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Post by Variable on Dec 18, 2006 23:17:38 GMT -5
Did you know that Charlie Manson wrote a few of the Beach Boys songs? Manson himself even released an album a while back. My fave Manson song is "Garbage Dump."
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Post by Mystical Sand on Dec 20, 2006 18:51:26 GMT -5
Joseph, I saw this and thought of how we were all discussing "Canon in D" when m.o.v.e. put out "Lookin' on the Sunny Side" and had to link you to it: youtube.com/watch?v=JdxkVQy7QLMIt's so hilarious, so true, and I can't believe it's gotten all around the world, too. XD
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Post by Variable on Dec 20, 2006 23:01:37 GMT -5
I love the Trance version of Canon that I found on Muzie.
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Post by Joseph on Dec 26, 2006 0:01:30 GMT -5
That was a funny video! Canon in D has to be recorded well for it to sound good. The reason he had to play the same notes over and over is because that song is a passacaglia-- that's the definition of it: the same bass played over and over throughout the whole song.
Music professor Dr. Greenberg, remarking on Pachelbel's Canon, said, "What sewer did it come up from?" LOL.
I'm listening to the same old stuff as usual. I'm beginning to question if I even have an interest in Japanese language outside of music. At first, I didn't really like Sylver's new album Cross Roads, but after listening to it more, I've grown to like at least a couple songs. However, Little Things will still be my most favourite album.
I'm really out of the loop; I need your guys' help. I'm looking for a legal, à la carte music download store that offers MP3s and has a safe, reliable download source; y'know, as an alternative to iTunes. And I'm not talking about free download or subscription sites (I only want one song right now)-- an actual store. Could you offer some suggestions?
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Post by Variable on Dec 26, 2006 22:54:43 GMT -5
Wal-Mart is pretty good for that. It's www.walmart.com. It's pretty good actually. If you don't have/want to input credit card information, you can just pick up a gift card from a store and use it on the site. Songs are usually $0.88 each. Napster's another one. They charge about $0.99 each per song. I've not bought anything from Napster so I can't really help you with that one. I did once have a trial of the Napster to Go service, the $15 a month subscription thing, but that doesn't really help matters now anyway. Of course, they're not MP3s. They're WMA files (Windows Media Audio) and won't work on an iPod. They will however work on a WMA branded device with the Plays For Sure logo. Also, they won't work on the Microsoft Zune for some reason. Some devices that play WMA files won't play the protected ones like you'll get from Wal-Mart or Napster. Check your equipment manufacturer for details. So for simplicity sake: WMA files play on: WMA branded devices with the Plays for Sure logo. WMA files WILL NOT play on: iPods, Microsoft Zune, or devices without the Plays For Sure logo. If all you have is an iPod you'll have to buy your songs directly from the state sponsored monopoly that is the iTunes Music Store. Or buy songs from wherever you want to and use something like Tunebite to make it playable on your iPod. Of course you could always mod your iPod to play whatever you want to at the price of not being able to play .M4A files any more. Don't you love how France was the only country to try standing up to Apple and their monopolistic way of being the only company that makes iPods and music that can only be played on their device? Didn't Microsoft get in trouble for something like that? Didn't Apple lose a lawsuit years ago that was litigated by The Beatles no less stating that Apple was to never get into the music business? Sorry for turning this topic into a legal forum, but it's true.
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Post by Joseph on Dec 27, 2006 2:42:15 GMT -5
That does tick me off. The federal government continually backs down from these monopolies; it happens all the time. Where are lawyers when you actually need them? No wonder Andrew is boycotting Apple. I don't need that doggone iTunes B.S.
What do you think of Yourmusic.com? It seems like a normal CD subscription service. If I understand it correctly, it's $5.99 per CD, but you must pay at least $5.99/month. Shipping is always free and there are no other fees. Sounds good to me. Where I come from, it costs $4 these days just for shipping anything.
I'm giving Napster a try here. I bought one track, and sure enough, I got my WMA. But it made me download Napster software, which looks a lot like iTunes. Either way, if I understand this correctly, if I get the Napster "to Go" subscription service, do I get MP3s or WMAs?? How do I get MP3s, doggone it? I want MP3s! Not WMAs, not MP4s-- MP3s!
So.... they want me to pay $15 a month instead of 99¢ a track. They honestly expect me to find 15 good songs per month to get my money's worth? Ha.
I don't have an iPod. In fact, I don't have an MP3 player of any kind-- mostly because I don't know which one I want. Besides, these music programs don't even let you download MP3s anyway! Half the time I think I'm too old-fashioned for these confusing online digital music subscription services anyway. (Sorry for the attitude-- it hasn't been good day.)
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Post by molotov889 on Dec 27, 2006 12:16:12 GMT -5
Joseph, Did a quick google search and found this article. www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,1784306,00.asp Check the table on that page for a comparison. The only one out of the ones they looked at that offers MP3 is eMusic. But that seems subscription. Maybe worth a look, though. If I see more info, I'll let you know. And yes, down with ipoo. On a side note, I now have a Creative ZV:M since my Cowon M3 stopped rcognizing the remote. I like it a lot, but I'm holding out to see if I wanna keep it after what's shown at CES.
