Skip to content

2010

  • in GNOME
  • 1 min read

Make a smart playlist to see your Amazon purchases in Banshee

Jorge Castro and I were talking this morning in #banshee as Jorge asked if it was possible to create a smart playlist to see your music purchases.

And it is!

Jorge’s idea was for the UbuntuOne music store from 7digital.com. I don’t use Ubuntu, but I do buy (too many) songs from Amazon.

Amazon adds a comment in the metadata of each song you buy, such as: Amazon.com Song ID: 216030141 (If you’re curious, it’s the song Drunk Girls by LCD Soundsystem that I bought this morning for only $5!)

Create a smart playlist in Banshee by choosing from the menu Media -> New Smart Playlist.

Name your playlist (I used “Amazon”) and select “Match all of the following” and

“Comment” “contains” and enter “Amazon.com Song ID:” and press “Save“.

Voila! One smart playlist is created that shows all of your Amazon purchases. And since it’s so smart, when you buy new music it automatically updates the playlist (Yes, I bought another album this morning, don’t tell my wife). You can do the same for the UbuntuOne store using “Purchased from 7digital.com” instead of the Amazon Song ID: in the smart playlist comment.

Amazon Smart Playlist Screenshot in Banshee

Write for GNOME Journal!

With GUADEC having just ended, we’re looking for some GUADEC related stories for GNOME Journal.

Here’s a few examples:

  • Was it your first time at GUADEC? Share some thoughts about what you liked, saw or who you met.
  • Did you give a talk at GUADEC? Write it up as an article! Or, we’re happy to do an interview with you about your talk. Here’s a great example with J5 after last year’s GUADEC.
  • Did you see a new application or new technology that gets you excited? We’re always looking for app reviews. Write it up and we’ll include it!

If any of these interest you, please drop me an email at pcutler at gnome dot org. Don’t be shy – if you want a member of the GJ team to interview you, just ask!

  • in GNOME
  • 1 min read

At GUADEC

I’m a bad blogger – for the last two weeks I’ve been telling myself to write a nice “I’m going to GUADEC” post on my blog, but here I am already at GUADEC with only excuses why I didn’t. I blame Vincent!

But I’m here at GUADEC and we had a good Board meeting – it was good to see some faces I haven’t seen in a while and meet new ones. I spent most of today (had to leave a bit early to fix my phone) in the Open Desktop Day learning about large deployments of GNOME around the world.

Last year was my first GUADEC, which still is mostly a blur. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone again and would love to chat – just grab me (assuming I’m not already talking to somebody!) and I’d love to hear your thoughts about how GNOME is doing, what you’re working (or I’m working on!), GNOME 3.0 or anything that else comes to mind.

Prince: Purple Rain

Prince’s Purple Rain will also hold a special place for me as it was the first album I ever purchased.  Oh, I had owned some 45s up until that point, but growing up I spent my summers at my grandparents house, and I remember as an eleven year old walking from their house to the local record store and buying it.

I think my grandparents, and my parents for that matter, might not have let an eleven year old buy the album considering some of the lyrics.

Purple Rain

Photo copyright thejcgerm under a CC-SA-NC 2.0 license.

It would be almost 10 years later when I would have my brush with fame and Prince, and I have always remained a huge Prince fan. I currently live about five miles from his studio and a half hour from First Avenue where the songs from Purple Rain were first tested and the movie was later filmed at.

Everyone knows how the album starts:

Dearly beloved

We are gathered here today

2 get through this thing called life

Electric word life

It means forever and that’s a mighty long time

But I’m here 2 tell u

There’s something else

The afterworld

A world of never ending happiness

U can always see the sun, day or night

So when u call up that shrink in Beverly Hills

U know the one – Dr Everything’ll Be Alright

Instead of asking him how much of your time is left

Ask him how much of your mind, baby

‘Cuz in this life

Things are much harder than in the afterworld

In this life

You’re on your own

Then, Prince kicks it into high gear and we’re off on one of the best musical journeys ever to be recorded as a motion picture soundtrack.

