Cleveland - I said yesterday that Google may be introducing a streaming music service, beating Apple to the punch. Well, they did just that.
No one's had enough time to tinker with the new service from Google Music, All Access but leave it up to bloggers to be the first to weigh in. Lifehacker breaks down, as best they can, Google's All Access compared to some of the other services like Spotify and Rdio, Google Music All Access: Should It Be Your New Streaming Service?.
As I said yesterday, I'm not about to jump the Spotify ship for this new service, holding out hope that Apple's may be just around the corner. Besides I'm happy with Spotify for the most part.
I'll be curious to see the reviews after some hands on experience. And I wonder if any of the big missing artists that aren't on Spotify like Pink Floyd, The Beatles and Led Zeppelin are on All Access.
If you have a question or if I may be of service email me at radiohannibal@gmail.com
Cleveland - The Google Developers Conference begins today at noon time here in Cleveland. Google Glass will probably be the hot topic, but CNBC is reporting that a streaming music may be in the works as well.
As an Apple guy I'm not too happy about this. I've been hoping for a long time now that we'd see a streaming music service from them and now Google has beaten them to the punch.
Even if the Google streaming service is launched I'm going to stick with Spoitify for now. For one, I have a good amount of time vested in compiling playlists. And I'm still hoping that Apple, the once visionary company, takes off its blinders and sees that the future is streaming music and not the iTunes store.
If you have a question or if I may be of service email me at radiohannibal@gmail.com
Cleveland - Yesterday I wrote about installing a NAS drive to your home entertainment system, Adding a NAS device to your computer creates a digital library of entertainment. It seems a number of my readers were either interested in getting one or already employ the device. Personally, I can't think of a reason to use one on my system.
Ok, you'd use a NAS drive to stream some sort of content to internet-enabled devices. The content could include music files, any sort of video and photos. The devices would be smart phones, tablets, laptops, PCs and TVs.
Let's take my collection of mp3s. I have an external hard drive attached to my MAC which contains over 500 gigs of music. There's a dupicate hard drive stored in my closet as back up. I also have about 20,000 songs on the internal MAC hard drive. Those 20,000 songs are loaded into iTunes and, since I subscribe to iTunes Match, also reside in iCloud. The MAC soundcard is connected to my distributed audio system just as you would a CD player. If I want to play any one of those 20,000 songs I can trigger it from iTunes on the MAC or using the Apple Remote app on my iPhone or iPad. That means I can choose songs from anywhere in the house or on my gazebo.
That external hard drive with over 500 gigs of music has been set up for another iTunes library. There's an option in iTunes that allows you to set up a second iTunes that won't import the songs onto the internal hard drive. If I want to listen to any of those songs I open that itunes library and control it just the same as the iTunes I described previously.
Quite frankly, I rarely listen to music off of either of my iTunes libraries, opting instead to stream music from Spotify. Spotify gives me the option of adding any mp3 files of my own into its app so I have those 20,000 songs on the MAC hard drive loaded. The 500 gigs of music is dwarfed by what's available on Spotify. And I can control it anywhere in the house using a third party app called "Remoteless".
I don't store any videos. I don't see the point of collecting movies. They're not like music which is just as rewarding with repeated lsitenings. Once you see most movies there's no reason to watch them again. And on that rare occasion you can rent it.
The only reason I can see for using a NAS is if I were rip some of my 8,000 CDs onto it without any compression. That way I'd have the convenience of digital without a loss of sound quality. That's a lot of work when I can just as easily pull a CD from my library and play it throughout my house.
There's also Apple Airplay which allows me to stream any content from my MAC, iPhone or iPad onto my home theater system. This is simply achieved by using the $99 Apple TV.
So you tell me. Why would I need a NAS? Here's the only NAZZ I need.
If you have a question or if I may be of service email me at radiohannibal@gmail.com
Cleveland - I guess my preaching the benefits of Spotify isn't enough for
their marketing department. The streaming music service has grown
substantially in the United States since its debut in July of 2011, but
there's tremendous room for growth.
So now Spotify is having their app built into home theater devices. LG is beginning to ship TVs and Blu-ray players with Spotify along side other apps like YouTube and Netflix. A free month trial of the service comes with it.
It's hard for me to imagine that once someone uses Spotify for a month, taking advantage of the mobile aspect of the service, not wanting to commit to it. Yet I see friends who still can't wrap their heads around the fact that it's the best thing to happen to music for the listener since, well, since never.
Part of it might have to do with just sampling the free version of Spotify which is less than a satisfying experience. Commercials, lower sound quality, the inability to download songs onto mobile devices and having to assemble songs from an album as a playlist instead of merely clicking on the album to hear it in its entirety are a turn off. All that goes away with the $10 monthly subscription.
If you aren't planning on buying an LG product in the near future but still would like to try out Spotify premium I know that Urban Outfitters were giving away free month cards at the checkout counter a couple of months ago. Or just pay the ten bucks for one month and really test drive it. It's really a no brainer.
