Hello,
Spotify continues to impress. I've heard about the free Spotify that there's a limit on the amount of music I can listen to. I've also heard most of the first people in the U.S.A. to sign up for free Spotify will have unlimited listening. It seems I belong in the second group because I haven't had any issues with playing anything I want, for how long as I want. The only issue I've had with Spotify isn't their fault. Sometimes where I work with their erratic internet connection Spotify stops playing. Other than that it's been one of the very few things that actually lives up to the hype.
I answered my own question from yesterday about how to keep continuous play for a specific artist. In the search box: type in the artists name. That brings up three tabs: overview, biography and related artists. The overview tab is the default tab. Stay there and Spotify lists all their CDs in chronological order. It also lists their singles and any soundtrack or other various artists CDs they may have appeared on. Click on the random button in the bottom right corner and one can listen to all of an artists songs to your hearts content. If you choose random play, go to play queue and it will tell you what order the upcoming songs will be played in.
Besides listening randomly you can listen to the tracks straight through, both play in continuous play. When you listen to an artist's music straight through pick a CD and first Spotify plays all the songs on that CD and then automatically starts playing the songs on the artist's previous CD.
Anyway what I've been doing with my Spotify listening is revisiting 80's classic CDs. I listened to Madonna's "Like A Prayer" yesterday. That still holds up very well. With full disclosure I'm a huge Madonna fan, especially her 80's music. 2011 Grade: B+
This morning I listened to Janet Jackson's "Control". It doesn't hold up as well as "Like A Prayer". "Control" is a feast or famine CD. It has 6 amazing songs, when you look at the track listing you'll know what songs I'm talking about. Then there are three songs that are mediocre at best. "You Can Be Mine" is an absolute clunker. 2011 Grade, because of the 6 great songs, B.
Right now I'm listening to Prince's "1999". It's a fairly decent CD. This CD starts off with and is anchored by "1999" and "Little Red Corvette". Without a doubt those are two classics. However the next few songs vary in quality. "Delirious" and "Let's Pretend We're Married" are half-decent. But "D.M.S.R." is a forgettable, vulgar track. However many of the songs have something to recommend them. This also is a very danceable record and no one can deny the funkiness of Prince. 2011 Grade: I'm a bit uncertain, either a B or B-. Prince was so amazing back in the day. Why isn't there someone as good now releasing music? They don't make dance music like they use to.
Sports: Many people think the NFL Lockout is going to end today. I don't have an exact count but I think it's about 132 days the NFL has been in lockout. The players were suppose to vote on the new CBA yesterday. However they didn't have a complete CBA to look at, it looks like their vote will take place today. It's also expected the owners will vote today, it seems they have the votes to agree to the CBA. Any lingering issues seem to have been resolved. The NFL should reopen for business as usual as early as tomorrow.
In the Dodgers' Sad Summer of Frank good news for the Dodgers has been rare. However there have been a couple of very bright spots for the Dodgers. Along with Matt Kemp, there also has been Clayton Kershaw, aka Clayton the Magnificent. He had another strong outing last night, holding the defending World Series champ to 0 runs. The Dodgers offense continues to be pathetic and they only scored one run. LA must lead the league in 1-0 wins because of their mostly sterling pitching staff and weak offense. Anyway Kershaw went to 11-4 on the season. He only allowed 3 hits in 8 innings. Kershaw struck out 12 Giants, he leads the MLB with 167 strikeouts. If he could pitch everyday the Dodgers would be contenders. (Thanks to espn.com)
It does crack me up that the Dodgers fired their hitting coach Jeff Pentland. It's not his fault that team can't hit. The Dodgers are sorely lacking for talent. If you really want to help the Dodgers, fire Frank McCourt!
With me working about 56 hours this week, I haven't been able to exercise as much as I usually do. However I did exercise this morning, I was reminded of some great songs. Here are a selection of those and other great songs.
Soul 2 Soul's "Back To Life":
In this video look how young The Edge is. U2's "Sunday Bloody Sunday" Live at Red Rocks:
Donna Summer's "Hot Stuff":
Although the video is a bit weird, I'd forgotten how great this song is. Madonna's "Express Yourself":
Green Day's "Letterbomb":
And a great Incubus long I didn't feature yesterday, "Circles":
I'm not a big Aerosmith fan, especially after Steven Tyler's disastrous "AI" run, but I do like their song "Jaded". I especially like this video as it features the teenage Mila Kunis.
Currently one of the most gorgeous women in Hollywood.
themusicaddict
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
themusicaddict's Bookclub, Spotify and the NFL CBA
Hello,
Although it's been a very busy week for me, last night I found several minutes to read. I continued reading my July book club selection. It's Brady Udall's "The Lonely Polygamist". I've read to page 427.
I'm trying not to give away any plot points here, that's why there's vague wording for the next few sentences. More questions: When Golden Richards was fired from finishing building The Pussycat Manor he went home. What do you think about the person that tagged along unknown to him in his Airstream? How will Golden be able to explain that to his 4 wives? If he's able to get himself out of trouble, how will he do that? Will his stowaway be his and his families salvation or will that person be the straw that breaks the camel's back?
I also enjoy following the adventures of his 11 year old son, Rusty. He's hilarious. He's trapped in a lifestyle he doesn't like and he uses his full imagination to both escape and break up the monotony. He also physically escapes several times.