Prince then slows it down for Take Me With U and The Beautiful Ones.  Take me With U is the only song on the album to feature Purple Rain’s female lead, Apollonia, and was orginally intended for her solo album that was never released.  The Beautiful Ones, of the two songs, is much less well known, but to me, the better of the two.  It is a classic 1980s ballad as only Prince could create, with the talking voiceover, the synthesizers and Prince’s trademark falsetto.  Prince ups the tempo and the volume towards the end of the song practically screaming “Do you want me? Cause I want you!”

Purple Rain was Prince’s first album to feature the Revolution, Prince’s band, led by Wendy & Lisa, who years later would go on to score the popular NBC TV show Heroes.  Wendy & Lisa kick off the fourth track_, Computer Blue_, in an up-tempo song features Prince’s catchy hooks with a long instrumental segment in the middle that transitions to a beautiful guitar solo towards the end of the song.

Side one ends with Darling Nikki, which found popularity in the late 90s thanks to a cover by the Foo Fighters.

Side two starts off with the lead single, When Doves Cry, Prince’s first song to hit number on in the U.S, topping the charts for five weeks straight.  Over twenty-five years later, I still vividly remember the video for this song featuring scenes from the movie and Prince riding his motorcycle.

I Would Die 4 U was the fourth and last single from Purple Rain went on to become another top ten hit.  At only 2:49, it is the shortest song on the album but still packs quite a punch.  Baby I’m a Star was recorded live at First Avenue in 1983, where Prince auditioned a number of songs from Purple Rain for the filming of the movie that was still more than 6 months away.  That concert at First Avenue ranks as one of the top 5 concerts I would go to if I had my own TARDIS.

The title song from the film and the album ends the album.  What can you say about this song that hasn’t already been said?  At almost nine minutes long, this was another song that was recorded at First Avenue live.  From it’s opening guitar to the gospel elements that come to mind when the organ starts, Purple Rain takes you on an emotional journey that features almost all of Prince’s trademarks captured in one song.

I purchased this album just weeks after it’s anniversary in June, used, at Down in the Valley.  Prince albums are semi-rare here in the Twin Cities, and one of the clerks turned to the other to point out what I was buying.  The second clerk lit up like a Christmas tree and I distinctly received the impression that if she had known it was in the store she might have bought it herself.  Both clerks liked my choice, not knowing the historical significance this classic Prince album holds for me.  This is an album I will cherish for a long time, both for the music and the sentimental memories.

  • in GNOME
  • 1 min read

GNOME Zazzle Store Sale

Tomorrow is the last day to save 17.76% at the GNOME Zazzle store. Zazzle is having a sale to celebrate Independence Day here in America. GUADEC is coming so now is a great time to place your order and have some cool gear to show off to all your GNOME friends in The Hague!

  • in General
  • 1 min read

Welcome to Vinyl (R)evolution

Welcome to Vinyl (R)Evolution – where I talk about the music I love. I can guarantee that my tastes are not your tastes but I’m confident you’ll find a story now and then that you can relate to.

I grew up listening to my parents music, which included artists such as ABBA, Billy Joel, Elton John and Cat Stevens. I hit my teenage years in the mid to late 80s and I started getting into 80s pop music, some hair metal bands, and hard rock before finally getting into grunge in the 90s and staying with that as it morphed into alternative and indie rock. And I love the Bee Gees and some disco music for some reason that absolutely drives my wife crazy.  (More on all that here).

Why the name Vinyl (R)Evolution with the funky parentheses? Listening to vinyl records is both a revolution in my listening habits and an evolution of myself as I become a more discerning music lover.

I’m hoping to talk about a few different things each week on this blog:

  • New records I’ve purchased that week and mini-reviews of the album.
  • At least one review a week of a used record I’ve purchased since I started collecting records again in April on Record Store Day.
  • Visits to my local records stores.
  • Other new music I’ve purchased that I think is worth talking about that I may have bought on CD or MP3.

