Stealing Made Easy

Everyone loves IPods with the exception of the music industry. This new gadget is one more reason for industry executives to dislike them.

iHappy

Recently my wife gave me an Iphone for my 40th birthday. It was to replace my recently lost, dropped, dropped in a toilet and lost for good previous phone. My wife was taking a chance getting me this phone because I do not have a good track record with phones (or American Express cards).

This IPhone is the coolest gadget ever invented. I had resisted getting a Crackberry for many reasons, but an iphone is the Crackberry's cool cousin. I am not a slave to my Iphone like I would be a crackberry, I hardly use the mail to stay in touch with work. Thankfully my company does not support Iphones with mail so I can only access work mail through the web browser.

There are many great features that I love on the Iphone, but one of my favorite features is that I have found out how to stream Sirius through it. When I go for a walk or to the gym, I can listen to some of my favorite stations on Sirius (springsteen channel, howard Stern, sirius left, NFL network, etc). Also, through the same process, I can access music on my home PC or any other multimedia files on my home pc.

The phone features are extremely intuitive and easy to navigate. The keyboard is even easy for someone with fat fingers like myself. The safari browser is pretty good. you can view webpages and zoom in with the touch screen.

I'm sure the Iphone apps on the way are only going to get better. There is already and AIM app so you can instant message from your phone to AOL accounts.

I should in the interest of full disclosure admit to dropping the phone and had the touch screen stop working. I brought it to Apple and they replaced it. Unfortunately, cool technology in my hands of stone is not a great combination.

Christmas in Fallujah

If you haven't heard of Billy Joel's song Christmas in Fallujah performed by Cass Dillon her is a portion of the press release about the song:
Billy Joel, the quintessential American singer, songwriter, composer and performer, has passed along his latest composition, "Christmas In Fallujah," to the emerging young artist Cass Dillon. Dillon's electrifying rendition of the song -- produced by Tommy Byrnes and Jay Baumgardner and recorded with members of Billy's ensemble -- will be available for purchase exclusively on the iTunes Store beginning Tuesday, December 4.

Net proceeds from "Christmas in Fallujah" will be donated to Homes For Our Troops, a nonprofit organization that builds specially adapted homes for service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with severe disabilities. Billy Joel is an avid supporter of Homes For Our Troops. For more information, please go to: www.homesforourtroops.org

Billy wrote "Christmas In Fallujah" earlier this year as a response to letters he's received from soldiers in Iraq, men and women who've found solace, inspiration and comfort in his songs. A powerful and poignant depiction of the emotional realities on the ground in Iraq, "Christmas In Fallujah" is a song from the heart and a cry of the spirit, a gut-wrenching indictment of the insanity of war which echoes the human side of the conflict, military and civilian alike.

"I didn't feel I was the person to sing this song," said Billy of the decision to work with the up-and-coming Cass Dillon, 21. "I thought it should be somebody young, about a soldier's age. I wanted to help somebody else's career. I've had plenty of hits. I've had plenty of airplay. I've had my time in the sun. I think it's time for somebody else, maybe, to benefit from my own experience."



It is a great song and a great reminder that we are still at war and there are 170 mostly young men sitting in a desert 6000 miles from home.

BRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCE

Tonight my wife and I had the pleasure of seeing our th Springsteen concert together. We have seen 4 E Street band performances and 3 solo shows. Overall it was a great night out since we haven't had many sans children in a bit. Any night out with my lovely wife is great but a night out, seeing Springsteen, a baby gorilla and a monkey is a treat (someone will get those references)

A few weeks back one of the Stern show regulars was saying to Bon Jovi that he is grateful to guys like him and Springsteen for writing new material because it gives him time to go to the bathroom during concerts. Ironically I was quoting him in the morning and saw him at the concert this evening, but I digress.

I was also saying today that I would love to plan a set list for a Springsteen concert. If I had, only two of the songs from tonight would have made the list. Of my favorite 40 or so Springsteen songs, only two were performed tonight. If you think that means it was a disappointing show you are wrong. This was another fantastic performance hitting songs from throughout his song library and weaving them together like only he can.

