Montreal art rock in Elizabeth Powell's work. Land of Talk is more muscled and dirty--more sexed-up, really--than much of the stuff by the rail-thin local boys, and that's a good thing. Powell doesn't let circumspection interfere with the volume knob.
- Topics:
- Rock and Pop,
- Free MP3 of the Day,
- Alternative/Punk
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- free mp3,
- download,
- music,
- indie rock
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Update 10/3: CNET's Bonnie Cha, with the assistance of a Nokia rep, has answers to many of these questions here. To summarize, Comes With Music really does offer unlimited downloads for one year, tracks are DRM-protected, and can be shared with one PC and other Comes With Music members but not burned to CD without an extra purchase, and release date for the U.S. is still up in the air.
Several sources are reporting that Nokia's expected to launch its would-be iPhone killer, the Nokia 5800 (code-named "Tube), tomorrow, Oct. 2, at an event in London. Based on leaked pictures, the phone itself looks pretty cool--a lot like an iPhone, in fact. But the big question for me is whether Nokia's music software and service will be competitive with Apple's iTunes.
This photo, rumored to be the upcoming Nokia 5800, appeared on Flickr back in April.
(Credit: Crave UK)Announced last December, Nokia's Comes With Music initiative has a lot of promise: instead of buying individual songs (like iTunes) or paying a subscription (like Rhapsody, the Zune Pass, and others), the cost of downloading music will be built into the price of the phone. Now, the service supposedly "launched" on Sept. 2 in the U.K., but the Nokia U.K. home page still has a form for users to indicate their interest in the service. No pricing, no details. Meanwhile, press speculation is all over the map. Most folks are assuming it'll come with unlimited downloads. But The Guardian Music Blog has done the math about royalties and concluded that there will be some sort of limit on the number of downloads. (I speculated the same thing back in April.)
So here's what Nokia needs to announce tomorrow as they roll out the 5800:
How much will the new phone cost? (If it's more than the iPhone, good luck.)
How many downloads will a user get, over what period?What will users be able to do with those downloads? Will they be tethered to the phone? (No thanks.) Protected with DRM? (This may be acceptable if the restrictions are reasonable, although this means that downloads will probably not be playable on other devices if you ever give your Nokia phone up in the future.)
Will the downloads ever expire and become unplayable? If so, after what period or under what conditions? (This would be a deal-breaker for me--I don't want to redownload every time I buy a new phone--but might be acceptable for users who don't have huge libraries of downloads.)
I await the announcement when all will hopefully be revealed....
- Topics:
- Hardware,
- MP3 Players
- Tags:
- Nokia,
- Tube,
- Nokia 5800,
- Comes With Music,
- iPhone,
- iTunes
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Don't put too much stock in any decibel downturns: death metal's most deathly themes are at play in the Residents' new work. Doomsaying lyrics meet sterilized synths and industrial guitars. Imagine Trent Reznor having a nightmare.
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- Free MP3 of the Day,
- Alternative/Punk
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