I hope you’ll stick around and enjoy listening to music with me.

Vinyl (R)Evolution Music of the Week: June 29th

It’s hard to top the purchases I made last week, which included a used copy of Prince’s Purple Rain and the new albums by The Black Keys and Broken Bells, but this week saw a couple of good albums released.

I received of Montreal’s 12″ single The Past is a Grotesque Animal, which may be the most beautiful album I’ve ever purchased. (More on it here). This was the only vinyl purchase of the week and I bought two digital albums.

On the local front, Cloud Cult released Light Chasers on their own Earthology Records and is their eighth studio album. From the email release:

…this latest full-length draws most of it’s inspiration from the joy (and worries) of rebirth – Craig (singer/songwriter) and Connie (live painter) welcomed a healthy baby boy into their lives this past fall – after a long grieving process of the loss of their first son Kaiden. Light Chasers is a concept album that interweaves stories focused on the exploration of the mysteries of the universe, life and death. It’s a 56 minute journey with no audio breaks that explores love and loss and searches for the light at the end of the tunnel. It also lends itself beautifully into Cloud Cult’s vision that albums should be seen as a whole versus the modern trend of focusing on singles.

I love the fact they focus on the whole album experience – and it shows on this album. It’s just as good as their prior two releases and is a bit more mellow. The songs seamlessly flow together (make sure you can play it back using gapless playback!) and the track titles are perfectly named. I’ll always remember Cloud Cult as it was the first MP3 album I ever bought using Amazon’s MP3 service when it first launched. If you get a chance to see them live, don’t miss it – they combine their music with a visual artist on stage and it’s a concert experience you’ve never seen before. The album is available everywhere September 14th or you can buy it digitally now directly from Cloud Cult here.

My favorite album I bought, though, is Alejandro Escovedo’s latest, Street Songs of Love. One genre of music you’ll never find me reviewing on this blog is country music – but I love what they call “alt-country” with artists such as Ryan Adams, The Jayhawks, Wilco, Drive By Truckers, and yes, Alejandro Escovedo.

You may know him better through his progeny – his son Pete plays with Carlos Santana and his daughter is Sheila E, but Alejandro Escovedo has had a long music career that started with punk rock and is still going strong.

It was his last album, 2008’s Real Animals, that introduced me to him, and if you like that album, you will love this album. Street Songs of Love is slightly more uptempo than Real Animals and starts with a bang with the first track, Anchor. Other songs of note are Down in the Bowery, with Hunter, the lead singer from Mott the Hoople; Fall Apart With You is a wonderful ballad that will stay with you for days; Bruce Springsteen guests on Faith; and the album ends with a perfect denouement, the instrumental Fort Worth Blue.

I was ecstatic when Amazon lowered the MP3 price from $10.49 to $7.99 on Wednesday and it’s been worth every penny. You can listen to the whole album as a stream on Spinner.

  • in Vinyl
  • 3 min read

of Montreal – The Past is a Grotesque Animal 12″

It’s quite fitting the day after I launched the blog that the most beautiful record I’ve purchased yet should be delivered.

of Montreal - The Past is a Grotesque Animal

of Montreal has released a 12″ album on the Polyvinyl label of The Past is a Grotesque Animal, originally recorded for Spike Jonze’s I’M HERE.  It comes on light blue vinyl with a hand screen printed design by Nina / Geminitactics.

Polyvinyl is a small label out of Champaign, Illinois and features a number of indie artists that I’ve been lucky to hear on my local radio station, 89.3 The Current.  Polyvinyl is home to of Montreal, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, Joan of Arc and is the former home for Mates of State.  Last year they had a bit of financial trouble, and using Kickstarter they had a sale to save 10,000 records from destruction.  For only $20 I received 8 CDs that served as a great introduction to the artists on their label.

of Montreal was one of those artists I received a further introduction too, receiving their Icons, Abstract Thee CD.  Kevin Barnes is the man behind the project, having released 9 of Montreal albums, with the tenth coming out later this year (and available via pre-sale now.  And yes, I pre-ordered the limited edition red LP package).

