Shawn

Thanks for all the birthday wishes! Had a really good time yesterday. I took an economical trip around L.A. using the metro subway/train system, only cost $5 for a day pass. During the course of the day I hit several stops downtown, rode the train to Long Beach and then travelled to Hollywood for a visit to Amoeba. Afterward walked up Hollywood blvd and gawked at the hoopla surrounding the movie premiere of "Planes". At no point during the day did I have to even think about traffic or parking (in L.A. that's rare).

I've been using Spotify for a couple years now and it basically serves two purposes for me. 1. It gives me the ability to check out albums/artists that I've never heard and wouldn't go out and "blind purchase" (because I never do that anymore). If the album really strikes me I'll go out and buy it...if it doesn't, then I'll save my money for something else. 2. There is plenty of music in existence that I enjoy and like to hear occasionally (every few years) but don't need to actually own the album. If I know that I'm only going to spin something once or twice in a 5 year period I definitely don't need to own a physical copy of it.

Spotify's losses continue to increase even after their revenue doubled in 2012. In 2011, when the music service made its US debut after years of popularity in Europe, Spotify brought in about $252 million in revenue, according to the Journal. In 2012, revenue jumped to $576.5 million, the report said. Losses meanwhile have grown from $60 million in 2011 to $77 million in 2012, largely due to increased licensing fees, the Journal said. Here is one of the main issues Spotify faces, their paid subscribers vs. those using the free streaming plan. As of July, Spotify has about six million paid subscribers, one million of which have signed up since December. But there are another 18 million Spotify users who don't pay, opting instead to listen to up to 10 hours of free music filled with radio-style ads each month. Full article: http://www.theverge.com/2013/7/31/4575506/spotify-doubled-revenue-in-2012-but-losses-grow

One of the advantages of LPs making a comeback is having a choice for a more dynamic version of the recording instead of the brickwalled mess that almost all CDs are now. Here's a good example: Here is the LP wave form of the song Ghost Of Perdition by Opeth (released 2005). This looks like a wave form should, lots of peaks and valleys. Here is the CD release of the same song, all the louder segments are completely squared off and the dynamics have been seriously compromised. The Dynamic Range of the LP is 12db. The Dynamic Range of the CD is 7db.

Open to the possibility but doubtful.

One of the coolest abandoned hospitals is Danvers State Hospital in Massachusetts. It was brilliantly used as a location for the psychological thriller "Session 9", it had such an atmosphere it is essentially the main character in the film. http://www.newenglandfilm.com/news/archives/00november/brad.htm

I'm right on the borderline of introvert/extrovert (I've scored both ways in personality tests), I have characteristics of both and will lean more one way than the other depending on my mood and the social situation.

Mastodon - Live At The Aragon (DVD)

Gilmore Girls - Season 3

Wes Montgomery sitting in with Coltrane's classic quartet.

Gilmore Girls - Season 2 Lauren Graham is one of my favorites, she's really great in this show (and the later Parenthood for that matter).

I recently completed watching the seasons featuring the 11th doctor (Matt Smith). That was my first experience with actually watching Doctor Who, a show that I've been aware of since I was a kid but had never really sat down and tried to watch it. I became hooked quickly and blasted through the available episodes. I'm working my way back to the 2005 reboot now.

I love the sound of the mellotron. I think the first time I became really aware of the sound was hearing the title track to "In The Court Of The Crimson King", I was so blown away by it that I had to find out what it was. Once I became familiar with it I realized I had heard it on countless other recordings but just didn't quite know what I was hearing...I'd hear a song and then realize "oh, that's a mellotron not strings". The mellotron has been making a big comeback over the past several years as more bands explore vintage instrumentation.

I read an interview with J.J. and he tries to point out that he's not as involved in the creative side of his shows as much as people expect. He basically says that he runs the production company, producers come to him to pitch ideas for shows, he just facilitates them but the majority of the creative input comes elsewhere. That's why you see such disparity between shows like Fringe or Revolution, J.J. is writing the checks, there are others writing, producing and directing the shows.

Season 1

Hart Of Dixie - Season One. This show could be called "Southern Exposure" because it essentially takes the premise of Northern Exposure and relocates it to a small town in Alabama (actually, Burbank CA on a backlot, but close enough). Silly? Yes. Contrived. Yes. Overly Cutesy? Yes. Entertaining? Yes. A game cast makes it all worthwhile.

No. In fact it's probably the driest recording that Ozzy has done since the 80s. Rick Rubin forced Ozzy to record the vocals live with the band playing. Overall the best performance I've heard from him in years.

Bite me.

Congratulations to Black Sabbath for scoring their first #1 album on Billboard, 43 years into their career! They also snagged the #1 album in the UK for the first time since November 1970, setting a record for the longest gap between #1 albums. http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1567354/black-sabbath-earns-first-no-1-album-on-billboard-200-chart

Doctor Who - Series 6 & Series 7 Never thought I'd become a Doctor Who fan...

Nektar - Down To Earth (1974)

Dead Kennedys - Frankenchrist

Doctor Who (Series 5 - 2010)

Fair Warning is great, not quite as much of a "party record" but I think one of their best overall.

Finished up the current season of Castle.