If you have a question or if I may be of service email me at radiohannibal@gmail.com
Cleveland - Earlier this week I wrote about tweaking your TV for the Super Bowl. So you've got that ready. The menu has been chosen and you've made that trip to the liquor store. All that's missing is music for the party.
The big game takes place in New Orleans, serving as a kickoff to Mardi Gras. So give your party an air of authenticity. I've created a New Orleans themed playlist.
This two hour set is the perfect warm up to the game. And if you'd like some more music from the Crescent City tune in to WWOZ or Channel 67, the Real Jazz station on SiriusXM who'll be broadcasting in team with WWOZ.
If you have a question or if I may be of service email me at radiohannibal@gmail.com
Cleveland - I've pointed you to Bob Lefsetz Letter in the past. He's the guy in the music industry who talks insider stuff for the most part. His readership is a who's who of musicians and music fans. Agree with him or not, his passion is infectious. He often strays off course into different aspects of his daily life.
He's just posted a piece in which he discusses the problems with his wi-fi network at home. Just about to pull out his hair, he's suddenly enthralled with the magic of technology and in bliss with the music it brings forth.
Sonos Streaming
I'm having trouble with my Slingbox. It won't connect.
But it's worse than that. It says it's not connecting to the Internet in my own house! Good luck having it make a connection in Colorado so my girlfriend can watch cable TV finales.
So I get home and start to troubleshoot...and end up nowhere.
I disconnect the power. I restart the router. But I cannot reset the Slingbox, despite what the online instructions say. Talk about frustrating... Before we had all this electronic crap there were answers. You called someone, took your device somewhere, somebody knew how to fix it, or told you so... But today we're on our own. I feel like I'm a full time IT person. Sure, I'm connected, I can call someone, but I'm the kind of guy who wants to know how something works and why it does not. Because if it breaks down once, it's gonna again.
So, frustrated with my Slingbox, I decide to fire up some music to soothe my nerves. And the Sonos app on my iPhone won't connect. And won't connect. And won't connect.
So I go to my iPad. Which says an update is required. Which I execute. But my iPhone still won't connect. And I'm wondering why.
Turns out the issue is bigger than that. My iPhone isn't even connected with my wireless network. LTE is so fast at my home I didn't even realize it. And I'm not sure why the iPhone dropped the connection. And maybe this has got something to do with the Slingbox... But when I select my home network and enter the password I finally get to try...
The most incredible new feature.
Yes, you can now stream your music wirelessly from your iPhone.
It's like magic.
I know, I know, I can do the same from Spotify. But it's not the same. I mean I'm not connecting to the pipe, it's coming straight from the phone itself! Wirelessly!
So I'm in the bedroom, listening to "Stephen Stills 2" on that zone. But I click to hear the Silencers' "Answer Me" in the living room. And it's not quite loud enough for me to hear over Stills so I switch the bedroom zone to the living room zone and...
Jimme O'Neill comes pouring out of the speakers and all of a sudden all of my frustration slips away!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_GK47HItCI
Yes, check it out. You won't hear it anywhere else. It's not on Spotify.
But it is on my living room stereo right now...
"Won't you answer me Said the coal miner It's dark down here Gas creeps through the walls"
It's dark inside my mind. Do you get that feeling? That there's a plethora of stimuli surrounding you but there's a force field between you and the rest of the universe? That you're locked inside your head and you can't break out? That no one understands you and you're dying to make a connection but it's impossible?
I feel that way all the time. My whole life is about trying to eradicate this feeling, I'm trying to make a connection. That's what's got me sending these missives morning noon and night. The desire to find someone else who feels like me, who thinks like me, who isn't an automaton inured to the world I find so confusing.
And I get blowback from people telling me I'm not entitled to an opinion and I should crawl back into my hole despite the fact that they keep reading and writing to me. But still I soldier on. Because of you. No one specific. Just the people who write back and testify, who tell me they're on the same path, have the same questions, feel the same way.
Once upon a time the band was called Fingerprintz. And despite being on Virgin Records, they never broke through. Then they reconstituted as the Silencers and released a masterpiece known as "A Letter From St. Paul" with the radio track "Painted Moon" and it looked like another band from the U.K. was gonna break through. But they were on RCA Records and Bob Buziak was too busy promoting Michael Penn and the second album, "A Blues For Buddha" made a giant thud which almost no one heard.
But it's absolutely one of my favorite albums.
It starts off quietly, like there's a troupe of merrymaking musicians coming over the rise, through the Scottish fog, and then Jimme hums and the bass starts to thump and the drums start to pound and the strings start to wail and...you're enthralled.
"Won't you answer me Said the exile Is there a message for me? Now I feel so far away"
I made it this far. I didn't O.D., I wasn't hit by a bus, I know so much more than I once did, but the world changed to the point of unrecognizability and I'm completely flummoxed. I'm never gonna be rich, without money few listen, and I wonder if the joke is on me. I spent decades of my life listening to records but don't feel akin to those enthralled by the punks, to those who think everything mainstream sucks. But then I hear a record...
