Page 22 of 23

Tommy Lee Does Lincoln

As a graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln I am disgusted and disappointed UNL allowed felon/porn star Tommy Lee to “audit” classes for a fake reality television show that debuted on NBC last night in order to build a promotional bandwagon for the prairie school.

Five other universities turned down the Tommy Lee show before Nebraska bought into the idea. The phrase “whore for attention” immediately comes to mind as an entire university bends over. I am uncertain why UNL was eager to get in bed with convicted wife batterer Tommy Lee and let him pretend to be a “real” student at the university.

Did UNL want to example what school life is like? Is there no better choice to be found to demonstrate on a national scale the UNL experience than a 42-year-old washed-up rock star who kicked his wife and was sent to jail?

Continue reading → Tommy Lee Does Lincoln

Facockta Digital Rights Management

DRM or — “Digital Rights Management” for the blissfully unbroken — is a dream stuck in Hell and is also the facockta name Microsoft has branded its media licensing initiative and it means if, like me, you choose to rent your downloaded music, instead of purchasing it or stealing it, your life is currently miserable. 

Continue reading → Facockta Digital Rights Management

Paul Anka Rock Swings Review

I am not a Paul Anka fan. I am not a Swing fan. I do like Rock. When I saw Paul Anka’s new Rock Swings CD, I was ready for something awful and treacly. I was kindly surprised to find an album more innovative and infectious than disappointing.

It’s My Life
This is the first song on the album and it rocks and swings at the same time. Anka brings a tough-guy swagger to this Bon Jovi classic. The trumpets scream. Anka screams. We all scream together! Listen to this song with headphones cranked all the way up so you can enjoy the punch and sophistication of the incredible orchestration. Anka sings with an infectious smile!

True
This cover of the Spandau Ballet original feels a little muddy. Anka saves it with his clear voice and funky interpretation of the lyric but we expect more here from a smoky orchestration that leaves ashes, not inspiration, behind.

Eye of the Tiger
This song was a dud when it was originally released and Anka’s Fifties creeping-stylization is lukewarm and rather odd.

Continue reading → Paul Anka Rock Swings Review

Yahoo! Music Unlimited and the iRiver H340

It took four days to get all 1,119 songs transferred from my Yahoo! Music Unlimited account to my new iRiver H340 music box.
The reason it took so long, I believe, is because the Yahoo! Music Unlimited software is still in beta and there is verifiable, repeatable, communication problem between Yahoo! and my H340.

Continue reading → Yahoo! Music Unlimited and the iRiver H340

Yahoo! Music Unlimited vs. Rhapsody

Yahoo! Music Unlimited launched today and I quickly dumped Rhapsody in the middle of my two week free trial for the Yahoo! music client even though it is still in the beta phase. Here’s why I prefer Yahoo! over Rhapsody for streaming and downloading and carrying around my music: Yahoo! integrates better with my Yahoo! Plus account. Yahoo! is three times cheaper than the same setup on Rhapsody — I’m sure that will change any minute now if it hasn’t already.

Continue reading → Yahoo! Music Unlimited vs. Rhapsody

iRiver H10

I am using the iRiver H10 digital music player with the new Yahoo! Music Unlimited service and the Rhapsody service and I am disappointed in the H10’s performance compared to my two-year-old iPod.

Continue reading → iRiver H10

Taiko/ Donkey Kong Drum Therapy

It was a few months ago that I was introduced to the video game known as Taiko: Drum Master. (This name is translated from the original Japanese title, “Taiko no Tatsujin.”) I was immediately intrigued and connected it in my mind to Dance Dance Revolution, another excellent Japanese video game import. It has since made quite an impression on me – such that I now own one version of the game, and this semi-review of it is considerably later than I was anticipating it to be. Then, just today, I happened to purchase Donkey Kong Jungle Beat: a side scrolling action video game played exclusively with special a bongo controller.

Continue reading → Taiko/ Donkey Kong Drum Therapy