This book definitely passes the one more page test. I look forward eagerly to reading the final 170 pages and finding out the answers to the above questions. I also hope things work out for Golden Richards, his four wives and 28 kids. That's a sign of great fiction is that I care about the characters. Although they aren't real I have become temporarily invested in their lives. Although Richards seems to let himself be subject to whims of fate and wives, for the most part he's a good guy. I really like him, but in no way do I envy him. He's wishy washy, has too little of a backbone and has too many wives. If Jay Z wrote a song about his lifestyle, it would be called "10,000 Problems".
I continue liking Spotify. Although I do have a question if anyone can help me. I've figured out nearly every way to listen to music on Spotify. However when I type in a name in the search box, let's say Alabama, the search brings up all their songs. So far I've only been able to figure out how to listen to their songs one at a time, there's no continuous play. However if I pick an album and push play, there's continuous play until all the songs have been played.
One thing about napster.com I didn't like is when I play a double CD, it just plays the first CD and then stops. Sure it's easy just to start the second CD playing, but I prefer the music to play until I stop it or ALL the songs have been played. I like when I play a double CD on Spotify it plays all the songs from the double CD.
Commercials are played every few songs on the free Spotify. For the most part they aren't very annoying. They are no more than 30 seconds long and are usually about cool things about Spotify or are plugs for bands that have music on Spotify. Although Spotify I would love if you have other bands besides the Black Angels plug their music.
So far I've liked the Spotify playlists they have recommended. One playlist they suggested that I don't like is the nominees for this years Mercury Awards. I guess this isn't on Spotify, but the people who pick the Mercury Awards nominees. I listened to several songs by the bands they nominated. Besides Adele, every other band is terrible. On this playlist there are a bunch of crap songs. Nominated, and terrible, bands include PJ Harvey, Elbow, Everything Everything, Ghostpoet, Katy B and Metronomy. Two bands that particularly suck from this list are James Blake and Tinie Tempah. Tempah is a very lame and vulgar "rapper". I have no idea why people like this sort of music. You can skip all those songs by those bands. I thought there would be at least a second band I'd like. But no, Adele is the only musician I like.
Also this morning on Spotify I listened to R.E.M.'s "Life's Rich Pageant (Deluxe Edition)". I'm a fairly big R.E.M. fan so I liked it. However it probably isn't for everyone. I do think we can all agree on the greatness of the following song.
This is R.E.M.'s "Fall On Me":
I also listened to Incubus new CD "If Not Know, When?" this morning. When did Incubus start playing only wimpy music? I mean it sounds like Incubus and it's clearly Brandon Boyd singing. However where's the muscle that's in older Incubus music? When did Incubus become Coldplay? What happened to the band that had all these classic songs?
"Wish You Were Here":
"Nice To Know You":
The language to the following video will be offensive to many. "Megalomaniac":
"Pistola":
"Southern Girl"
"Nowhere Fast":
As I write this player reps from each of the 32 NFL teams are learning about the new NFL CBA and are set to vote on it today. People are talking about this deal like it's a sure thing. Sports commentators have already turned to talking about how frenetic the free agency period is going to be. Teams will have 3 days to sign their own players and then after that, the remainder of the 400+ free agents are going to be up for grabs. It should be very exciting.
Right now it seems the only thing that can delay the new CBA is some of the named plaintiffs in the legal case at the center of this lockout are saying they want extra benefits. However a lot of that is a case of who do you believe.
I listened to ESPN radio driving home last night and that guy was talking about the winners of the NFL Lockout. He suggested it was the owners. I would have to agree with that. However I think the real owners are the lawyers who wrote this. I don't even want to know how much the legal fees are in this whole NFL lockout. And likewise in the Frank and Jamie McCourt divorce, the only winners are the lawyers. I hate lawyers.
themusicaddict
Although it's been a very busy week for me, last night I found several minutes to read. I continued reading my July book club selection. It's Brady Udall's "The Lonely Polygamist". I've read to page 427.
I'm trying not to give away any plot points here, that's why there's vague wording for the next few sentences. More questions: When Golden Richards was fired from finishing building The Pussycat Manor he went home. What do you think about the person that tagged along unknown to him in his Airstream? How will Golden be able to explain that to his 4 wives? If he's able to get himself out of trouble, how will he do that? Will his stowaway be his and his families salvation or will that person be the straw that breaks the camel's back?
I also enjoy following the adventures of his 11 year old son, Rusty. He's hilarious. He's trapped in a lifestyle he doesn't like and he uses his full imagination to both escape and break up the monotony. He also physically escapes several times.
This book definitely passes the one more page test. I look forward eagerly to reading the final 170 pages and finding out the answers to the above questions. I also hope things work out for Golden Richards, his four wives and 28 kids. That's a sign of great fiction is that I care about the characters. Although they aren't real I have become temporarily invested in their lives. Although Richards seems to let himself be subject to whims of fate and wives, for the most part he's a good guy. I really like him, but in no way do I envy him. He's wishy washy, has too little of a backbone and has too many wives. If Jay Z wrote a song about his lifestyle, it would be called "10,000 Problems".
