Damn the Music Man!!!

No, not Tommy Tune. The music industry. They took an amazing tool and killed it.
Yes, I am not surprised, but saddened still.

Last week, after what seemed like weeks of stalling, their demands killed Muxtape. A place where one could go to hear music. Not download music. Not steal Music. But listen to digital mix tapes from all around the world.

It was free advertising for bands (and if you read the whole story you will see that that is exactly how it will be formulated now. Only it will be missing a major key component, user input. Yes, user generated content, the key to any web 2.0 service is now dead. So while I am fairly sure i will be able to listen to 10 songs from Arcade Fire (or any other lame, derivative, "hip", band) when the service is reinstated, the main draw of the service is gone: who ever got mixtapes where there was only one band. The whole point was to hear people's favorite songs, to discover new music from an unknown artist that you would want to go out and find more of, devour.

I made at least 10 different mixes and people that I have never met, nor even knew, found my mixes and favorited them (sadly never more than 12 at a time) and I got to see their mixes, and discover new artists and re-find others that I had long thought I outgrew or dismissed in a fit of rambling, ill conceived hostility. I also just got to listen to or just see mixes from the thousands of other users and either laugh or admire their tastes.

But no.... Discovery is bad. Control is good.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.....

So for a little over a month I have been left with my favorite music platform on the web, Last.fm. And really, there is nearly nothing wrong with it. It provides for a damn near perfect individual radio station. My main complaint is that it has such a massive user database and has some serious wonky algorithms to match me up with people with similar tastes in music and that people use tags so inappropriately (French pop should not ever generate Elton John. Never ever.), that its social aspect is a tad worthless. Though I do always enjoy seeing what my friends are listening to.

But when I was finally resigned to the idea that Last.fm was going to be all I ever had, I was introduced to Blip.fm. And though I have only been playing around with it for a few days, well it is awesome! Awesomer than awesome even. It takes a twitter type interface and lets you add music to your posts. Rather than focusing on what you are doing right now, you can say something about the song, let the song state your feelings/state of mind, wtfever. And granted you really should read the terms of service and FAQ (re: the issue of uploading music), but this is a service for fans of music to share songs like postcards.

And while I miss the precision of making a mixtape (true mixtape creation is art blended with science), the single song focus is not one to scoff at.

And a big bonus for me, is that it seems to have a fairly large international bent. And as I am generally sick of the current American music scene, this is a plus to get hints on what I need to be on the lookout for that I can not easily find here.

Not every song you want will be in the library, but should be to make it worth your while. And it syncs up with Last.fm if you use that service (and really if you listen to music on your computer, why wouldn't you???).

So while I am sad to see Muxtape lose its charming lifeblood, I am happy to have found something that might be able to replace it. Well till the music man decides to take this one down too.

And for any musical heathens out there, feel free to make fun of any of my musical tastes. I just hope one day you will be as musically enlightened as me........

An Ode to "It's the Economy Stupid"

Lloyd Bentson would have ran for president in 92 if he thought he had a chance. He was the Democrats' rightful heir to the thrown being Dukakis's running mate. But before the primaries began he saw no chance of stemming the tide of Bush the first's popularity. So out of nowhere an amazingly flawed Clinton came in and beat the incumbent on critiquing the economy, reminding America that their wallets simply could not grow money.

I bring this up now because I am amazed at how just a simple pick of a under qualified running mate has taken this exact critique off the table. The Democrat operatives seem to smell blood and are attacking. Only they are attacking way off message. The economy and the war are the problems that they can provide solutions for. Framing the discussion around the fact that our country can not survive four more years of the same is the only way the Democrats can win.Palin is just a symptom, like an awful cough that one gets with a cold. One can take all the lozenges they want, the cough will not go away till the cold is beat.

The current fascination with striping Palin of her dignity by attacking her family is not going to have the wanted effect. Many are calling her an anti feminist due to her beliefs on abortion and reproductive rights. Only they fail to see a powerful woman who has balanced family and work in a pretty effective way. Attacking her family will turn off people that see her balancing act as something to strive for and could care less about the abortion issue. And yes, there are people out there who do not live and die on the abortion battlefield.

I mean there are tons of direct things one can attack Palin about without bringing in her family, which, by the way, when the Republicans do they are vilified. But this is not even the issue. The issues are jobs, health care, safe neighborhoods, and the war. The full frontal attack on Palin has shifted the troops on the battlefield away from the winning barrage of a well armed militia to opportunists who are throwing dirt clumps and rocks.

I predict that with her speech tonight, Palin will become a light that help guides the campaign, not derail it. She was a news anchor for god sake, she knows how to play to TV. And this incessant attacking of her and her family will seem more vindictive than rational - to the swing voters at least. I dare say, not a winning combo...

And the heart of the election will have been derailed for at least a week.

Good job!