Since I failed to bring my camera to the recent Buffalo Tom show at the Double Door, I figured I would bring it with me to their show at the Paradise in Boston.  I hope you enjoy the pictures.

    

Every now and again, I am introduced to a band as a result of another artist's cover version.  For the Black Kids, that was certainly the case.  Kate Nash covered "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You" and given my affection for her music and likes (she is dating Ryan Jarman of the Cribs for fucks' sake) I figured I would check them out.  They have been all the rage in the blogosperes and indie radio, and though I have had their album for some time I can say I enjoy it, but I would not claim to be enamored with it. 

That is until I heard the Twelves Remix of the same song.  As far as remixes go, this has to be amongst some of the better remixes of the last couple years.  Even calling it a remix seems wrong, as it is simply a more finely produced version of an otherwise under produced and less than enthused track.  I absolutely love it and cannot begin to tell you how quickly it will likely end up dominating my playlist.

As I have previously stated, under my watchful eye, my music video for this version of the song would absolutely rule.  Flashback 22 years (I am officially old) when John Hughes actually wrote stuff worth seeing, and a young Jon Cryer, Molly Ringwald, and Andrew McCarthy were caught in a classic geek love triangle.  One of unrequited love as you watch your girl fall for everything one opposes.  This video needs to be a slightly updated version of Pretty In Pink almost exclusively told from Ducky's perspective.  You update the cast to modern day look a likes.  Ducky needs to still rock the classic Vans.  Since I will never make it, I will even share what should be the opening shots.  Ducky singing in the mirror prepping for his day,  with a hair brush trying for figure out the hair, cut to the bus ride where he is then singing to Andie...I could go on, but alas, I do not have the time, nor coordinating efforts to pull it off at this point.  In my alternate universe where I do not have a full time job and other responsibilities, I make the hell out of this video and it would rulesthe web and what is left of any TV music station, and everyone ends up loving the Black Kids (Via the Twelves).  Check out the song for yourself.  Play, repeat.

On related note, I hope to see folks at the Kate Nash concert coming up at the Vic.  Tickets sold out long ago, but you may still get some here.

In addition, be sure to catch the Black Kids at Lollapalooza.

    

Speaking of bands that should be playing Lolla...

During my umpteen hour commute to work the other day, I heard this band on the Left Of Center (Sirius' indie radio station) and was immediately impressed.  While hip hop is not normally my thing, one listen to this track and their others, you will immediately figure out they are not a typical hip hop group, and to even include them in the genre would be wrong.

Upon first listen, I was taken a back with the musical arrangement and inclusion of various instruments and singers.  While it may be easier to compare them to Linkin Park other bands, you would be wrong and the assessment would be unfair.

Check them out first, you will have this track in your heads for days.  The Flobots everybody:

    

Busy time of year for me, so I apologize for lack of entries.  There will be more to come. 

For those in the Chicago Area August 1st - 3rd, you may want to check out Lollapalooza this year.

The line up was announced this past Monday.  To no surprise Radiohead, Rage Against the Machine, NIN, and Kanye West are some of the headliners.  And while many have told me it is not as strong a lineup as it has been in previous years, I have to disagree.  Now I will not be able to fully suggest a particular day until the actual lineup is announced, here are some of the bands that have to be seen if you are there:

• Bloc Party
• Okkervil River
• CSS
• Mates of State
• Duffy
• Rogue Wave
• The Go! Team
• Grizzly Bear
• Black Kids
• Nicole Atkins
• Manchester Orchestra
• Noah And The Whale
• AND MORE!

Now it is expected others will be announced, and while you may be questioning my lack of top liners, outside of Bloc Party, these truly are the bands you will be listening to later this year and into next.  Sure some of the others are worthy bands and there are obviously others that I have not heard, but while others are jockeying for position to see the headliners, you can (and should) be checking out one of these bands.

Tickets are on sale now, so if you plan on going get them now.

Here is Bloc Party.  I wish I had directed a video for this song, it would have ruled.

    

I did not post anything in advance of this show since tickets were sold out a few days after they went on sale.  I had to resort to Craigslist to procure my ticket.  Luckily for me, there was a kind gentleman willing to sell me one at a very reasonable price not far from face + Ticketmaster gouging fees.

To start, this was one of the rare shows you see that you know in your heart of hearts, you will probably not have the opportunity to see again in a like venue.

I was initially going to blow off the opening act, Ferras (Alqaisi).   I would have been disappointed if I had.  He was really solid.  If you enjoy mellow male vocals over piano, you will enjoy.   Apparently, he had a song recently featured on American Idol, and many are predicting superdardom for Ferras.  We shall see. 