"Won't answer you me Said the soul singer There's a murmur in here Sound thunders through the wall"
That's who I am. A soul singer. This is coming directly from my heart to yours. Do you feel it? Do you have more questions than answers? Do you feel you just weren't made for this world?
I'M HERE! I'M WITH YOU! CRANK THIS MUSIC! IT WON'T CHANGE YOUR LIFE BUT IT WILL MAKE YOUR LIFE WORTH LIVING!
IT'S STREAMING FROM MY PHONE! CAN YOU FUCKING BELIEVE IT?
I love technology.
If you have a question or if I may be of service email me at radiohannibal@gmail.com
A good friend of mine from Cleveland, who now calls Chicago home,
puts out an annual Christmas show. This year's 90 minute or so
installment features all sorts of fresh Christmas music along with audio
clips from Holiday classic movies and TV shows. It's always a real
treat.
It's a simple download. Just click the link below, follow the
instructions and away you go. From there you can import it into
iTunes.
Merry Christmas to you all. Now more than any Christmas in our
memory we are holding our children close and remembering the true
meaning of the season. May yours be filled with love, family, friends
and good things to eat and drink. I've got you covered on the music.
Cleveland - I'm a music fan. That's how I got into the custom AV business. I mean I'm a big music fan.
As evidence I create a daily music playlist on Spotify which typically covers a mix of new and old rock. By new I'm not talking about the very stifling songs that make it to commercial radio. There's a myriad of great music that is released every year. I feel it my obligation to try and get this music to possible fans.
Today I start a series of Christmas-themed sessions. Again, this is not like the local radio station that plays the same old tired and worn out songs you've heard ad infinitum. This is a fresh and, yes, sometimes nostalgic take on the songs of the season.
It's a perfect soundtrack to play on your distributed home aduio system. What, you don't have one? What, you don't know how to go about playing Spotify throughout your home? What. you don't know what Spotify even is? Let me show you. Drop me an email.
Today's the last of the unique calendar days where all three numbers are the same. It won't happen again until next century. Edit: Someone pointed out that there's one more in about ten years, 2.22.22.
Twelve being the operative number and it being Christmas season, the "Twleve Days Of Christmas" came to mind. And this Allan Sherman classic.
On Friday I posted my top 50 albums of 2012. Here now are my picks for the top 50 singles of 2012.
01. Jack White - I’m Shakin’ 02. Best Coast - The Only Place 03. Guided By Voices - Class Clown Spots A UFO 04. Mystery Jets - Greatest Hits 05. Passion Pit - Carried Away 06. Fun. - Some Nights 07. Bob Dylan - Duquesne Whistle 08. Roll Me Up And Smoke Me - Willie Nelson 09. Alejandro Escovedo - Man Of The World 10. The Avett Brothers - Live And Die 11. JJAMZ - Suicide Pact 12. Beach House - Myth 13. The Black Keys - Gold On The Ceiling 14. Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti - Only In My Dreams 15. Two Door Cinema Club - Sleep Alone 16. Grimes - Genesis 17. Father John Misty - Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings 18. Carly Rae Jepsen - Call Me Maybe 19. The Beach Boys - That’s Why God Made The Radio 20. Band Of Horses - Knock Knock 21. Imperial Teens - Runaway 22. The Killers - Flesh And Bone 23. Glen Hansard - This Gift 24. The Walkmen - Heaven 25. Allo Darlin’ - Tallulah 26. Jimmy Cliff - One More 27. Psy - Gangnam Style 28. Django Django - Default 29. Frank Ocean - Sweet Life 30. Alabama Shakes - Hang Loose 31. Chuck Prophet - Play That Song Again 32. Saint Etienne - Tonight 33. Ellie Goulding - Anything Could Happen 34. Spiritualized - Hey Jane 35. Shawn Colvin - All Fall Down 36. Moonface - Yesterday’s Fire 37. Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Walk Like A Giant 38. Bahamas - Caught Me Thinkin 39. Train - 50 Ways To Say Goodbye 40. The Tallest Man In The World - 1904 41. Dave Matthews Band - Mercy 42. Lana Del Rey - Ride 43. Jens Lekman - I Know What Love isn’t 44. Hot Chip - Don’t Deny Your Heart 45. Tame Impala - Elephant 46. Beachwood Sparks - Sparks Fly Again 47. Mumford & Sons - I Will Wait 48. Ian Hunter And The Rant - When I’m President 49. The Lumineers - Ho Hey 50. Dr. John - Revolution
You can hear them on the Spotify playlist Radio Hannibal Top 50 Singles of 2012. What's that you say? How do you make Spotify and other internet music sources part of your home music system? Let me show you how. Drop me an email.
If you have a question or if I may be of service email me at radiohannibal@gmail.com