I continue liking Spotify. Although I do have a question if anyone can help me. I've figured out nearly every way to listen to music on Spotify. However when I type in a name in the search box, let's say Alabama, the search brings up all their songs. So far I've only been able to figure out how to listen to their songs one at a time, there's no continuous play. However if I pick an album and push play, there's continuous play until all the songs have been played.
One thing about napster.com I didn't like is when I play a double CD, it just plays the first CD and then stops. Sure it's easy just to start the second CD playing, but I prefer the music to play until I stop it or ALL the songs have been played. I like when I play a double CD on Spotify it plays all the songs from the double CD.
Commercials are played every few songs on the free Spotify. For the most part they aren't very annoying. They are no more than 30 seconds long and are usually about cool things about Spotify or are plugs for bands that have music on Spotify. Although Spotify I would love if you have other bands besides the Black Angels plug their music.
So far I've liked the Spotify playlists they have recommended. One playlist they suggested that I don't like is the nominees for this years Mercury Awards. I guess this isn't on Spotify, but the people who pick the Mercury Awards nominees. I listened to several songs by the bands they nominated. Besides Adele, every other band is terrible. On this playlist there are a bunch of crap songs. Nominated, and terrible, bands include PJ Harvey, Elbow, Everything Everything, Ghostpoet, Katy B and Metronomy. Two bands that particularly suck from this list are James Blake and Tinie Tempah. Tempah is a very lame and vulgar "rapper". I have no idea why people like this sort of music. You can skip all those songs by those bands. I thought there would be at least a second band I'd like. But no, Adele is the only musician I like.
Also this morning on Spotify I listened to R.E.M.'s "Life's Rich Pageant (Deluxe Edition)". I'm a fairly big R.E.M. fan so I liked it. However it probably isn't for everyone. I do think we can all agree on the greatness of the following song.
This is R.E.M.'s "Fall On Me":
I also listened to Incubus new CD "If Not Know, When?" this morning. When did Incubus start playing only wimpy music? I mean it sounds like Incubus and it's clearly Brandon Boyd singing. However where's the muscle that's in older Incubus music? When did Incubus become Coldplay? What happened to the band that had all these classic songs?
"Wish You Were Here":
"Nice To Know You":
The language to the following video will be offensive to many. "Megalomaniac":
"Pistola":
"Southern Girl"
"Nowhere Fast":
As I write this player reps from each of the 32 NFL teams are learning about the new NFL CBA and are set to vote on it today. People are talking about this deal like it's a sure thing. Sports commentators have already turned to talking about how frenetic the free agency period is going to be. Teams will have 3 days to sign their own players and then after that, the remainder of the 400+ free agents are going to be up for grabs. It should be very exciting.
Right now it seems the only thing that can delay the new CBA is some of the named plaintiffs in the legal case at the center of this lockout are saying they want extra benefits. However a lot of that is a case of who do you believe.
I listened to ESPN radio driving home last night and that guy was talking about the winners of the NFL Lockout. He suggested it was the owners. I would have to agree with that. However I think the real owners are the lawyers who wrote this. I don't even want to know how much the legal fees are in this whole NFL lockout. And likewise in the Frank and Jamie McCourt divorce, the only winners are the lawyers. I hate lawyers.
themusicaddict
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Spotify, NFL Lockout All But Seems Over
Hello,
I continue to play with and listen to Spotify. It's very cool. Spotify has 15 million songs available, it would be very hard to find a song that they don't have. I'm now listening to the band called needtobreathe, which is the opening act for Taylor Swift on her current tour. needtobreathe is a very good band and I think they will be a great opener to Taylor Swift. I think needtobreath could have a Lady Antebellum type career. That should be a great concert. Now if we can get Swift to sing all of her hits, not just her newer hits.
One thing I don't like about the free Spotify (as my Mom says "beggars can't be choosers") is what happens when I lose connection to the internet. When that happens I also lose the ability to listen to Spotify. At my job the internet connection is very erratic. However if you have Premium Spotify, which is $9.99 a month, one can listen to Spotify offline. That allows you to listen to a total of up to 3000 songs. That's a pretty cool feature. For me when Spotify isn't connected to the internet I can just listen to iTunes.
It sounds like the NFL Lockout is all but wrapped up, with the NFL opening for business as soon as Friday. There are still a few minor things to work through, but those seem to be almost a certainty in being quickly resolved at this point. Once the NFL opens for business tentatively NFL teams will have 3 days to sign their own free agents. After that it should be a complete free for all as any free agent can sign with any team.
I'm glad the proposed length of this new CBA is 10 years. As much as I love the NFL, it seems both the owners and players still take us NFL fans for granted. I was hoping this lockout would be extended, costing the loss of at least a few regular season games. More importantly that would cost both sides money. That seems to be the only thing that gets their attention. It would be nice to see both sides learning to appreciate their fans more. I predict there will be things the NFL does to "thank" it's fans but I believe that will be just lip service mostly.
While I wanted the NFL to go on an extended lockout, I only wanted that half-heartedly. I'll be glad to have the NFL back and be able to watch games Thursday nights, all day Sunday and Monday nights.
