Porcupine Tree - Trains

This is a cool anime video of the song "Trains" from Porcupine Tree's album "In Absentia".

Fractal Slideshow

This is a condensed version of a screensaver I made. Images borrowed from the Fractal World Gallery.



Download Screensaver here...

Clean Up and Increase Your MP3 Collection

Clean up filenames and ID3 tags with MP3 Tag Tools
This a great program. You can use ID tags (what displays in your music player) to rename files or use filenames to create ID tags.

If some MP3's are too loud and others too soft, try MP3 Gain
This program will analyze the volume of your MP3s. Then you can set them to a standard decibel level. I use 92 dB. It also let you know if there is peak cutoff distortion.

Looking to rip your CDs into MP3s? CDex is a great free tool to do this. You can choose from many file formats and sample rates and customize your file naming format. It also pulls the CD track listings automatically from the free online CDDB database.

If you need to convert .wma, .wav, or other files to MP3 format, MMConvert works great and is also free.

How about some places to discover new music...

Pandora - Creates playlists based on a band name or song title you type in. You can rate each song and jump to the next if you choose.

Finetune - With this site, you can create 45 song playlists. If you get lazy, you can put a few in and let the site fill in the rest of the list. You can also listen to others' playlists and stream your playlists to your website or blog, like I am in the upper right of this page.

Radio.Blog.Club - Another site where you type an artist or song name and it pulls up a list of music. You can save songs to favorites or click on one of the songs to pull up another's list. It also says it can stream music to your website but I haven't tried it yet.

Blogmusik - Another site to search and create playlists, with an IPod-like interface.

Music-Map and LivePlasma - Enter a band/artist into these search engines and it will cluster other artists around them based on recommends by people who like the artist you entered.

Downloading music without peer-to-peer programs (i.e. Kaaza, Limewire)

MP3Salad or G2P - These are simple, clean interfaces to use Google to find downloadable MP3s on people's Web pages. This can be done straight from Google, but would require you to either type in a long string into the search box or create a keyword to use in the address bar.

In Defense of David Lee Roth

July 26, 2006. Not much to smile about these days. More war in the middle east, nasty hot weather here in Phoenix, and not much cash to go around. To top things off, there has been a virtual drought of good new music. When this occurs, I usually revert back to some older bands. Van Halen has made a resurgence in our house. This may be due to several reasons. VH1 Classic has been trying to push 80’s metal back into circulation. VH was a cut above all of the so-called “hair metal” bands. My wife, who watches a lot of trauma-EMT shows on cable, has a new-found respect for David Lee Roth after learning he worked as an EMT recently. But the real reason is that Van Halen, especially the DLR days, has a vast library of great rockin’ feel-good party tunes. Roth has been derided often for being a self-absorbed fat-head. This may be so, but doesn’t this come with the territory of the type of band VH was? No one I know will dispute that the DLR days of VH were much better than the Sammy Hagar days. In my opinion, Dave’s distinctive voice, clever though sometimes campy and humorous lyrics and hyperactive stage presence were as much responsible for Van Halen’s success as Eddie’s guitar playing. Most people are unaware that Dave even suggested the name of the band be changed from Rat Salade to Van Halen. Sounds like the brothers Van Halen had no problem stoking their own egos as well. Much has been made about the departure of Dave from the band after the hugely successful 1984 album. Whether Dave was fired or quit doesn’t really matter. What really matters is that artistically they went into 2 different directions. Dave continued to make humorous original videos and music more in the tradition of the original band, putting together a supergroup with talent like Steve Vai and Billy Sheehan. The Sammy Hagar era of VH scored more hits with keyboard-based ballads like When It’s Love and Dreams. As far as commercial success goes, VH had more than DLR. This could be due to several things such as name recognition, the increasing popularity of rock ballads, or just Dave fatigue. However, neither achieved the popularity of the original band. This is usually the case with bands anyway. If Eddie and Dave couldn’t coexist in the same room, then he separation was for the best. As to who’s fault it was, we’ll never know. Most people assumed it was Dave’s until Sammy was replaced with Gary Cherone from Extreme on VH3. This was the only VH album never to achieve platinum status. The bottom line for me is that a guitar style as flashy as Eddies is complimented best by a flashy front man. And none shone more than Diamond Dave.