On to A Fine Frenzy.   She was amazingly good.  It was her, and two band mates, and for the most part, she played most of her debut album, and a couple covers, including "Across The Universe" and "I Will Follow You Into The Dark."  She seems like a very personable and genuinely uber sweet and overall warm hearted person.  I had the chance to meet her after the show, and was not disappointed there either, though I forgot my autograph as I was too busy taking pics!  It is okay, I have a couple pictures of Alison and I, which will last longer than my lost autographed bookmark. 

Okay, it is late, I need to rest but wanted to share my photos from the show.  I took well over 250, but I narrowed it down to what I feel were my 16 best.  Some have been edited.  Click here to access the photos.

    

I do not like watching a lot of television, but when I am on the interweb I like to watch the TV, thankfully I can do both at once.

Now, I have my set shows on Tivo, but when I am online, I like watching live TV; specifically A&E, History, and Discovery.  One show that I have recently stumbled upon is Parking Wars.  If you are not familiar with the premise of the show, it follows the fine folks of the Philadelphia Parking Authority as they do their job.

I have received two parking tickets in my life, both my fault, I know they were and I would not deny it.  While I hate paying them, I know I am deserved them.  I do not believe I have actually ever met anyone who has successfully fought one.  I am sure it happens, but I personally have not met anyone.  In a city, most chalk it up to the cost of urban living.

Like every other police based reality show, they are generally dealing with some very colorful characters as they try to explain why they were not parked illegally under the "No Parking" sign.  That, however, is not where the show is at it's peak form.

The best part of the show is the segment focusing on the impound lot, where these folks go to get their car.  Watching the show, you gain a greater sense of empathy for your local parking authority, DMV, etc.  What these folks have to deal with at the impound is unreal.  Like the DMV, there are some very basic things you need to do to get your car back, like license, insurance, registration, and oh yeah, paid off tickets.  That is where the entertainment begins.  

It seems it is on A&E all the time, check it out.

    

For those Ladytron fans in the Chicago area, I am pleased to inform you that they will be playing the Vic on June 17, 2008.  This came as a surprise to me, seeing I try to keep up with the concert listings, and the Vic's site does not have anything listed on the show yet.

You can pick up your tickets here.  It appears the band Datarock will be opening.

In other Ladytron news, I ran into what could be the upcoming track list for their new CD Velocifero.  The CD drops June 3, 2008.

01 Black Cat
02 Ghosts
03 I'm Not Scared
04 Runaway
05 Season of Illusions
06 Burning Up
07 Kletva
08 They Gave You a Heart They Gave You a Name
09 Predict the Day
10 The Lovers
11 Deep Blue
12 Tomorrow
13 Versus

    

Imagine coming home, looking at your nicely wall mounted TV, and no cable box, no Tivo, no DVD player, no CD player.  Perhaps the only thing attached to the TV is a premium sound system, perhaps a gaming machine or two.  Even those have potential to be combined

From this TV, you could watch any movie you want, listen to any song ever written, or at the very least access any media file from your non Western Digital hard drive.

Let’s talk about what you can do right now:

You can download just about any movie, even in hi-def on demand via a number of services including, Amazon/Tivo, Apple, Xbox, Netflix, and so on.  No DVD required, no wasted plastics.  No worrying about choosing HD-DVD or Blu-Ray.

Cable companies provide CableCARDs that allow you to have all the features of the cable box without the box.  It is a credit card size card that fits into your TV, Tivo etc.

In Europe and Asia, TVs are being rolled out with built in hard drives and DVRs.   TVs with built in computers already?  Who knew?  Not Americans.  We like devices in our entertainment racks.

Getting them all on one device sounds great right?  Well it is not going to happen here anytime soon.  I will attempt to explain why.

There are simply too many companies offering too many various formats for media.  This is slowly being corrected on the music side, but on the movies side it is just beginning.  Toshiba and Sony have lots of money invested in their competing dead on arrival formats.  With various individual boxes that exist, you can get your HD movies on demand each with their own form of DRM that does not work with your other media devices.  There is still no basic subscription service, only individual pay per view. 

All these great devices and technologies exists as we speak, the issue being they exist separately. 

And that is the crux of my argument.  Here is how it can be fixed without too much money being invested in development.

1. Open iTunes. 
   I am not suggesting Apple give it away.  They have created the best music management system on the market.  Now that most songs will be available DRM free, there is no need to keep it locked.  Apple should license the software to other manufacturers, and in turn make iTunes compatible with their media device.  Second, if you purchase a competing device, and do not want to use their media manager, you can pay a nominal fee for iTunes, let's say $19.95.  Apple makes money, iTunes users are not handcuffed to an iPod if they find a competing device they want to try.
   
