Posted by Jeremy Voorhis Mon, 10 Apr 2006 21:05:00 GMT
Sure, this post is off-topic, but friend, neighbor and fellow rubyist, Topher Cyll has created something: National Album Recording Month.
The rules are simple:
Sign up, tune in, drop out.
Posted by Jeremy Voorhis Thu, 13 Oct 2005 02:16:41 GMT
Posted by Jeremy Voorhis Mon, 26 Sep 2005 09:27:00 GMT
Skill level: beginner
In this article, you will learn how to:
As a technology worker, you are undoubtedly accumulating tools and practices to help you do your job better. One such tool that I consider absolutely essential is a solid pair of headphones. headphones allow you to privately listen to an audio recording.
headphonesThere is an overwhelming number of vendors who claim that their headphones are the best. As always, when procuring technology there is typically no right answer, although some are decidedly better than others. For a quality pair of entry-level headphones, I recommend staying in the $50 – $80 range. My own field testing has found Audio-Technica’s AT-30 model to be suitable. Other recommended vendors include Sennheiser and AKG. Some users prize earbud-style headphones for their orthogonality to hair. Use what works best for you.
Typically, one end of your headphones are meant to be worn, while the other end terminates with a standard 1/4” connector compatible with an audio device such as a personal computer or iPod. Although there are other conceivable uses, most users tend to prefer listening to popular music recordings with their audio device. Though building your own library of recordings is beyond the scope of this article, here are some selections of my own collection that I can safely recommend:
Use these as a starting point and go from there.
Listening to music at the workplace is an excellent way to reduce stress, but also makes you less susceptible to the boss’ pointless jokes or nagging interruptions. While headphones also facilitate the achievement of that mental state known as flow, you will notice yourself being interrupted with dwindling frequency as you give off the impression of being fully concentrated. ”He’s in the zone!”
While headphones are certainly useful, they do not operate stand-alone. You may want to invest in an mp3 player such as an iPod. The iPod is also noted for its integration with popular music delivery channel iTunes, although you are certainly not limited to iTunes. Some users prefer alternatives such as eMusic or even services that provide tangible goods.
Finally, some steps can be taken to automate certain tasks, such as gloating about your eminently superior taste in music. Interweb sites such as last.fm are available to assist you in this task. There is even a plugin for RBot, an IRC robot, that can be used to share what you are listening at any given moment. IRC is a professional tool for asynchronous communication and collaboration with historical roots. (You are using IRC, aren’t you?)
Posted by Jeremy Voorhis Wed, 10 Aug 2005 17:55:00 GMT
One of my goals for the cokemachineglow.com is to automate the process of entering data into the music database, importing the data from an outside repository, but storing it locally, where we can maintain and edit it. I had written a prototype that did just that using the REST interface to Amazon Web Services. This was enough to convince me of the feasibility of the concept, but Amazon’s licensing agreement requires that the data link back to Amazon’s web site, and that the data is not cached for more than 24 hours, other data for a generous three months. They can’t really claim to own the tracklists for the albums we review, but the licensing agreement would seem to disallow using the data that came from their service.
I am not a lawyer, but from what research I have done on criticism and fair use, I see that there is no magic silver bullets, and fair use is a defense, not a shelter. The laws surrounding the issue seem to be intentionally vague, but from what I have read, the following principles apply:
Taking these things into consideration, use of the artwork is most likely not an issue. Licensing agreements, however, seem to be a showstopper for automating its retrieval.
Because of Amazon’s licensing agreement for its web service, I am investigating importing artist data from the community-maintained MusicBrainz database instead. MB’s music database is very comprehensive, the non-subjective portions of it are licensed as public domain, and they expose a powerful web services API and the surprising comprehensiveness of its data. Unfortunately, they do not provide album art, but instead give references to images on amazon.com, so album art will have to be entered manually.
Posted by Jeremy Voorhis Tue, 09 Aug 2005 21:05:00 GMT
For as long as I can remember, I’ve had a historical interest in rock and roll. I’ve got a good number of albums covering aspects of every decade since the 60s, revolving mostly around early punk and various post-punk derivations. Lately, however, I’ve been amusing myself with emusic and have been using it to fill in some unsightly gaps. Here are three albums that I love now and should have loved long ago:
Listening to this album, you can definitely see the progression of the band, leading up to their impeccable double album, Leaves Turn Inside You. If LTIY is Unwound’s Mellon Collie, NPI is Siamese Dream.
Smiths’s transitory album between album between his self-titled debut and his relationship with DreamWorks. Either/Or retains the raw production and emotional presence of Smith’s debut, but spends less time brooding.
The Tyranny of Distance is now quite possibly my favorite singer/songwriter album. Folk sensibilities, driving post-punk delivery and intricate guitar flourishes in the approrpiate places. This album is considered Leo’s peak, and stands as a testament to Leo’s talent.