Music - Worst Remakes of All Time

This post was inspired when I was watching an episode of Classic/Current on VH1 Classic and saw the "current" Poison video. So here's a short list of what I think are some of the worst cover songs ever recorded:

Poison - We're An American Band (Original by Grand Funk Railroad)
This poor attempt to revive Poison's career merely showcases Brett Michael's weak vocals. I guess their thinking behind remaking this song was "we're from America, national pride is big during war time, and the song rocks". Too bad they couldn't match the raw energy of the original vocal. Brett has a hard time convincing me that he means what he's singing.

Postal Service - Against All Odds (Original by Phil Collins)
What in the hell was Ben Gibbard thinking? The main reasons this song was popular were that 1.) at this period anything that Phil recorded went to the top of the charts. 2.) It was the theme song to a popular movie. 3.) Phil has the power in his voice to give punch to a sappy ballad like this.

Sheryl Crow - Sweet Child O' Mine (Original by Guns 'n' Roses)
A power rock anthem redone by the queen of adult medium rock. Gone is the great intro guitar melody. Stick to covering Rod Stewart songs. They're more in your league.

Tori Amos - Smells Like Teen Spirit (Original by Nirvana)
Turns a rocking anthem of a disaffected generation into a weird piano ballad. This was done during a live show so she may have been trying to capitalize on the songs popularity at the time. Too bad it got recorded.

White Lion - Radar Love (Original by Golden Earring)
The music isn't that bad, but the wimpy vocal kills any chance this cover had of rocking you out. Is it any wonder this band only had hits with crybaby songs like Wait and When the Children Cry?

Styx - I am the Walrus (Original by the Beatles)
Yet another feeble attempt to revive a once great band by covering a well-known classic. Sounds like one of those hundreds of Beatles cover bands. Sad to say, the well feeding the river Styx has run dry.

Metallica - Turn the Page (Original by Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band)
Gone is the saxaphone in place of a lousy sounding guitar, the soft intimacy for typical distorted bar chords, and Bob Seger's soulful voice for James Hetfield's phony "err-ah" stylings.

Limp Bizkit - Behind Blue Eyes (Original by The Who)
Mostly just copies the original with a weaker vocal track. What qualifies it for this list is replacing the jamming bridge with the same music from the rest of the song overlayed with a Speak-and-Spell toy mumbling something incoherent.

Lenny Kravitz - American Woman (Original by the Guess Who)
You could tell this one would suck as soon as you heard this poseur's grunt. No guitar melodies to ride into the intro with, he had to lower the key, and the beat has become very lazy. Not that I would expect more from a man who treats his music like a fashion accessory.


This post wouldn't be complete without mentioning Tom Jones (Prince's Kiss)and Pat Boone (In a Metal Mood album). I'm pretty sure they knew their ideas were absurd before they went through with them, but they don't exactly strike me as people in touch with reality. So the question of intentional parody is left open.

Music - Indie Recommended List

I'm creating a permanent listing of indie songs I think are worth checking out. Also, there are links to free legal downloads of them.


Postal Service - Such Great Heights - The District Sleeps Alone Tonight

The Shins - So Says I - Kissing the Lipless - Know Your Onion

Death Cab for Cutie - For What Reason - Title & Registration

The Sun - Lost at Home

The Sights - Circus

Stars - Ageless Beauty

Rouge Wave - Publish My Love

Kasabian - Club Foot (Live)

Pinback - Fortress

Rilo Kiley - Science vs. Romance - The Execution of All Things

Mates of State - Fraud in the 80's

The Feeling - Sewn