Gone are the days where Bruce performs for 4 hours. Tonight's show was two and a half hours of non stop rocking. My wife and I have seen many concerts (U2, Police, Rolling stones, Paul McCartney, Madonna, Green Day, REM, Bowie, Bon Jovi to name a few), but the E Street Band is by far the best. You really forget how great each of the musicians in the band are.

I had heard a few complaints about ending the show with American Land (as in the video above). This song is a little bluegrass from his Seeger Sessions CD. This song may have been the highlight of the show. They brought down the house with this foot stomping, earth shaking, heart braking, air conditioner breaking E STREET BAND.

I would also like to note since my previous post talks about getting back in shape that when I came home tonight I went for a midnight run.

Siriusly Entertaining

This weekend I heard that E Street Radio was returning to Sirius, I was thrilled. Last time Bruce had a station on Sirius was in early 2006 and it was fantastic. Most of the stuff they played I had never heard before. Much of it was obscure concert recordings that could not be heard any place else. The station returns on September 27th through March 8th to coincide with the new tour (which incidentally I got tickets for today). It is one more reason to have a Sirius radio.

Somewhere around January 2006, I purchased a Sirius satellite receiver mostly to coincide with Howard Stern starting on Sirius. (Ok, it was solely to listen to Howard, but that is besides the point.) 2 stations devoted 24 hours a day to Howard Stern is great for the millions of Howard fans. Where else can you get Andy Dick's Shit Show or Jackie's Jokehunt? Want to listen to an hour broadcast of John the Stutterer talking Politics? It's right here. If not, there is always Howard 100 which plays his morning show 24 hours a day so you can always pick up pieces you missed on your morning commute. I love listening to Stern, it is like hanging out with friends on my morning commute, but when Howard retires in a few years Sirius will still be collecting subscription money from me.

Have you ever tried to listen to Air America? Don't bother answering that. Well in Boston, it no longer exists on terrestrial radio. On Sirius you have Sirius Left 146 which broadcasts the immortal Ed Schultz show. Big Ed is the best of the progressive talk shows.

Ever try listening to the Celtics on the radio? Up until this year who cares, but now you don't have to find the obscure station of the moment, just plug in the Celtics as your favorite team and your Sportster will remind you when to turn to Cornbread.

NFL, besides carrying every game (usually in both cities feed), the update show that runs on Sunday is better than listening to any one game.

Tonight on the ride home, I was listening to Barbara Walters weekly one hour show. She promoted the show last week on Stern and I've listened to it the past couple of weeks. There really is something for everyone.

Then there are the music stations. Radio Disney and Starz Hits one for the kids. All Elvis and country for my wife, and Little Steven's Underground Garage, Classic Rewind and now E Street for me. If that doesn't work for you there is always the 24 hour Frank Sinatra or Rolling Stone stations. Many, many, many more choices.

There are 2 limitations that I find on Sirius. One is that if I want to listen to the Red Sox, I have to remember what station carries it. Since I have not listened to terrestrial radio once in 18 months, I just don't know what station carries the Sox. If the merger with XM goes through, I should be able to buy a baseball package. The other thing Sirius should do is devote 10 stations to local sports in the 10 biggest markets. Think of how many Sox fans in Florida or California would love to listen to a Boston sports station on the way to work.

Maybe my favorite thing about Sirius is I haven't had the misfortune of listening to Dennis and Callahan once in the last 18 months. Are those two morons still on?

YouTube Video of the Week

Artist at work!!!

Bring on the Night

A couple of years ago my wife and I bought tickets to see Sting in concert in Providence. It seemed like a good idea when we bought the tickets, but on the day of the concert for a variety of reasons, it was more of a burden to go than something we were looking forward to. When we got to the concert, we were blown away by Sting. Him and his band were phenomenal. 90 minutes of rock, no middle of the road music. We left the concert absolutely amazed.
Two months later at Staples bi annual Global conference we were treated to a surprise performance of Sting. Another terrific show.
When The Police announced their reunion tour a few months ago, I made sure to get tickets to their Fenway performance which is coming up at the end of the week. The Police are one of my favorite bands, so seeing them at Fenway Park should be a great show.

Stolen Song of the Week

This guy was on the Howard Stern Show and gave about 10 similar examples of instances where Led Zeppelin stole music from other artists without crediting them.



More on his website: