billyboy

This is not true with iPod batteries. This is true for nickel-cadmium rechargeable batteries, but not for nickel-metal hydride batteries. Check out this link for more iPod battery info: http://www.apple.com/batteries/ipods.html I have never let my iPod run completely out. I use it probably 3 or 4 hours during the day, then dock it when I get home. It pretty much stays docked all weekend since it's hooked up to my stereo, and gets pretty constant use while docked.

Mine's like that, too.

Got my discs Friday. Made my commute almost fun this morning! Thanks!

You know what they say... BIG FEET... BIG BOOTS.

Check out this link for a side-by-side comparison of the different versions of Strangers on a Train: DVD Beaver If you're not familiar with this website, it is a great resource for DVD comparisons, especially foreign films and classics. Hours of enjoyment!

I've been re-enjoying my Mosaics since I ripped them all (well, CD sets anyway) to my computer and transferred them to my iPod. It's great to shuffle through the entire Jackie McLean set with the click of a button, or randomly select tunes from ANY of my box sets. My ears tire a bit after an entire CD of the Teddy Wilson set, but when I randomly hear a song from that set after something from another set, I'm slightly stunned at how beautiful it is. This also solves the problem of which CD to pull out and play. I generally tend to play the first CD of a box set more than the others. Now, just select 'Classic Capitol Jazz Sessions' and let the iPod shuffle through all 12 cds. It's quite liberating!

Thanks, Kulu! That was all I needed to pull the trigger!

Have they fixed the glue in the cardboard sleeves the discs are in? Disc 1 of my Bitches Brew set needed to be replaced because the glue got all over it, and last night my Miles/Coltrane box discs seemed to be a little sticky on the edges.

Here's an old one I just found: Order Date: 03/26/99 150-MD-CD JACKIE MCLEAN $64 154-MD-CD JIMMY SMITH $48 170-MD-CD ANDREW HILL $112 Merchandise Total $224.00 Shipping and Handling $12.00 Total $236.00 What a bargain!

If you have a cassette player in the car, you can use a cassette adapter. If your car system has an input jack on the front (not many do, but consider yourself lucky if yours does), you can just plug it in. Otherwise, if you have a CD player or just a radio, you need to get a tiny radio transmitter that plugs into the top of the iPod. Just set the transmitter for a setting, tune your car radio to the same setting, and enjoy. This accessory costs between 35 and 70 bucks. To move songs from the PC to the iPod, just plug the iPod into your computer's USB or firewire port. The computer automatically recognizes your iPod is connected, and automatically transfers and updates files from iTunes. If you have more songs on your computer than will fit on the iPod, you can manually select which ones you want to move, or iTunes will pick them for you. Right now, iTunes does not support directories or playlists within playlists. But it will handle what you described. If you click on Artists -> Jackie McLean, you will get a list of all your Jackie albums. You can then select a particular album to play, or randomly play all your Jackie songs, or randomly play a Jackie album. Hope this helps!

I'm also very interested in an iPod. Check out smartplaylists.com for a whole load of smart playlists. Some are pretty dumb, but a few are kinda cool. You can add a bunch of keywords to the comments for each song, (like HIGH SCHOOL, the label [Mosaic, Blue Note, 4AD], shoegazing, lambada, etc.) and build a smart playlist from that. You could spend untold hours screwing around with your music library and creating playlists. Sounds like a great way to spend time on a sub!

I used to be able to, but I also get the same error. I think it works at home, but not at work, so I'm guessing it's a firewall issue.

All right, all right, I'm kicking myself for using the Sony SonicStage product. Basically, after ripping a couple hundred CDs, I start getting an error: invalid openmg contents specified and none of my files will play anymore! A search on the internet shows others have had this problem, with no answer. So here's my new question: I downloaded CDEx (thanks couw) and I think it will be satisfactory for the conversions. But what does everyone use for a jukebox or file management system? Although the SonicStage software is a bit on the crappy side I did like the file management system it had. I don't really like Windows Media Player, but what are my options? Thanks again for holding my hand through all this!

Currently reading "The Paradox of Choice" by Barry Schwartz. Very interesting book on how the multitude of choices leaves us either unable to choose or much less happy with our choice. I sit and stare at my cd collection for way too long trying to figure out exactly what I want to listen to! Also started the new McSweeney's Quarterly, the Comics issue. A beautiful book full of new and old comics from Chris Ware, Art Spiegelman, Charles Burns, Lynda Barry, etc. Kind of like a hardcover issue of 'Raw.' Definitely worth picking up. Also reading 'Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus!"