The Past is a Grotesque record features two versions of the song, the second with The Lost Trees.  The song features of Montreal’s trademark catchiness and is also haunting in a way – but the vocals are like nothing done on an of Montreal record before.

I’ve listened to it a few times, and while it may not be my favorite song by of Montreal, it’s probably the favorite record I’ve purchased so far.  The record is a beautiful sky blue and the picture below doesn’t do it justice.

sdc10169.jpg

This is the first vinyl record I’ve purchased from Polyvinyl, but it won’t be the last.  I already have pre-orders in for of Montreal’s next album, False Priest, and Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin’s August release Let it Sway.  Polyvinyl, and more importantly, their artists get how the music industry is changing – you can order the CD or LP – both with the album in MP3 available on release date,  as well as packages containing t-shirts, buttons or stickers.  It’s good to see at least one label who understands CwF + RtB (Connect with Fans) + (Reason to Buy).  And they sent me some bonus items with my of Montreal purchase:  The ZZZZ’s latest album, a poster and a pink lemonade Airheads!

sdc10164.jpg

Vinyl (R)Evolution

Note: This is reposted from my main blog and seems fitting to kick off my Vinyl Music blog with.

When I was 17 or18 years old, I wanted to be a DJ with a friend of mine. I grabbed all of my parents vinyl records, trucked them over to my friend’s house and then… we didn’t do anything. He and I eventually had a falling out and a couple years later when I inquired about getting the records back, I was dismayed to learn that his basement had flooded and they were trashed.

I don’t think my father has forgiven me to this day.

I grew up heavily influenced by music, including my parents listening to their records and favorite artists such as ABBA, Billy Joel and Elton John. I remember periods of my life based on the music I was listening to at the time and if I hear a specific song it can take me back right to that moment.

I’ve been thinking about buying a turntable for the last few years and re-creating some of those memories. I participated in Record Store Day last year shopping at a local store and picking up a number of CDs and this year on Record Store Day I went out and this time picked up some used and new vinyl records and then bought a turntable off Craigslist. (An early 80s Pioneer direct-drive).

img_5174.jpg

I’m one of growing number of people getting back into vinyl – just visit The Future of Vinyl blog for non-stop media coverage of the growth of vinyl over the last couple years – it’s now the fastest growing segment of the (dying) music industry. Even large retailers like Best Buy are getting in on it. (Though I found their selection disappointing – very few new records, just 180g re-issues of older material, and for the same prices as the local stores, who I would rather support).

I own more CDs than I can count, and even if it’s in my head, I do think vinyl sounds better. There is something to be said for the crackle and hiss of a well worn and loved album playing on a stereo.

I don’t know what’s more fun – listening to the albums or shopping for them. I’ve already bought over 60 records in the last 6 weeks, the bulk of them at two events. The first was a private collector who put an ad in Craigslist and was selling over 5000 records with most of them going for 3 for a dollar. The second sale was today at the Minnesota Record Show which is held four times a year and features a number of dealers selling records for a few bucks each to rare albums worth hundreds of dollars. On average at an event like this or in the local record stores, used albums are about $3 each. I have bought a few re-issues on 180 gram vinyl of some of my favorite albums of all time, such as Depeche Mode’s Music for the Masses. (Most albums are 120 grams – the thicker the album the higher the fidelity).

img_5171.jpg

But what impresses me the most is the resurgence in current artists releasing vinyl day and date with CD – and including MP3 or FLAC downloads for free when you purchase the vinyl record. I’ve picked up some great new albums, including the latest from The Hold Steady, The New Pornographers and Broken Bells.

My wife laughs at me every time I say “I’m going downstairs to listen to some records” but I’m enjoying the experience immensely. She also says I’m done collecting for a while, but don’t tell her, I have my eyes on some more new releases and I heard about another upcoming show…