"The safe way to double your money is to fold it over once and put it in your pocket." Kin Hubbard

Want some free money? OK so I’m not giving away money but I will introduce you to some sites that will help. The first one that has saved me a bundle on music is Dealnews. This site has a ton of categories that you can choose from. They seem to scour the net so they can present you the very best deals. I tend to jump on the free ones. (I’m cheap) From technology to clothing, they seem to have it all. They turned me onto Amazon’s free music list which has almost 2500 free, legit, music. They’ll even give you local discount on restaurants and other deals closer to home.
The other site is Groupon. My friend Nate turned me onto this one. You sign up and they take your zip code and assign you the closest large city. In my case it was either Providence or Boston. Both are not exactly close but I’ll take what I can get. Groupon will present you with a limited time offer that will be something like buy a coupon for $15 dollars that is actually a $30 dollar coupon at a restaurant. So in effect you get double your money. You print out the coupon and bring it to the place. It works nice and easy. I do have a couple of issues with it as much as I like it. First it requires a bit of preplanning, which I am not the best at. Also because the range of locations is so large you might get a deal an hour away. I guess that’s fine but I’m lazy but I am not running out the door for that one. You can specify the types of deals you want like food and museums and not health and beauty stuff. However it doesn’t seem to listen to those preferences. I got two for liposuction. I took it personally.
Anyway I recommend trying either one at least for a bit just to see the one you like most. I should mention that Dealnews also covers coupons from Groupon as well.

"When Ignorance lurks, so too do the frontiers of discovery and imagination" Neil deGrasse Tyson

I have always found science fascinating. From an early age I experimented with my chemistry set in our basement. Sometimes with disastrous results....Sorry mom. Neil deGrasse Tyson is one of the best speakers on astrophysics out there. However in my opinion I believe he is at his very best speaking about science in general. Nova puts out a podcast that I listen to regularly and they feature Tyson quite often. I recommend listening to this podcast all the time but as an intro I would start with this particular one. In this podcast he is taking questions from the crowd and speaks about science but also touches on subjects from the rearing of science children to energy escapism of black holes. It is both entertaining and fascinating. Instructions to sign up for the podcast can be found here.

Also since I am speaking of science I might as well mention a new album that just came out aimed at children. Although it is aimed at kids it is just as good for anyone. The band They Might Be Giants put out a new album entitled “Here Comes Science.” You can see and hear a sample above. I listened to the whole album and it is fun and you end up learning at the very least science terminology. I believe you will get a lot more than just that but it is a start. The subjects range from the elements to the fourth state of matter. It is kind of like School House Rock for a new generation. To buy it click here. Give these a try.

“I would say I'd rather dig a ditch, you know, do hard, manual labor than write lyrics.” Natalie Merchant

You walk into a store and catch the tail end of a really fantastic song. You heard just a few lyrics and so you type them into Google a little later. Unfortunately the lyrics are fairly common words and the search brings up anything but a song. Now what? Enter LyricRat, a very simple site to look up lyrics. All you do is drop in the words you remember and it will spit out potential songs for you. If the first one isn’t it choose from the others below. They also have an Amazon snippet of the song so you can find out if that is the exact one you were thinking of. One last nice extra that will only serve some people, is that they have the same service on twitter. Plus I like the idea you can follow the service so you can see what others are looking for so you are sure to find something new and different. So if a song is just on the tip of your tongue give this a try.

"But the answer is simple. Love is a mix tape." Rob Sheffield

Yesterday I wrote about a place to get free music. I assume you found a whole bunch to download and enjoy. Now there are many music players for computers like Windows Media Player but I prefer iTunes because of its ease of use. The only issue with any of these players is that the more music you get the harder it is to find exactly what you are in the mood for. A while back I discovered a blog post on a site called Dean and you. The post goes into detail about the creation of iTunes playlists. Playlists are just lists of music like you might make for a mix tape. Seriously if I get an email asking what a mix tape is. No one is that young. Anyway there are the static type of playlist that are just unmoving lists and then there are smart playlists. These can be easily set to do things like “add all the songs from the band Cake” but keep out all those songs longer than 3:30. It is all very open and a lot of fun for the musicphile. This blog post takes it to the next level and really shows you how to make some of the most intricate playlists I have ever seen. All of them are made to highlight your unheard music or to show off the stuff you really listen to. This post is not going to be for everyone but if you have a ton of music and use iTunes then give this a whirl.