Of course, with me being a life long Cowboys fan, it will be another disappointing season for me. The Cowboys will either start out well and then falter as they traditionally do. Or the Cowboys will just suck from the start as they did last year. At least there's no Wade Phillips to be seen on the Cowboys sideline. No Phillips is a tremedous consolation. Tony Romo will have nice numbers, but never seem to be able to get the big win. I don't think it's coincidental that the Cowboys played better last season after Romo was injured. Too bad his backup, Jon Kitna, will be in a wheelchair and on oxygen soon. (It sucks getting old.)
Speaking of Tony Romo, NFL.com's Warren Sapp says "I don't think he has the potential to raise his game." I agree so much, Romo will put up big numbers during the regular season. But since I'm in a charitable mood, I'm putting mildly here, he will under perform in the postseason. That is if Dallas makes the postseason. It's been several years since Romo and the Cowboys have lived up to what us Cowboys fans expect.
Speaking of lockouts, I think that the NBA lockout
One final sports note, the Pittsburgh Pirates are in first place all by themselves in the NL Central. They lead both St. Louis and Milwaukee by one-half game. Pittsburgh hasn't broke under the pressure yet. I predict the NL Central will be a two team battle between St. Louis and Pittsburgh, I just feel that Milwaukee is very vulnerable. I do wonder if the Pirates are going to make a move to help them this season. Either that or let this young term learn about pressure to be better suited for future postseasons. Go Pirates!
themusicaddict
I continue to play with and listen to Spotify. It's very cool. Spotify has 15 million songs available, it would be very hard to find a song that they don't have. I'm now listening to the band called needtobreathe, which is the opening act for Taylor Swift on her current tour. needtobreathe is a very good band and I think they will be a great opener to Taylor Swift. I think needtobreath could have a Lady Antebellum type career. That should be a great concert. Now if we can get Swift to sing all of her hits, not just her newer hits.
One thing I don't like about the free Spotify (as my Mom says "beggars can't be choosers") is what happens when I lose connection to the internet. When that happens I also lose the ability to listen to Spotify. At my job the internet connection is very erratic. However if you have Premium Spotify, which is $9.99 a month, one can listen to Spotify offline. That allows you to listen to a total of up to 3000 songs. That's a pretty cool feature. For me when Spotify isn't connected to the internet I can just listen to iTunes.
It sounds like the NFL Lockout is all but wrapped up, with the NFL opening for business as soon as Friday. There are still a few minor things to work through, but those seem to be almost a certainty in being quickly resolved at this point. Once the NFL opens for business tentatively NFL teams will have 3 days to sign their own free agents. After that it should be a complete free for all as any free agent can sign with any team.
I'm glad the proposed length of this new CBA is 10 years. As much as I love the NFL, it seems both the owners and players still take us NFL fans for granted. I was hoping this lockout would be extended, costing the loss of at least a few regular season games. More importantly that would cost both sides money. That seems to be the only thing that gets their attention. It would be nice to see both sides learning to appreciate their fans more. I predict there will be things the NFL does to "thank" it's fans but I believe that will be just lip service mostly.
While I wanted the NFL to go on an extended lockout, I only wanted that half-heartedly. I'll be glad to have the NFL back and be able to watch games Thursday nights, all day Sunday and Monday nights.
Of course, with me being a life long Cowboys fan, it will be another disappointing season for me. The Cowboys will either start out well and then falter as they traditionally do. Or the Cowboys will just suck from the start as they did last year. At least there's no Wade Phillips to be seen on the Cowboys sideline. No Phillips is a tremedous consolation. Tony Romo will have nice numbers, but never seem to be able to get the big win. I don't think it's coincidental that the Cowboys played better last season after Romo was injured. Too bad his backup, Jon Kitna, will be in a wheelchair and on oxygen soon. (It sucks getting old.)
Speaking of Tony Romo, NFL.com's Warren Sapp says "I don't think he has the potential to raise his game." I agree so much, Romo will put up big numbers during the regular season. But since I'm in a charitable mood, I'm putting mildly here, he will under perform in the postseason. That is if Dallas makes the postseason. It's been several years since Romo and the Cowboys have lived up to what us Cowboys fans expect.
Speaking of lockouts, I think that the NBA lockout
One final sports note, the Pittsburgh Pirates are in first place all by themselves in the NL Central. They lead both St. Louis and Milwaukee by one-half game. Pittsburgh hasn't broke under the pressure yet. I predict the NL Central will be a two team battle between St. Louis and Pittsburgh, I just feel that Milwaukee is very vulnerable. I do wonder if the Pirates are going to make a move to help them this season. Either that or let this young term learn about pressure to be better suited for future postseasons. Go Pirates!
themusicaddict
Monday, July 18, 2011
5 days to Spotify! Enjoying Now
Hello,
I've written a lot about Spotify over the last few days and my journey and frustration in being able to even get an invite, let alone even using it. I waited 5 days, which is a long time in the days of the internet. After an 11 hour day I came home and checked my e-mail and I finally received an invite to Spotify! Of course I immeadiately I downloaded it and started listening to it.
The first song I listened to on Spotify is the great Frank Sinatra's song "New York, New York". To paraphrase that song for Spotify. If Spotify can make it here, they can make it anywhere.