   
2. TVs Need Hard Drives with built in Wi-fi.
   Throw a TB hard drive in every TV.  Add a USB port to allow expansion and viola, you have a media center.  With a hard drive and wi-fi, we can jump to number 3.
   
   
3. License Tivo Software. 
   There is nothing worse than someone mis-using the great verb "Tivo'ed" when they do not actually own a Tivo.  Tivo and a cable company provided DVR are not the same thing.  Not even close.  Tivo's software and overall functionality is far superior to any alternative.  In addition to the basic recording abilities, Tivo can:
   
   • Act as a media server allowing you to stream your photos, media, and playlists stored on your computer to your TV
   • Download movies on demand using Amazon's Unbox service
   • View podcasts
   • Play games
   • Schedule TV shows remotely
   • Listen to various radio stations
   • Transfer movies/shows to your portable media device
   • Check local weather/traffic/etc
   • Watch movie previews and buy the tickets
     
     
   That is just a part of the great functionality of Tivo.  As you see, it is a computer disguised as a DVR.  What is not great about Tivo?  The box.  Yes, it is a good looking box as far as boxes go.  Far superior to a cable box, but it is still an unnecessary box in your media rack.  If Tivo stopped selling hardware, and licensed software to TV manufacturers all you would need is the cable card to access all the programming. 
   
   Do no like Tivo?  Perhaps you actually want Apple to be your software, or Windows, Linux etc.  You could use your software of choice, as long as it was supported by your provider.
   
   
4. Movie and Television Studio Backing
   All of the above is useless without content.  Providers would partner with the studios to provide content.  The caveat?  They all have to agree to supply all content to all providers.  No one will buy in knowing they cannot watch Sony movies, or can only watch Disney movies.  The users can then choose a pay per view, or subscription based model.
   
   
5. Sling!
   This might be tough now that Echostar bought Slingbox, but it does not change the suggestion.  TVs need to have built in Slingbox like technology so you can access your TV anywhere you can get a high speed internet connection. 
   
   
6. For the Audiophiles
   Still do not want to have to get a sound system?  Why not incorporate a high quality surround system into the TV.  I personally do not believe it will ever still sound as great at 7.1 audio, but with the improvements in speakers and proliferation of all in one sound bars, this will suit Joe Consumer.
   
   
7. License Sirius/XM Channels
   If you have listened to satellite radio, you know how horrible terrestrial radio is.  This is not necessarily needed, but while I am putting together a wish list, I would love to see this.  Perhaps you pay a small nominal fee each month to your cable company for the service.

Now, I am sure I am missing other great ideas, but this is a start to having perfect home entertainment system with EXISTING technology.  No needing to wait for the technology to be built.  It exists now.  No need to wait.  However, getting all the companies above to play nice together to allow this sort of interoperability?  I might as well send my down payment  in for my flying car.

    

I read an article this evening that referred to an interesting little piece that I somehow overlooked over the holidays.

In short Western Digital supplies software with some of their new MyBook external hard drives that allow remote access to files on the hard drive.  The bad part?  You cannot access your media files.  Citing concerns regarding copy protected materials, they decided to handcuff most movie and music extension not allowing it's owners to legitimately access their media files while they are not near their maincomputer, be it from an external media player, laptop, gaming device etc.

Now ask yourself, "Why would I purchase a tera-bite hard drive to use for anything other than media files?"  Well, most people would not.  I can honestly say that I am certain that very small businesses would find it helpful to have one convenient central storage drive, and media files certainly could put a damper on employee productivity, but come on, the average WD external hard drive buyer is Joe Consumer.  Joe Consumer enjoys music and movies, and will purchase an external hard drive to either back up, or store media they do not want bogging down their primary hard drives.

As an early adopting consumer, I have amassed quite the collection of music and movies on my hard drive.  I like being able to access it from my home audio receiver, Tivo, XBox, Wii, laptop, and from secured remote computers.  I do not want to have to attach a separate storage device for each, of which I have to update them individually when I add new music.  It is a pain in the ass.  Now I have an older Western Digital hard drive.  It was my first external hard drive and runs quietly and has served as a reliable means of backup.  They do make good products, but this software addition is unreal and the move has soured any future WD drives for me.

My advice, if you do not own a portable external hard drive buy one.  They are life savers.  If you buy a WD external drive (which there are better alternatives anyway), DO NOT install the software.  There are far more efficient and effective ways to access your computer remotely. 

    

In an interesting article in the WorldNetDaily, there is pending legislation in California that would require homes to install new heating controls that would have a non-removable transmitter that would enable the government to control your thermostat during "emergency events."  I wish I was joking.