"Why waste money on psychotherapy when you can listen to the B Minor Mass?" Michael Torke

So you hunger for music and you want to make sure it is on the up and up but in the current economy your wallet has issues. Well then give Amazon Music a try. They have been around like many places peddling legit and reasonably priced songs and now that most music sites are DRM free it has become a fun place to get music again. But what about the price you say? Well you if have specific songs you may need to buy them for around .99. However if you are interested in doing a little digging you can grab a ton of great songs for free. Yes Free. Amazon has a sampler plate of songs that ranges from Jazz to indie. They have a convenient sample play button to the left of any song and “get MP3” button to the left. It is really very easy to click the button and go through their setup. At this moment there are 789 songs available so why not give some good songs a chance. If you don’t find what you want there you can always use their catalog and still get songs inexpensively. Give it a try.

"One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain." Bob Marley

If it wasn’t for music this blog would have passed into the great blog heap in the ether. However sometimes my iPod is not exactly doing it. Either I have heard all the music before or just I need something totally different. When in this erratic mood I pop over to Musicovery. It is another web radio site like the well known Pandora. It stands out by giving a lot of flexible options. First you select what type of music folk, rock, soul…etc and then you choose a decade or leave it to its default all. You can also pick the type of mood that you are in for and the tempo. The moods range from dark to positive and energetic to light while tempo is all about how dancey songs are. One of the main reasons I comeback to this site is that it is very visual. When you click something it is not just a choice but a range on graphic scale. The only real issue I have is that it seems to be missing a few choices like indie or ska which is what I tend to listen to when I need to get stuff down. If you are at work or at home and in a funk give musicovery a chance to break you out of it.

“I am terrified at the thought that so much hideous and bad music will be put on records forever” Arthur Sullivan

I know I don’t usually have a book recommendation but this one sounds great. I heard an interview with Rolling Stone contributing editor Steve Knopper on NPR’s Fresh Air. They were discussing the downfall of the record industry and his new book Appetite For Self-Destruction. I plan to pick this one up. Essentially it is the history of the industry from the early times when they produced a strange flat disc with grooves. I believe some refer to this an album or record. Hmmm strange looking things. Anyway the book takes you from there to the super powerful and money making times of the 70’s and 80’s to the beginning of the end in the mid nineties. It truly sounded fascinating. You can read an excerpt listen to the interview here. If you plan to take a pass on the book at least listen to the interview. It fills in a lot of historical gaps and really explains the mess that the recording industry it currently in. Give it a try.

“Never try to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and it annoys the pig.” Robert Heinlein

On the way in to work I was listening to a podcast that was talking about the Zune. The talk was about discontinuing the product. The reason was simple that other companies have done it better like Apple and Sandisk. They had one other point. They said that Microsoft is not cool. Now I know I am a Mac guy so take it for what it’s worth but they are an enterprise software company. Just because something isn’t cool doesn’t mean it isn’t good. They produce some very good work software (pre-2007) but it isn’t sexy and music tends to be. Work stuff is supposed to be functional and efficient and Microsoft can come close to this mark. You may be asking yourself why am I writing about this I mean the Zune is not on anyone’s radar at this point. Well Microsoft has tried again to be cool with a new product. I am sorry to say it has failed, at least the coolness factor. The product is OK (it works). It is called Songsmith. Essentially you sing into the microphone of your computer and Songsmith will record “cool” beats and rhythms behind it. You can adjust tempo and all that other stuff that I frankly don’t understand about music. I personally cannot play a note but I do know I what I like. This product does not make it on my top ten. Now I may be biased so what I would like is others to watch the promo video and tell me what you think. Please leave a comment or email. You can also download and test the software out yourself.

Note: I used a quote from Robert Heinlein. As a geek he is required reading but if you have not ever tried his books you are missing out. Try his book Starship Troopers. It is nothing like the movie meaning it is really good.

“The ballot box is the surest arbiter of disputes among free men.” James Buchanan

Sorry this so short but I am off to vote!

There are already long lines at polling places so before you head out to vote print out a sample ballot. This will save a lot of time for you and all the people waiting behind you. Also many measures are worded poorly and could vote for the opposite of what you wanted. These sample ballots will help to dispel those problems. Non Profit Vote has done a really nice job of compiling all the different states sample ballots and explanations of measures. A good voter is an informed voter. They link to government websites and other nonprofits like the League of Women Voters. Hope this helps.