The first song I've discovered is this fairly cool song. This is "U.S.A." by Lovex:
I'm listening to the playlist they created for American users. That playlist so far has been fairly good, although there's some rap music. It's easy to skip songs though. It took me a bit to figure out certain things, but Spotify has been very user friendly. They've also automatically imported all the songs and playlists from my iTunes to Spotify. I have about 1700 more songs in my Spotify iTunes playlist than I do on my actual iTunes. I also can sync Spotify to my iTunes. I haven't done that yet and probably won't.
For now I'm just playing with it, but I will give you updates as I go along. I'm giving Spotify an A++ grade. For things in entertainment I'm a notoriously difficult grader.
One thing I'm noticing is the music is all the same volume. On iTunes I've got music from multiple places and multiple editions so the volume varies wildly. On Spotify it's the same volume each song. That's awesome.
Since I'm using the free Spotify there are some limitations. After about 10 songs I heard my first commercial. It was a 10 second plug to upgrade to Spotify premium for "only" 9.99 a month. If I had more discretionary money I would definitely upgrade. Other features about the premium membership is you can listen to it on your phone. Also if you lose internet connectivity you can have up to 3000 songs from spotify saved on your phone.
theveryhappymusicaddict
I've written a lot about Spotify over the last few days and my journey and frustration in being able to even get an invite, let alone even using it. I waited 5 days, which is a long time in the days of the internet. After an 11 hour day I came home and checked my e-mail and I finally received an invite to Spotify! Of course I immeadiately I downloaded it and started listening to it.
The first song I listened to on Spotify is the great Frank Sinatra's song "New York, New York". To paraphrase that song for Spotify. If Spotify can make it here, they can make it anywhere.
The first song I've discovered is this fairly cool song. This is "U.S.A." by Lovex:
I'm listening to the playlist they created for American users. That playlist so far has been fairly good, although there's some rap music. It's easy to skip songs though. It took me a bit to figure out certain things, but Spotify has been very user friendly. They've also automatically imported all the songs and playlists from my iTunes to Spotify. I have about 1700 more songs in my Spotify iTunes playlist than I do on my actual iTunes. I also can sync Spotify to my iTunes. I haven't done that yet and probably won't.
For now I'm just playing with it, but I will give you updates as I go along. I'm giving Spotify an A++ grade. For things in entertainment I'm a notoriously difficult grader.
One thing I'm noticing is the music is all the same volume. On iTunes I've got music from multiple places and multiple editions so the volume varies wildly. On Spotify it's the same volume each song. That's awesome.
Since I'm using the free Spotify there are some limitations. After about 10 songs I heard my first commercial. It was a 10 second plug to upgrade to Spotify premium for "only" 9.99 a month. If I had more discretionary money I would definitely upgrade. Other features about the premium membership is you can listen to it on your phone. Also if you lose internet connectivity you can have up to 3000 songs from spotify saved on your phone.
theveryhappymusicaddict
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Disappointing WWC Final, Spotify Update: Not really an update
Hello,
Welcome to blog #900 of themusicaddict.
I watched nearly every minute of the USA-Japan Women's World Cup Final today. In a hard fought match between two very equal teams, Japan won in penalty kicks. The USA played well enough to win, but just couldn't close down Japan when they really needed to. The penalty kick phase was a complete meltdown by the USA. I don't want to use the word "choke", but they definitely looked like their male counterparts.
Now I will be the first to admit it that I don't understand a lot of soccer strategy. Also I'm not questioning Pia Sundhage decision making process. Forgive me for being totally clueless. I have a couple of questions. First of all, why did Pia pull out the exquisite Megan Rapinoe? She had been one of America's best players all tournament and also the most fun name to say.
Why was Shannon Boxx, who hadn't scored all tournament, the first American to take a penalty kick? Next up Carli Lloyd, who also hadn't scored any goals in the entire World Cup. She wasn't even close on her penalty kick. She was followed by Tobin Heath, who had just barely entered the game. No surprise that none of those three scored. Why wasn't the USA's leading scorer Abby Wambach first for America followed by Alex Morgan, Lauren Cheney and Heather O'Reilly? Wambach was the fourth person taking a penalty kick and she scored, but by then it was too little too late. I know Hope Solo is an amazing goalie, but one can only expect so much from her.
Spotify update: There really isn't one. With the Chevy Sonic promotion, they said the free Spotify activation code should be out in three days. It's been one day so far and I still haven't heard anything. Today is also the fourth day I requested that code from Spotify themselves and I still haven't heard from them. I check my e-mail a few times each day.
This is from endgadget.com about the Chevrolet Sonic and Spotify collaboration:
"Still waiting for that Spotify invite? If you're hip on getting some Chevy Sonic-colored spam, you can snag another ticket in the invitation raffle: the carmaker recently declared itself Spotify's "exclusive automotive advertising partner." What's this mean to you? Chevrolet is doling out Spotify invites to the first 150,000 folks to request info about the upcoming Chevy Sonic. The automotive firm goes on to toot its own horn, bragging that the mere mention of its automobiles in countless country and rock songs qualify it for the partnership. Could this be the start of a beautiful, music streaming, friendship? We certainly wouldn't scoff at a generation of Spotify-enabled Chevys. Hit the break for the official press release, and conjure up some conjecture of your own."
I hope I'm worthy of one of those 150,000 invites, even though I could care less about the Chevy Sonic.
