zahnster

I really love programs that make use of my Last.fm data. I also really love things that are pretty. So, it should make perfect sense that I would instantly fall in love with a way to display Last.fm data in a unique, beautiful way.

And so, I introduce Wordle, but more specifically, Master Giraffe’s page that lets you convert your last.fm data to Wordle format (for import into Wordle, naturally).

Honestly, Wordle could use some work. It cuts out quite a bit and sometimes takes hard refresh to fix. Also… a Java applet? Really? It’s a limiting platform and leaves the app jumpy. However, the idea itself is one of the more clever things I’ve seen. It also generates really pretty displays, and is customizable in both layout and color, so there’s really not a lot of bad I can say about it.

So go ahead, if you have a last.fm account, check it out. Turn your music into art.

Yes, I’m somewhat of an American Idol fan. No, I’m (mostly) not ashamed to admit that. It’s a music competition, and my addiction to music is so massive it gobbles up everything even remotely related to the subject.

My deal is I like picking the winner before a single vote is cast. Ever since choosing “that gray haired guy” early on in season 5 (what ever happened to him?) I’ve had a slight obsession in being able to hear, from just the auditions, who will win the season.

I’m proud to say that as of last night, with David Cook’s spectacular win, I’ve been correct 3 years in a row.

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I don’t understand this at all – the restrictions that are placed on music you legitimately buy off the Internet. In my mind, when you buy music, you should have full access to play that music on as many computers as you need, and also you should be able to share your iPod between computers. In a world where people are around computers more and more (I touch 2 Apple computers on any given day), we need to lighten up the restrictions on people who take the trouble to legally purchase it.

Right now I am annoyed. Extremely annoyed. I just bought some music off the iTunes store, and I go to play it to get this message:

November? Apple, are you honestly telling me that the music I just spent my hard-earned money on won’t be allowed to play on my MacBook till November? You’re out of your minds!

No wonder people pirate music.

iConcertCal has been around for a while, so this post is hardly ‘news’. However, with the recent release of iConcertCal version 2, I figured I would write a post about it, because there are still a good number of people who haven’t heard of this useful iTunes plugin.

What iConcertCal does is reads your iTunes playlist and informs you of concerts going on in your area. Since version 2 came out, this functionality has been extended to include when new albums by your favorite artists are due to hit shelves. On top of this, the creators of this plugin extended the concert feature to allow for basic social interaction – you can view your friends shows and publicly list the ones you plan on attending (I’m in the system as ‘rauenzahner’ in case you’re interested in looking me up).

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For about the last week, I’ve been growing more and more addicted to TV on the Radio. They’ve always been a band I’ve liked, but I really only knew them from their more well-known songs (like Staring at the Sun). Recently I got their discography, and decided to stick their newest release, Return to Cookie Mountain, into my car’s CD player. I had been feeling a bit bored with what I’d been listening to recently and wanted a change.

I wasn’t let down. This band is all about rhythms, and they’re masters at it. They can make even the most off-beat sounds flow smooth. It seemed the more I listened to them, the more addicted I became. I branched out and started listening to their other albums, and their evolution as a band is interesting.

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I must admit that before this season, I was never interested much in American Idol. It seemed too pop culture; the kids could sing someone else’s lyrics, big deal. But this season I got into it early – having 2 channels narrows down what you can watch on a Tuesday night, and American Idol seemed as good as anything. I’d get some good conversations at work at the very least.

In the top 24 I noticed Jordin Sparks, a young kid with a big voice. I was immediately impressed, but it seemed like the masses tended to forget her, preferring early favorites Melinda and LaKisha. It wasn’t until the British Invasion week that people started giving her credit.

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