Ted Su Random Blog

I’m not one of those “the music industry sucks” type people, but every once in a while they do something that just makes me turn red. First I have to admit that I’m a really big Fiona Apple fan, okay, yeah, I know, not exactly everyone’s favorite artists, but I think she is one of the few musicians that is pushing the edge of what pop music can be.

Anyway, its been several years since she has released an album and I was really hoping that something would be released soon. Apparently she did finish an album recently, but Sony Music refuses to release it. Now sometimes I understand why the label won’t release something, just check out some of Beck’s independent label releases. Thankfully, someone leaked Extraordinary Machine (name of album) onto the internet. After hearing the album myself, I can safely say that this is one of the best albums I’ve heard in a long time. I agree that its not exactly radio-friendly, but this album is a major work of art. In terms of feel and intent, its not too different from the adventurous soundscape of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

So if you want to hear real music and want something that is musically satisfying, do yourself a favor and Google “Fiona Apple Extraordinary Machine” and check out the MP3s while you can. The RIAA is already on the trail and there are already casualities.

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Do you really feel safer knowing that Homeland Security is recruiting via spam? Not sure if this is for real or if this some training program unrelated to the real Homeland Security department, but its still pretty funny, okay, maybe not.

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This post should be filed under the title of things that are hard to find on the internet, but shouldn’t be that hard. Anyway, I was looking for a web server that could let me browse my every growing MP3 collection (they are all legally ripped by the way) thats on my home server and then let me build a dynamic playlist while the MP3s are being streamed. So after a little bit of searching I found Slimserver. Its free, has its own built-in web server, and the interface is quite good. The server is really intended to be used with the Squeezebox, a hardware MP3 playback device for the home, but it works equally well with any MP3 software player like Winamp or Windows Media Player. Now I can access my music collection anywhere I have access to the internet. Kudos to Slim Devices for providing this software for free download. Its actually an interesting form of marketing, now that I’m using their server I have become more interested in buying their products.

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Green Day, American Idiot
Okay, there’s already been plently of good things written about this album. All I can add is that this is the punk-pop (yes, I know Green Day is not really a punk band) equivalent of The Beatles’ White Album. Go out and buy this now.

Tori Amos, The Beekeeper
On this album, Tori Amos continues on the direction started on her previous album, Scarlett’s Walk. Here she continues to use her regular touring band as backup. While her piano is less up front, the songs have more of an inclusive feel that still feature Tori’s trademark sound. It also nice to see that she is still refining her lyrics. They are so much more straight forward now and less random sounding. I bought the special edition of the album, which comes with a packet of flower seeds, too bad it didn’t come with potting soil as well!

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