Who Needs A Ipod?

Back in early 1990's I was one of those guys that held out from buying a CD player. I was a vinyl junkie through the 80's who bought a armful of albums every weekend and spent the week nights taping friend's albums onto 90 minute Maxell cassettes. I enjoyed the large record jackets, the black vinyl and the crackly sound of my lousy stylus. Despite the smaller compact size and superior sound quality, I didn't want to give in to this new fad, I figured it was going to be the next Laser Disc or Betamax or 8-Track. It became apparent towards the end of the 80's that I wouldn't be able to buy some of the newest releases because they were no longer pressing them onto vinyl.

In 1992, I was in Seattle and browsed the local record stores snatching up some excellent vinyl, then I came upon an album I had been looking for, actually it was a CD from the Squirrels, "What Gives", that was only available in CD format. I soon discovered that I would be missing out without a CD player because less and less artists were producing albums and cassettes. I still bought the Squirrel's CD, got a friend to transfer it to tape, but it took me another year to buy a portable CD discman to actually play it on. What the hell, I still have my Dual turntable circa 1975, and I could still play records on it, though it's being used to stack CD's on it.

Fast forward to 2006, I didn't think I needed a Ipod, despite having to carry stacks of discs to work each day and on vacation at the lake I would pack 25 discs into one of those CD wallets. How dependable was this small unit?, was it prone to glitches over time?, what if I dropped it and if I lost it, would I lose everything on it? When I received my Nano Ipod (for my birthday), I was able to load the same amount of CD's on this tiny unit. It's only 1 gig, so I can't load my whole CD collection onto it, so I've decided I will only load on new releases before I make a disc from it or buy it.

So far so good, Apple of course makes a ton of $ on all those semi-necessary accessories such as battery charger/AC adapter, FM transmitter (to play on home or car radio), carrying case, and skins (Ipod scratches and scuffs easily). I enjoy the size, of course and it's so easy to operate and loads songs very quickly. The sound quality is only as good as it's source and it's too bad you can't add more storage space (hard drive space) but then again these are mainly glorifyed flash drives with controls and a screen.

In the upcoming days I will let you see what I have on my Ipod (new-ish releases) and give you a brief and hopefully informative review. I will also try to provide some song samples (MP3) or helpful links for more info on the artist, as soon as I purchase some online storage space. I urge you to bookmark this blog and tell all your friends, and please check in every couple of days as I will try my best to keep this site updated.

New Pornographers Tickets On Sale

Just purchased my presale New Pornographers tickets from Ticketbastard for their show on October 14th at the Garrick Marlborough Ramada Venue here in Winnipeg. Tickets are scheduled to go on sale on Saturday morning August 26th, but the presale began Thursday.

In case you're worried about a sellout, I highly recommend doing the presale, concerts in Winnipeg have been known to almost sell-out before they are offered up to the regular public. I don't know if the Ticketmaster site is glitched, but I was able to get the presale without typing in the special password. Simply click on the "Internet Presale Offer" and your ticket quantity, . (update: now you have to have submit the password "twincinema"). Since this show is a general admission show (no reserved seats) you probably don't need to rush for tickets as the last time they were here, back in February, it didn't sell-out til a week or so before the show.

In fact it was 8 months ago, same venue, same opening band (+Immaculate Machine) and same price for tickets. Suffice to say I wasn't exactly blown away by the band, in fact I thought local opening band Novillero were more entertaining. I saw the NP's a few years back with Neko and they were great, the between song banter with her and Carl was worth the price of admission alone, vocally Kathryn Calder does a admirably good job, but it's Neko's presence that sells it. After seeing both the NP's and Neko Case separately this year, I would love to see her with the band this time around, but I doubt it. Regardless, this is a must-see show from one of the greatest bands in Canada!

JULIANA HATFIELD-Solo Electric 2002

Sorry for the lack of posts, I've been busy with other projects (Sick Puppy blog), but now my full attention is on this page. Right now I don't have the technology to post mp3's or wave files. I am planning on getting a ezarchive account soon, so I can post music instead of linking to other sites. For now I'll have to leave you with just links.

I just came upon this excellent Juliana Hatfield solo electric show from October 2, 2002 at the Calvin Theatre in Northampton, MA. This is only available through EzTorrent and you will need to register (very recommended).

It's well worth your time to learn about the world of BitTorrents and lossless audio compression such as FLAC. It changed the way I listen to music and opened up a huge door to concert recordings. To all you anti-piracy stealing music advocates, this is the sharing of concerts by artists that have given permission or allow fans to record and share the live concert experience. Fans trade and exchange, but should not sell these recordings. There are companies and individuals that make a living manufacturing and selling inferior concert recordings at ridiculous prices...Beware the bootlegger! Years ago, I used to trade cassettes (no money changed hands), one for one through the mail, but to receive a handful (mail packetful) of tapes it took at least 2 weeks for copying, labelling, mailing and receiving the tapes. Now a show can be had in less than an hour, wow have times changed!

I've included a couple of samples from the show:
"My Sister" - Juliana Hatfield (Calvin Theatre, Northampton, MA 10-02-02)
"Somebody Is Waiting For Me" - Juliana Hatfield (Calvin Theatre, Northampton, MA 10-02-02)

Free Juliana!

For some reason I've been listening to a lot of Juliana Hatfield lately. Maybe it's because I just got her new CD, actually her side project, Some Girls' CD, "Crushing Love". I've had a few listens to this follow-up to 2003's predecessor "Feel It" and it sounds pretty good. (I'll review it in a couple of days) I also recently purchased Juliana's CD from last year, "Made In China" a raw, crunchy tasty treat that has to get you excited.

The past few days, I have been cruising her back catalogue and enjoying her path forward as she just turned 39 last week. In my mind, she's getting better with age, with the usual speedbumps ("Total System Failure" for example) and maybe more bitter as well, with many attacks on the music industry in her recent lyrics. If you buy Made In China, buy it directly from Juliana. In case you missed it the first time, Juliana is offering up some demos and unreleased tracks on her website with an honour system for the download guilty. These tracks are free (they do work!), but if you feel you want to donate money to her, (not a record company!) she has a Paypal link.

If you're into live Juliana, here's a link with a few older concerts and radio shows, and if you a fan of the Blake Babies and Juliana Hatfield doing cool, sometimes goofy covers go here. They are in MP3 format, so don't be trading these, I'll link you to some Bit Torrent (FLAC format) shows in uncompressed quality when I find 'em.

Up and Running

Welcome to the "Teenage Dogs In Trouble" music blog! I listen to music on the way to work, either in the car, bus or foot, I listen to music at work, on the way home from work, at home on the stereo, at the computer and finally in bed . Though my employment has nothing to do with music, during my average 19 waking hour days, I probably listen to music at least 75% of the time. I own hundreds of LP's, dozens of 45's, and thousands and thousands of cassettes and CD's.

The point is I love music! Official releases, live or on bootleg I can't get enough. When you own all you can own of your favourite artist's work, you have to move beyond the norm, seek out those tasty gems you don't hear on radio. Find music that moves you, not only physically but emotionally as well. No, i don't mean sucky, sappy American Idol crap that you are "suppose to listen to" according to the record companies and radio stations, I mean music that is timeless, something you can throw on anytime and evoke a feeling.

I have lots of great music I'm anxious to share, I'll review new, random and MUST have CD releases, whatever I feel like at the time. I try to see as many bands and shows as possible and I'll report back with my criticism or praise. My live music collection is overflowing and I'll try to post or link current and favourite shows that I enjoy. I'm always seeking out new music, so please, I need your feedback and suggestions of how to make this blog more enjoyable. Thanks!