Also while you are filling out your ballot listen to the eighties classic “The Final Countdown”

	Europe - The Final Countdown
	Found at skreemr.com

"I got a rock." Charlie Brown

Last year for I did a post about Halloween music. I think I shall continue the tradition and add a few more to the list. So if you are stuck at the office or just surfing the net click a link and listen to some newish Halloween music.

• RE: Brains by Jonathan Coulton
• The Mummy by Benji Hughes. A favorite of mine.
• Friendly Ghost by the Eels
• Halloween on the Barbary coast
• Alkaline Trio by Halloween
• Halloween Head by Ryan Adams
• Halloween Night by Throwing Toasters
• Halloween with Morrissey by Cheekyboy
• Halloween is comin' to town by Tin Lounge
• Hallowe'en dance by American Symphony Orchestra. A very old recording from an Edison Record
• Halloween Parade by Lou Reed

A special to thanks to the following sites.
obscuresound mattsommers
cylinders.library.ucsb.edu popbytes
throwingtoasters sixeyes productshopnyc

“Where words fail, music speaks.” Hans Christian Andersen

Every day I listen to about six to eight podcasts on my way to work in a futile attempt to keep up with the overwhelming flow of information. Most are on tech/geek stuff. However some are focused on non-work stuff like music. MPR’s Musicheads is a decent podcast that introduces you to three artists every week. The Musichead’s staff reviews the music and tells whether “it is working for them.” They also have an interactive bit were they throw out a question to the audience, and then you can join the forums and get involved in the discussion. It can be a bit stuffy at times when some of the reviewers take art to seriously but the info is well thought out and I have found quite a bit of music that I now listen to regularly. Give it a try.

“If the person you are talking to doesn't appear to be listening, be patient. It may simply be that he has a small piece of fluff in his ear.” Winnie

Everywhere I go I see people with MP3 players. People are listening to more through their headphones than ever before and it is not just music. The listening public are listening to news, talk shows, radio programs, concerts, etc. Some are even having their RSS feeds and emails read to them. (Subject for another post) At this point the most popular player is the iPod. I get many questions about the Apple player. I usually refer students to the Apple store where they can ask questions with their iPod in hand and that seems to work out well. However what happens if you do not have a store near you or they cannot seem to answer your questions? Then it is time to head to iLounge. iLounge has been around for quite a while now and offers everything iPod. They have all the news you could want about the iPod. They also sell items related to the player but the real reason I send you here is the forums and help section. Every time I have a strange question about how to do something with my iPod I head to those sections and do a search. They have recommendations to find free legit music and video plus concerts and music blogs as well. I know I am mainly focused on music when it comes to iLounge but it is a music player after all. The site is very user friendly and helpful. Give it a try.

“A fishing pole is a stick with a hook at one end and a fool on the other” Samuel Johnson

Alert! For those using iTunes the online music store, beware you are being targeted for phishing attacks. I have written here about phishing attacks and how they try to trick an individual into clicking a link and giving away important valued information about themselves and their account. You may get an email saying that you need to update your account info. Instead of clicking the link the best thing to do is go directly to the iTunes store through the application. If there is a problem they will let you know. Also I should mention this is not a Mac only issue. ITunes is the largest online seller of music so this covers a lot of people including those who use Windows. To read more is about the details click the link to head to Mac.Blorge blog.

"Now begins a torrent of words and a trickling of sense." Theocritus

The previous post spoke about P2P file sharing. I would like to focus on another method today. Torrents are the current favorite way of file sharing or transporting. In the previous post I said I do not endorse this method of finding files however it is gaining a certain amount of legal status. One example of this is the band Nine Inch Nails (NIN). They are freely distributing their own music on these torrent sites. I should say the vast majority of the files still remains illegally shared . The reasons torrent are more popular than P2P are the speed and the size. How it works is the user goes to a torrent search site like Piratebay or Mininova and then does a search. As the user goes through and finds a file it will have two bits of information. A seeder count and a leecher count. We’ll come back to that in a bit. The user finds a file and downloads it. Then they need a client or a program that is made just to handle this sort of file. Now the file that is being downloaded is only a tiny fragment of the file called a seed. This seed then gets sent back through the client software and gets sent to others who have another piece of the seeding puzzle. This system relies on many users who remain online to share their piece of the file. This means what is being downloaded is just small and fast bits of data from many different users. Unfortunately, for this system, some users stop sharing the moment they get a file and then stop it. These people are generally called leechers while sharers are called seeders. The system works very well for moving large files through the net. Many movie companies are looking very closely at this method in hopes of using it as a legal movie downloading service. The future of renting a movie may just be using something like this for a small fee.

