Little Big Town - Lonely Enough (A Place to Land [2007])
allmusic, band homepage, myspace
If you like The Eagles, or Fleetwood Mac you should like these guys. The album has a nice mix of country-rock sounds. This particular song is not really a big standout, but it is a good sad song. I love good sad songs.
Via Audio - Developing Active People (Say Something [2007])
allmusic, band homepage, myspace
In some ways I feel like I'm in a rut on sound, but I like the sort of laid back, jazzy, indie folk sound and this song fits right into all of that. It's a pretty song on a pretty album. The album is a bit more experimental than this song, but the songs pretty consistently have a good hook behind them.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Office 2007 Install Error
While trying to install Office 2007 I kept getting an error saying "The windows installer service cannot update one or more protected windows files." After searching Microsoft.com I came up with nothing and had to turn to alltheweb.com. Luckily I found a fix.
1. From Windows install disk, or c:\i386 that may have been set up in an OEM install, open (Double click) on the FP40EXT.CAB file. It should open.
2. Find fp4Autl.dll in the list
3. Double click and select extract to c:\program files\common files\microsoft shared\web server extensions\40\bin
4. Restart the 2007 office install
1. From Windows install disk, or c:\i386 that may have been set up in an OEM install, open (Double click) on the FP40EXT.CAB file. It should open.
2. Find fp4Autl.dll in the list
3. Double click and select extract to c:\program files\common files\microsoft shared\web server extensions\40\bin
4. Restart the 2007 office install
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Yahoo Unlimited Music To Go
For reasons I don't understand Yahoo is no longer making the To Go service available unless it is through a partner program. They currently only have one partner program as far as I know with Sansa.
For the price Yahoo was by far the best program. Currently we are paying $5 a month since we got in on a buy one year get one free deal last year. For the amount of music that is available this is an amazing deal. Margaret and I are both able to load up our MP3 players and change our music when we feel like it. Sad to say now if you have the qualifying player and you sign up it is $14.99 a month. This is comparable to Rhapsody or Napster which both have to go programs of their own for the same price. In the past they have always offered a discount for signing up for a year, not sure if this is still available with the new To Go plan. I know it is still an option for the more limited Yahoo Unlimited plan. You can still sign up for one year to get one for free which would come out to about $3 a month. This is a great deal you just won't have the ability to download music to your player or computer.
So what of the program itself. Well I can tell you I attempted to listen to the 500 albums on the Rolling Stone top 500 album list and Yahoo had around 63% of them. This is pretty good I would say. The quality of the audio is very good and the software is pretty straightforward and quick. It works with your LAUNCHcast music ratings and lets you continue to rate genres, artists, albums, ans songs and this is a very nice feature. You can quickly get a list of similar artists for any artist, and get a playlist created for any artist and similar music. All of this works well. They also do a good job of presenting new albums and albums just added to browse through. This is how I pick most of my music. The new albums list exposes me to new stuff and the just released exposes me to all sorts of stuff.
There are of course some problems. The first is that it requires special software to work properly. Unlike Napster and Rhapsody you cannot use a web interface to get to the music. You can of course still use LAUNCHcast and your mood stations, but this is not the same as being able to select a single track or album. The second problem is that this software is quite buggy. Since we have been using this software it has been problematic. I have found ways to work around some of the issues, but often the problem is on their end and there is nothing to be done until they fix it. There is often problems as well with downloading music to a player. I have pretty much given up on letting Margaret download the music to her player as it often has problems. She will generally create a playlist and then I'll move the music to her player. The playlists are another problem. They are setup to be available from any computer running the software, but often they are missing on one to the next of songs that are in a playlist will disappear. This can be quite frustrating since I use playlists quite a bit.
One of the odder issues has to do with the music itself. One day you'll have full access to an album and the next day you may not. I have not run into this problem with Napster or Rhapsody but it doesn't mean it is not a problem. I'm assuming this has to do with licensing issues, etc. but it can be quite annoying. And it can be anything from new stuff to old. For instance they use to have the Frank Sinatra album September of My Years available, but no longer.
All in all I love the program, but because the software has always been so flaky I've not recommended it to friends I didn't believe were computer savvy enough to work through such issues. As someone who does computer work for a living it has been frustrating at times for me and so I can't imagine for instance my mother having to deal with something like this. Still it is an amazing program and the best price out there.
For the price Yahoo was by far the best program. Currently we are paying $5 a month since we got in on a buy one year get one free deal last year. For the amount of music that is available this is an amazing deal. Margaret and I are both able to load up our MP3 players and change our music when we feel like it. Sad to say now if you have the qualifying player and you sign up it is $14.99 a month. This is comparable to Rhapsody or Napster which both have to go programs of their own for the same price. In the past they have always offered a discount for signing up for a year, not sure if this is still available with the new To Go plan. I know it is still an option for the more limited Yahoo Unlimited plan. You can still sign up for one year to get one for free which would come out to about $3 a month. This is a great deal you just won't have the ability to download music to your player or computer.