This is what slashgear.com says about Spotify: "First of all, your quickest in may well be a woman by the name of Amanda Rose. She’s a cool cat associated with Spotify that’s also somehow landed the name @amanda on Twitter. Strange how things like that turn out. All you’ve got to do is ask her for an invite via her Twitter if you like, or better yet submit your name via email to this page right here: http://www.spotify.com/us/amanda/. They’ll hook you up real quick. But perhaps not quick enough, if you know what I mean.
(themusicaddict note: I submitted my e-mail at this address at 9:30 EST Sunday, July 17th, 2011. I'll keep you posted.)
The following instructions come from a brand new good friend of ours who informed us of this method via Google+. He (or she!) preferred to remain anonymous, but we’ll just call her Jane Plank. Sound planky enough for an aka? Now for these instructions. This is your way in!
1. Go to http://daveproxy.co.uk/ and point it at Spotify.com. This will tell Spotify that you’re literally sitting in England right now, sipping tea.
2. Spotify is already fully open in the UK, so you’ll be able to sign up for an account just so long as you’re able to find a legit UK zip code. Simple stuff!
3. Sign out, get out of DaveProxy and all that, you wont need it anymore, and head to the US version of the site – aka just go back to Spotify.com. Here you’ll be asked if you want to sign up for a premium account, and you do, almost, instead you want to find that message that says you’ve already got an account and want to log in. Do it.
4. Head back to the homepage, just straight up spotify.com, and hit the “continue to Spotify.com” link.
5. Click your username in the upper-right hand corner, edit profile, and change your country from “United Kingdom” to “United States.”
6. Pow! Right in the kisser. Aka you’re now able to download the Spotify desktop app and get to rocking and rollin! So much rock to be rolled!"
(themusicaddict note: I tried this and it didn't work for me.)
According to slashgear.com as of late Sunday night 28% of people responding to their poll say they are using it right now, whereas 26% of people are still waiting for the free invite. 11% of responders are using the premium or unlimited Spotify options.
Spotify you better get on the stick. My blog usually receives about 40 to 50 page views each day. Today my blog received almost 300 page views. So the interest is there. But pent up demand can only last so long before it fizzles out. Many people will realize they lived without Spotify this long and can continue to live without it. Cold showers and a lack of satisfaction can solve almost any problem. I'm still very interested in Spotify but in a few days if I don't get satisfaction I'll get in the metaphorical cold shower. Then it will be the time for the "let's be friends" speech.
themusicaddict
Welcome to blog #900 of themusicaddict.
I watched nearly every minute of the USA-Japan Women's World Cup Final today. In a hard fought match between two very equal teams, Japan won in penalty kicks. The USA played well enough to win, but just couldn't close down Japan when they really needed to. The penalty kick phase was a complete meltdown by the USA. I don't want to use the word "choke", but they definitely looked like their male counterparts.
Now I will be the first to admit it that I don't understand a lot of soccer strategy. Also I'm not questioning Pia Sundhage decision making process. Forgive me for being totally clueless. I have a couple of questions. First of all, why did Pia pull out the exquisite Megan Rapinoe? She had been one of America's best players all tournament and also the most fun name to say.
Why was Shannon Boxx, who hadn't scored all tournament, the first American to take a penalty kick? Next up Carli Lloyd, who also hadn't scored any goals in the entire World Cup. She wasn't even close on her penalty kick. She was followed by Tobin Heath, who had just barely entered the game. No surprise that none of those three scored. Why wasn't the USA's leading scorer Abby Wambach first for America followed by Alex Morgan, Lauren Cheney and Heather O'Reilly? Wambach was the fourth person taking a penalty kick and she scored, but by then it was too little too late. I know Hope Solo is an amazing goalie, but one can only expect so much from her.
Spotify update: There really isn't one. With the Chevy Sonic promotion, they said the free Spotify activation code should be out in three days. It's been one day so far and I still haven't heard anything. Today is also the fourth day I requested that code from Spotify themselves and I still haven't heard from them. I check my e-mail a few times each day.
This is from endgadget.com about the Chevrolet Sonic and Spotify collaboration:
"Still waiting for that Spotify invite? If you're hip on getting some Chevy Sonic-colored spam, you can snag another ticket in the invitation raffle: the carmaker recently declared itself Spotify's "exclusive automotive advertising partner." What's this mean to you? Chevrolet is doling out Spotify invites to the first 150,000 folks to request info about the upcoming Chevy Sonic. The automotive firm goes on to toot its own horn, bragging that the mere mention of its automobiles in countless country and rock songs qualify it for the partnership. Could this be the start of a beautiful, music streaming, friendship? We certainly wouldn't scoff at a generation of Spotify-enabled Chevys. Hit the break for the official press release, and conjure up some conjecture of your own."
I hope I'm worthy of one of those 150,000 invites, even though I could care less about the Chevy Sonic.
This is what slashgear.com says about Spotify: "First of all, your quickest in may well be a woman by the name of Amanda Rose. She’s a cool cat associated with Spotify that’s also somehow landed the name @amanda on Twitter. Strange how things like that turn out. All you’ve got to do is ask her for an invite via her Twitter if you like, or better yet submit your name via email to this page right here: http://www.spotify.com/us/amanda/. They’ll hook you up real quick. But perhaps not quick enough, if you know what I mean.