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Post by Variable on Dec 27, 2006 23:44:59 GMT -5
Texts mentioned in this post for further reading: www.copyright.gov/legislation/dmca.pdfen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mp3en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_rights_managementen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Millennium_Copyright_Acten.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berne_conventionMost places don't offer MP3s for sale because they can't be controlled with Digital Rights Management (DRM). I think you missunderstood me on the Napster $15 subscription. I don't know if they've changed it or not, but back when I got into it for a while, it was $15 a month for unlimited downloads. But, if you didn't pay the $15 one month, you could no longer play the songs. You could play the songs on Plays For Sure devices, but couldn't burn them to CD. DRM is what makes it so that you can't burn a track to a CD more than x times or that you can't use it in certain programs. Like, iTunes will convert WMAs to M4P, but won't even touch ones with the DRM on them. Apple used to have it where you could burn a song to CD ten times, but they've since changed it to eight times. I don't know if it's retroactive to songs you had before they started that though. MP3 was created in the late 80s and the early 90s as a way to digitally store music. The format is known as a "lossy" format as an MP3 and a CD version of the same song can sound very different. I forget most of the reasons and such. But, MP3 does not feature DRM capability which is why you won't find MP3s on most respectable sellers of music's catalogs. An excerpt from Wikipedia on DRM: Digital Rights Management is a controversial topic. Advocates argue DRM is necessary for copyright holders to prevent unauthorized duplication of their work to ensure continued revenue streams. Some critics of the technology, including the Free Software Foundation, suggest that the use of the word "Rights" is misleading and suggest that people instead use the term Digital Restrictions Management. The position put forth is that copyright holders are attempting to restrict use of copyrighted material in ways not granted by statutory or common law applying to copyright. Others, such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation consider some DRM schemes to be anti-competitive, citing the iTunes Store as an example. Full article found at: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_rights_managementOf course, if you really want to "free your music" you could buy the song from Napster or Wal-Mart or whatever and record the song using something like Audacity or Tunebite to make it into an MP3 and then delete the WMA or M4P version. But, if I read the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) correctly, they've outlawed even this. I need to read the full text of the DMCA, but this summary I'm looking at as I write this says there's an exception to reverse engineering software that has been obtained legally. Using Tunebite to this end should fall into that category of exception as you've legally obtained the WMA file, which is software, when you get right down to it. However, on Page 6 of the PDF summary of the DMCA (link at top of post) is this paragraph: Contracting parties shall provide adequete and effective legal remedies against any person knowingly performing any of the following acts knowing, or with respect to civil remedies having reasonable grounds to know, that it will induce, enable, facillitate, or conceal an infringement of any right in this Treaty or the Berne Convention (link above). (1) To remove or alter any electronic rights management without authority. (2) To distribute (...) without authority works or copies knowing that they electronics rights management information had been removed or compromised. Now, this has me thinking. Is something like Tunebite illegal? It does allow you to circumvent the DRM of WMA and M4P files. But, if I were to pay my $0.99 for a song do I not have the legal right to manipulate it if I couldn't hear it otherwise? If I was to get a book written in German, would I be breaking the law in translating it to English so I could read it? So then, if I bought it, I should have the right to alter the "electronic rights management." Now, here's where part 2 comes in. It is now illegal to distribute my altered file. Which if you're using Tunebite (or Audacity) is an entirely different file, so you can now safely delete the original.
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Post by Variable on Dec 27, 2006 23:47:32 GMT -5
I fully intended to make a second part to that in this post, but good lord. Reading legalese is tiring.
This whole DRM thing is blown all out of proportion.
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Post by Joseph on Dec 27, 2006 23:55:40 GMT -5
Thanks for your help. I think I prefer à la carte music shopping slightly more because I really like to pick and choose this and that and listen to the same songs over and over. I'm not a mass downloader. I may give a subscriptions a try one day, but I have trouble with commitment (as any of my ex-girlfriends could affirm).
I tried to fix the URL in your link, but it just didn't work. The article seems to be a little outdated or something... because both Napster and eMusic boast 2 million songs now, don't they? That's more than what the chart says.
eMusic has three plans: 1. eMusic Basic - 30 downloads per month - $9.99 per month 2. eMusic Plus - 50 downloads per month - $14.99 per month 3. eMusic Premium - 75 downloads per month - $19.99 per month So the question really is: How much do you like music?
When I said I don't have any MP3 players of any kind, that wasn't exactly true. Both my car stereo and now home stereo play MP3 CDs. What I meant was I don't yet have a portable MP3 player, but I would like to one day, once I can make up my doggone mind. I may choose one of those Creative models.
Edit: I think that this corporate music technology is a step backwards. At least if I get the CD from Half.com, I could rip it into MP3s and do whatever I want with it. What's the difference?
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Post by Variable on Dec 28, 2006 0:42:16 GMT -5
You can do the same thing by downloading from iTunes, burning a CD, and then ripping it back as MP3s. EDIT: I found this article, and I think it displays pretty much what I've been thinking on this matter. And it's written by one of my fave sci-fi writers. www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.07/gibson.html
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Post by Mystical Sand on Dec 30, 2006 1:17:30 GMT -5
Sorry to be randomly off-topic, but just so people know, I'm not dead, my computer's going to be in the shop for the next two weeks, so my appearances on here might be sporadic at best.
Kbednow. x . x
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Post by Variable on Dec 30, 2006 10:34:25 GMT -5
This thread actually has a "topic"?
What's wrong with the computer?
Oh, and Joe, when are we gonna announce Project AA?
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Post by molotov889 on Dec 30, 2006 11:37:30 GMT -5
Oh, and Joe, when are we gonna announce Project AA? Sounds to me like you just did .
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Post by Variable on Dec 30, 2006 12:16:08 GMT -5
Yeah, but you have no clue what it is. So, nyeh.
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