So what of the program itself. Well I can tell you I attempted to listen to the 500 albums on the Rolling Stone top 500 album list and Yahoo had around 63% of them. This is pretty good I would say. The quality of the audio is very good and the software is pretty straightforward and quick. It works with your LAUNCHcast music ratings and lets you continue to rate genres, artists, albums, ans songs and this is a very nice feature. You can quickly get a list of similar artists for any artist, and get a playlist created for any artist and similar music. All of this works well. They also do a good job of presenting new albums and albums just added to browse through. This is how I pick most of my music. The new albums list exposes me to new stuff and the just released exposes me to all sorts of stuff.
There are of course some problems. The first is that it requires special software to work properly. Unlike Napster and Rhapsody you cannot use a web interface to get to the music. You can of course still use LAUNCHcast and your mood stations, but this is not the same as being able to select a single track or album. The second problem is that this software is quite buggy. Since we have been using this software it has been problematic. I have found ways to work around some of the issues, but often the problem is on their end and there is nothing to be done until they fix it. There is often problems as well with downloading music to a player. I have pretty much given up on letting Margaret download the music to her player as it often has problems. She will generally create a playlist and then I'll move the music to her player. The playlists are another problem. They are setup to be available from any computer running the software, but often they are missing on one to the next of songs that are in a playlist will disappear. This can be quite frustrating since I use playlists quite a bit.
One of the odder issues has to do with the music itself. One day you'll have full access to an album and the next day you may not. I have not run into this problem with Napster or Rhapsody but it doesn't mean it is not a problem. I'm assuming this has to do with licensing issues, etc. but it can be quite annoying. And it can be anything from new stuff to old. For instance they use to have the Frank Sinatra album September of My Years available, but no longer.
All in all I love the program, but because the software has always been so flaky I've not recommended it to friends I didn't believe were computer savvy enough to work through such issues. As someone who does computer work for a living it has been frustrating at times for me and so I can't imagine for instance my mother having to deal with something like this. Still it is an amazing program and the best price out there.
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Best of November 07 (I)
Nicole Atkins - War Torn (Neptune City [2007])
allmusic, band homepage, myspace
This album is interesting and a bit strange though I'm not sure why, but no matter I like this song. Like the album it is a bit odd, a bit over the top, but it's pretty.
Home T - First Date (Holding On [1989])
allmusic
This is simply a great reggae, pop tune. You can't listen to it without dancing.
Marissa Nadler - Dying Breed (Songs III: Bird On the Water [2007])
allmusic, band homepage, myspace
I'm always drawn into songs initially by their sound. I love the sound of this song. When it came on my LAUNCHcast radio station I went and listened to the entire album. The album is good, but this song stands out with its wonderfully eerie sound. Have to say she makes me think of the singer for Mazzy Star.
Liquor Giants - I'll Never Mind (Every Other Day At a Time [1998])
allmusic
A good pop-rock song on a good pop-rock album from the late 90's. The album is made up of short songs, each with a good hook and a good sound, sort of a dirty garage, light rock sound.
allmusic, band homepage, myspace
This album is interesting and a bit strange though I'm not sure why, but no matter I like this song. Like the album it is a bit odd, a bit over the top, but it's pretty.
Home T - First Date (Holding On [1989])
allmusic
This is simply a great reggae, pop tune. You can't listen to it without dancing.
Marissa Nadler - Dying Breed (Songs III: Bird On the Water [2007])
allmusic, band homepage, myspace
I'm always drawn into songs initially by their sound. I love the sound of this song. When it came on my LAUNCHcast radio station I went and listened to the entire album. The album is good, but this song stands out with its wonderfully eerie sound. Have to say she makes me think of the singer for Mazzy Star.
Liquor Giants - I'll Never Mind (Every Other Day At a Time [1998])
allmusic
A good pop-rock song on a good pop-rock album from the late 90's. The album is made up of short songs, each with a good hook and a good sound, sort of a dirty garage, light rock sound.
Subscription Music Services
I've been a subscriber to Yahoo music now for a few years and I have to say it has changed my life. I listen to more music now than at any point before in my life. I also watch less TV. Margaret and I often put on Yahoo music and just leave the television off. It's great because we can find music to fit whatever mood we are in, and we can play new stuff, old stuff, mix it however we want. It's great at Christmas because you can hear your favorites, but also explore tons of other Christmas music without having to buy up tons of Cd's.
Ever since I started using Yahoo Music it has seemed to me that this is the future. I see more people I know now starting to think about subscribing as they get MP3 players and get burned out on hearing the same old Cd's they've ripped over and over.
We subscribe to the Yahoo Unlimited To Go option which allows us to both download music to our compatible MP3 players. We love our players, love the fact that we can pick new music whenever we like, etc.
Well a friend of mine was recently looking to subscribing and I got interested in looking at the options available myself, so I'm going to write brief reviews of the three services I've tested recently Yahoo Music Unlimited To Go, Napster To Go, and Rhapsody To Go.
Ever since I started using Yahoo Music it has seemed to me that this is the future. I see more people I know now starting to think about subscribing as they get MP3 players and get burned out on hearing the same old Cd's they've ripped over and over.
We subscribe to the Yahoo Unlimited To Go option which allows us to both download music to our compatible MP3 players. We love our players, love the fact that we can pick new music whenever we like, etc.
Well a friend of mine was recently looking to subscribing and I got interested in looking at the options available myself, so I'm going to write brief reviews of the three services I've tested recently Yahoo Music Unlimited To Go, Napster To Go, and Rhapsody To Go.
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