(themusicaddict note: I submitted my e-mail at this address at 9:30 EST Sunday, July 17th, 2011. I'll keep you posted.)
The following instructions come from a brand new good friend of ours who informed us of this method via Google+. He (or she!) preferred to remain anonymous, but we’ll just call her Jane Plank. Sound planky enough for an aka? Now for these instructions. This is your way in!
1. Go to http://daveproxy.co.uk/ and point it at Spotify.com. This will tell Spotify that you’re literally sitting in England right now, sipping tea.
2. Spotify is already fully open in the UK, so you’ll be able to sign up for an account just so long as you’re able to find a legit UK zip code. Simple stuff!
3. Sign out, get out of DaveProxy and all that, you wont need it anymore, and head to the US version of the site – aka just go back to Spotify.com. Here you’ll be asked if you want to sign up for a premium account, and you do, almost, instead you want to find that message that says you’ve already got an account and want to log in. Do it.
4. Head back to the homepage, just straight up spotify.com, and hit the “continue to Spotify.com” link.
5. Click your username in the upper-right hand corner, edit profile, and change your country from “United Kingdom” to “United States.”
6. Pow! Right in the kisser. Aka you’re now able to download the Spotify desktop app and get to rocking and rollin! So much rock to be rolled!"
(themusicaddict note: I tried this and it didn't work for me.)
According to slashgear.com as of late Sunday night 28% of people responding to their poll say they are using it right now, whereas 26% of people are still waiting for the free invite. 11% of responders are using the premium or unlimited Spotify options.
Spotify you better get on the stick. My blog usually receives about 40 to 50 page views each day. Today my blog received almost 300 page views. So the interest is there. But pent up demand can only last so long before it fizzles out. Many people will realize they lived without Spotify this long and can continue to live without it. Cold showers and a lack of satisfaction can solve almost any problem. I'm still very interested in Spotify but in a few days if I don't get satisfaction I'll get in the metaphorical cold shower. Then it will be the time for the "let's be friends" speech.
themusicaddict
Go United States at Women's World Cup 2:45 EST!, Spotify Day 4
Hello,
Welcome to blog #899 of themusicaddict. This is just a quick blog as I only have a little bit of time.
I mainly wanted to write this quick blog to remind everyone that today is the final of the Women's World Cup in Germany. It's going to be a battle between the USA and Japan. Again other than predicting it will be a hard fought match, no predictions here. It will be a battle between two evenly matched teams. I hope it isn't quite as dramatic as last Sunday's USA-Brazil match. I don't think my heart could take that.
Like ESPN has been counting the days of the NFL Lockout and probably will be doing the same thing with the NBA Lockout, I'm going to start counting the days it takes to get free access to Spotify. Today is Day #4 in the Spotify count.
themusicaddict
Welcome to blog #899 of themusicaddict. This is just a quick blog as I only have a little bit of time.
I mainly wanted to write this quick blog to remind everyone that today is the final of the Women's World Cup in Germany. It's going to be a battle between the USA and Japan. Again other than predicting it will be a hard fought match, no predictions here. It will be a battle between two evenly matched teams. I hope it isn't quite as dramatic as last Sunday's USA-Brazil match. I don't think my heart could take that.
Like ESPN has been counting the days of the NFL Lockout and probably will be doing the same thing with the NBA Lockout, I'm going to start counting the days it takes to get free access to Spotify. Today is Day #4 in the Spotify count.
themusicaddict
Saturday, July 16, 2011
"Where The Red Fern Grows", Still Waiting on Spotify
Hello,
I watched the classic movie "Where The Red Fern Grows" with two of my kids tonight.
It ends with this tear jerking quote. "But someday if God is willing I'd like to go back and walk again in the hills I knew as a boy and I'd like to touch the heart that's carved in an old sycamore tree that says Dan and Ann and I'll look for that sacred spot by the river where the red fern grows." (That quote gets me every time.)
IMHO this is one of the greatest endings in the history of movies. Although I'm now 44 years old and knew how this movie ends, it still makes me cry. That's the magical ability of such great storytelling.
If you've never seen this movie, check it out. Also watch it with people you love.
The wait for Spotify continues. This past Thursday morning I first went to spotify.com and submitted my e-mail address. You either have to get an access code from a friend or Spotify itself to start listening to their much hyped website. That activation code hasn't come yet. I've googled my way around the internet and I've found websites that promise ways to get Spotify. For instance, a website called Klout allegedly was giving out the code. It seems there was such a great demand that the demand crashed Klout's website. There's also a lot of BS to go through to get the invite code from Klout. For me it wasn't worth it.
There are websites that say they can give access to joining Spotify for free. None of those methods have worked for me, most of the information on those websites is terribly out of date. Chevrolet and their new Sonic car are giving out free activation codes within 72 hours allegedly. I signed up for that promotion Saturday night. I'll see how effective that is. I had to agree that I will let someone from Spotify and Chevrolet contact me. I've become very good at saying "no" and caller ID is a life saver. Also readwriteweb.com had 300 invites available, but those went very quickly. In addition a band named the Black Angels are doing a free show sponsored by Spotify. At their concert Spotify is giving out activation codes. The show is Monday night at Mercury Lounge in New York somewhere, Brooklyn? (I'm listening to music on napster.com from The Black Angels right now. They are okay.)