Thanks, everyone, for your replies. It turns out I AM compressing these files. I'm using SonicStage to rip the CDs and organize the files, and using ATRAC3 (128 kbps). I probably should be using some other software, since I don't think I'm able to create MP3s using SonicStage. This is more compressed than MP3s? Also, another concern I have is the volume. Whatever software I use has a volume control on it, as well as my stereo. Will I be constantly trying to adjust one or the other to get a decent listening level?

I don't have an iPod, but I'm interested in the effect of having your entire (or almost entire) music collection at your fingertips. People tend to say that they end up listening to more music. But I'm concerned about the sound quality of the iPod through my home system. I'm particularly interested in the way I listen to box sets. There's a lot of great music sitting in my Mosaic boxes, but they're not always conducive to sampling some tunes, since you have to take the box down, open it, pick one of the cds to play, etc. So I have started a little experiment. My desktop computer has a 120 GB music drive on it, so I started copying my Mosaics onto it, not making MP3s, but straight copies. Already I can see the benefits of this. Instead of trying to decide which one of the 18 discs of the Nat King Cole box I want to listen to, I just select the whole box and hit the shuffle button. I'm already listening to my boxes more, and I haven't even started making new playlists putting the songs in LP order, etc. What are my potential issues for hooking my computer up to my home stereo? My stereo is in the next room, so I'll have cable issues, but is there something I'm overlooking? Is it going to sound like crap through my stereo speakers?

Another quick move to Last Chance! I guess I should bite on this one...

Teddy Wilson CD is now Last Chance!

I'm getting error trying to send PMs or emails, so if all four Brad Mehldau cds are still available, I'll take them! Let me know.

Finally getting around to posting my thoughts to this BFT. 1. Oozes hipness, from the 60’s mambo beat to the subdued organ and muted trumpet. Off to a great start! 2. Pleasant piano solo, I’ll guess Teddy Wilson. 3. A 50’s era Blue Note feel. I like this one a lot, and if I don’t already have it, I’ll be picking this one up. 4. Nice modern piano trio. Don’t know who it is, but I like it! 5. This one has grown on me. No idea who it is. 6. This one didn’t do much for me until the 2 minute mark, and the piano really started swinging. Like it! 7. No idea who it is, and I’m not sure I’d search this one out, but I’m glad to have it! 8. Not bad, but not doing much for me. 9. Coltrane? 10. Maybe my least favorite on the disc. 11. Doesn’t knock my socks off like I think it should. 12. Has a Bjork-ish quality that I like. I don’t normally seek out vocalists, but I like this one quite a bit. 13. Nice rhythm to this one, and a pretty catchy tune. 14. Big band ballad. I generally like the big band sound, so I’m curious who this one is. 15. I expected this to turn into Yakkity Sax (from Benny Hill). Jason Moran? Another great BFT. Thanks, Daniel, for a lot of fine listening. Now off to the next one!

Got mine last night, and did a quick spin of the first disc. Looking forward to spending some time with this one. Thanks!

Gone!

I am just now getting around to really listening and writing my comments on this disc. Many thanks to Rockefeller Center for a fun disc, and to Peter Johnson for forwarding one my way. I don’t think I know any of these, and while most of them were pleasant to listen to, there are only a couple I will be searching for. I will limit my comments to a few. Here goes! 3. The opening measures sound like somebody’s using the ‘guitar’ I recently made for my kids out of a box and rubber bands. I like it! 6. Kinda creepy, sounds kinda familiar, I like it! 7. Maybe the high point of the disc for me. A cross between Sly Stone and the Velvet Underground. Hella funky! I’ll be getting this one! 9. Great tune! I like it! 10. There was a Mystery Science Theater 2000 episode in which, during some particularly cheesy 80’s synth music, Crow said, ‘Music by Super Mario Brothers.’ The second I heard the flute, it reminded me of something out of a Nintendo game like Zelda. Hey, I’m free associating! 14. Catchy tune! 15. This singer cracks me up! I love how he cuts his chorus short to let ‘Kenny’ do his thing on the organ. With a little ‘Tequila’ thrown in. Two thumbs up! Thanks again! Now to read everyone’s comments and start working on number 11!

Oh, no! This is really sad news for me. As a college student at Miami University in Oxford, OH, I listened to WOXY probably every single day. Besides playing great alternative music, the listening audience (at the time) was relatively small, so there was a great frequency of winning free concert tickets (including X and the Stranglers)and albums. I remember driving to college from my small Ohio town and feeling the sense of connectedness and 'all is right with the world' as I came within broadcasting range. And similarly, putting up with a shitload of static as I drove home trying to listen to the last strains of Camper Van Beethoven. Although I haven't been within range of this station for 15 years, I've thought of it often and have been glad that it's been out there, giving people a clear channel alternative.

Both now in Last Chance!