“Happiness seems made to be shared.” Pierre Corneille

Whenever there is a news story about file sharing online I get a bunch of questions asking what they are talking about. I would like to, at least for the next few posts, talk about some of what they are referring to.

To begin, as I have said in earlier posts, not all sharing of files is illegal. In fact the vast majority is legal. As an example I create worksheets that are freely shared with my consent all over the net. I do the same with photos and videos as well. However some ways of moving files on the internet have become known as places of mainly illegal files or at least ones that fall into the grey areas. Peer to Peer (P2P) is one way. At this point I should mention this is still used but it is not as popular as it once was. Also I should say I do not endorse these methods but I do feel a computer user should be an informed person. P2P uses a program like Limewire, Kazaa, or others to gain access to a network of users. A person on one end searches for a song (photo, file, etc…) and then gets a list of results. That list is showing all the computers that have these files on them that people are making available. Finally one of the files is selected and it downloads (Saves to your computer). The reason this is increasingly becoming unpopular is the rise of companies that try to track users through these services. Because P2P is user to user it is easier to be traced. Understanding both the good and bad of the net will help you to be a better user. However if you are looking for free music I do not suggest this type of service. I would recommend looking at previous posts that contain info about getting free music but are done in legal ways.

“If classical music is the state of the art, then the arts are in a sad state” Frank Zappa

Almost a year ago I wrote about Classical Cat which is a free place to find classical music. At that time is was great but a bit unwieldy and felt a bit like the internet from 1998. The net has changed a great deal since then and for the better in my opinion. So we need a new classical music catalog and that is what Musopen is. Essentially it is a database of out of copyright classical music. This is a list of great music that is available for your own projects or just listening pleasure. The reason it is so much better is the simplicity and basic understandable controls. It also has some tools that are fun like the ability to embed music in your website and just an easy play button. You can browse by all sorts of criteria like the musical instruments played or form or period. So if you have a hankerin’ for Holst or Jonesin' for Johann Sebastian Bach give this a try.

“Every kind of music is good, except the boring kind.”Gioacchino Rossini

On the same subject as yesterday's post , I read many blogs to stay on top of computer info or other related items but Aurgasm has to be a real favorite. Now don't be put off by its' name. The text is good and straightforward and the music selection is incredible. This is a music blog that highlights an artist and gives away two songs that are representative of the genre. I have been introduced to more great music here than any other site. From French Pop to Israeli Reggae I am now aware of musical genres and categories I did not know were possible. So far a personal favorite of mine is Il Fait Si Beau from Vincent Delerm. I have listened to this one a little too much. I just wish I had a clue what it was about though. The great thing about reading a blog like this, besides the content, is the link list of their favorite blogs. This leads you on a merry little trail of discovery. I will try to highlight some more blogs when I get a chance. If you are hungry for music, give this one a try.

"I've learned there are three things you don't discuss with people: religion, politics and the Great Pumpkin. " Linus

Halloween makes me think of costume parties but the backbone of any party is always the music. Halloween music can be difficult to find and so I have put together a quick list of some sites to either learn more or download some. There should be enough as a beginning. So go forth and spook some one for the night is young. Oh ya, give it a try.

• First off, NPR has had several treats on Halloween Music from the classics to the brand new. They even have a free download from the Evangelicals.
• This has to be one of the best lists of Halloween music I have ever seen. They do not have any direct downloads so you will have to shop around.
• OK you need some creepy chains moving in the attic or a moaning ghoul? Check this one out. It is a long list of sounds in wav format. You can download them by right clicking and choosing save as. However, you can play them from the site.
• A remix of the Munsters Theme called Munsterbeat
• This site has tons of Halloween themed music from the 50’s and 60’s. The only strange thing is that you have to scroll to the right instead of down. Just click on a number to hear it. You can also download them.
• Lastly is a site that has all the perennial classics from TV and movies like the Addams Family. Great for any playlist.