I understand that Spotify is trying to create urgency and excitement about their USA launch. They are very successful at that. But how well will this strategy look a year from now? Right now they could be pissing off those who would be their biggest fans later. And even though the free version of Spotify sounds cool, there are still a lot of restrictions on it. Since I haven't been able to use Spotify yet, all I can go by is word of mouth. Or in this case word of internet. Some of the early free activation codes were for unlimited music. However most of the free activation codes are for very limited amount of music. I've read both 2.5 hours a week and 20 hours a month. I don't know how correct either of those numbers are.
All of Spotify reviews I've read have been extremely favorable. It's competitors: After I listened to Pandora for several hours I was burned out. That's been my experience every time I've listened to Pandora. It's great for the first few hours. Many people love it's music genome idea. While that may have some advantages, I think that is also Pandora's biggest weakness. I did discover a great song by Reliant K called "Sadie Hawkins Dance". However the band is only okay. They have two or three good original songs. But most of their good songs are covers. I quite like their cover of Justin Bieber's "Baby". They rock that song.
I also have a membership to napster.com. It's pretty cool and it only costs me $5 a month. It has saved me more money from buying crappy music that comes heavily hyped. Most of those band suck, as hype is a trick to cover up crap. For instance, I wish I'd had a membership before I bought Mars Volta "Frances The Mute". It would have only taken me a couple of minutes to know that I didn't buy that CD. It's very rare I want to listen to a song or band etc at napster.com that it doesn't have. Example: the only Def Leppard music they have is the new live CD "Mirror Ball".
I will keep you updated with my Spotify experience, or as of right now lack of Spotify experience. I'd love to hear what kind of experience you have had with Spotify so far or your frustrations if you are also shut out.
themusicaddict
I watched the classic movie "Where The Red Fern Grows" with two of my kids tonight.
It ends with this tear jerking quote. "But someday if God is willing I'd like to go back and walk again in the hills I knew as a boy and I'd like to touch the heart that's carved in an old sycamore tree that says Dan and Ann and I'll look for that sacred spot by the river where the red fern grows." (That quote gets me every time.)
IMHO this is one of the greatest endings in the history of movies. Although I'm now 44 years old and knew how this movie ends, it still makes me cry. That's the magical ability of such great storytelling.
If you've never seen this movie, check it out. Also watch it with people you love.
The wait for Spotify continues. This past Thursday morning I first went to spotify.com and submitted my e-mail address. You either have to get an access code from a friend or Spotify itself to start listening to their much hyped website. That activation code hasn't come yet. I've googled my way around the internet and I've found websites that promise ways to get Spotify. For instance, a website called Klout allegedly was giving out the code. It seems there was such a great demand that the demand crashed Klout's website. There's also a lot of BS to go through to get the invite code from Klout. For me it wasn't worth it.
There are websites that say they can give access to joining Spotify for free. None of those methods have worked for me, most of the information on those websites is terribly out of date. Chevrolet and their new Sonic car are giving out free activation codes within 72 hours allegedly. I signed up for that promotion Saturday night. I'll see how effective that is. I had to agree that I will let someone from Spotify and Chevrolet contact me. I've become very good at saying "no" and caller ID is a life saver. Also readwriteweb.com had 300 invites available, but those went very quickly. In addition a band named the Black Angels are doing a free show sponsored by Spotify. At their concert Spotify is giving out activation codes. The show is Monday night at Mercury Lounge in New York somewhere, Brooklyn? (I'm listening to music on napster.com from The Black Angels right now. They are okay.)
I understand that Spotify is trying to create urgency and excitement about their USA launch. They are very successful at that. But how well will this strategy look a year from now? Right now they could be pissing off those who would be their biggest fans later. And even though the free version of Spotify sounds cool, there are still a lot of restrictions on it. Since I haven't been able to use Spotify yet, all I can go by is word of mouth. Or in this case word of internet. Some of the early free activation codes were for unlimited music. However most of the free activation codes are for very limited amount of music. I've read both 2.5 hours a week and 20 hours a month. I don't know how correct either of those numbers are.
All of Spotify reviews I've read have been extremely favorable. It's competitors: After I listened to Pandora for several hours I was burned out. That's been my experience every time I've listened to Pandora. It's great for the first few hours. Many people love it's music genome idea. While that may have some advantages, I think that is also Pandora's biggest weakness. I did discover a great song by Reliant K called "Sadie Hawkins Dance". However the band is only okay. They have two or three good original songs. But most of their good songs are covers. I quite like their cover of Justin Bieber's "Baby". They rock that song.
I also have a membership to napster.com. It's pretty cool and it only costs me $5 a month. It has saved me more money from buying crappy music that comes heavily hyped. Most of those band suck, as hype is a trick to cover up crap. For instance, I wish I'd had a membership before I bought Mars Volta "Frances The Mute". It would have only taken me a couple of minutes to know that I didn't buy that CD. It's very rare I want to listen to a song or band etc at napster.com that it doesn't have. Example: the only Def Leppard music they have is the new live CD "Mirror Ball".
I will keep you updated with my Spotify experience, or as of right now lack of Spotify experience. I'd love to hear what kind of experience you have had with Spotify so far or your frustrations if you are also shut out.
themusicaddict
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