Apple Stole My Music. No, Seriously.

06 May 2016 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in General Posts Tags: ,

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Maybe I’m Not Pressing the Keys Hard Enough.

(via Vellum/jamespinkstone)

“The software is functioning as intended,” said Amber.
“Wait,” I asked, “so it’s supposed to delete my personal files from my internal hard drive without asking my permission?”
“Yes,” she replied.

I had just explained to Amber that 122 GB of music files were missing from my laptop. I’d already visited the online forum, I said, and they were no help. Although several people had described problems similar to mine, they were all dismissed by condescending “gurus” who simply said that we had mislocated our files (I had the free drive space to prove that wasn’t the case) or that we must have accidentally deleted the files ourselves (we hadn’t). Amber explained that I should blow off these dismissive “solutions” offered online because Apple employees don’t officially use the forums—evidently, that honor is reserved for lost, frustrated people like me, and (at least in this case) know-it-alls who would rather believe we were incompetent, or lying, than face the ugly truth that Apple has vastly overstepped its boundaries…

Read more: https://blog.vellumatlanta.com/2016/05/04/apple-stole-my-music-no-seriously/

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This is exactly why I have never had an Apple subscription and don’t even use iTunes. I’m a holdover from an era when you could feel like you owned the music you paid for. And unless you’ve bought a hard copy (CD or vinyl) you may only be paying for the right to listen to the music, which isn’t the same thing as ownership at all.

I second the author’s advice to hang onto your media. An mp3 file is not the same thing as a physical copy, and your “ownership” of music in this form is a slippery concept, and apparently subject to revocation.

The Enigmatic Enya: “there’s no one else who is so successful about whom so little is known”

30 Apr 2016 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in General Posts Tags:

enya

(via msn entertainment)

By Megan Riedlinger

We never thought we’d say this, but we have a new life hero and her name is Enya.

The reclusive and notoriously private 54-year-old singer was named the richest female musician in British and Irish history this month with a $132 million fortune. In additional to this coveted claim, The Sun recently uncovered some rare details about her fascinating lifestyle.

Enya is currently living her best life, residing alone in a massive castle in Ireland. The only other occupants of her home? The security team, staff members, and her cats…

Read more: http://www.msn.com/en-us/music/celebrity/inside-enyas-fascinating-life-living-alone-in-a-castle-with-cats-and-her-dollar132-million-fortune/ar-BBsr6GG?ocid=spartandhp

Jayhawks Ride Rocky Path to Reformation

28 Apr 2016 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in General Posts Tags: , ,

jay

(via AP) by David Bauder

NEW YORK (AP) — To a certain extent, singer-songwriter Gary Louris is fighting against history by reforming the Jayhawks.

“The precedent isn’t very good as far as bands putting out their best work late in their careers — in rock, it’s very rare,” said Louris, 61. “That doesn’t mean it has to be that way.”

The Jayhawks try to prove that point with Friday’s release of “Paging Mr. Proust,” a concise collection of melodic pop-rock with a few twists. The lovely “Quiet Corners & Empty Spaces” stands with the best work ever by the Minneapolis-based group that made an initial impression with early-1990s songs “Blue” and “Waiting for the Sun.”

No one can accuse the Jayhawks of living off past glory. In fact, their failure to achieve the greatness many had predicted became a defining characteristic and internal motivator. The band and Louris lived through their share of tumult…

Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/b5c81694e1e94f58b131f6b2b2e259ee/jayhawks-ride-rocky-path-reformation

Phil Collins Recreates Original Album Covers for 2016 Reissues

28 Apr 2016 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in General Posts Tags: ,

collins

(via twisted sifter)

Last November, legendary rock star Phil Collins began to reissue some of his most beloved albums as part of a collection called, “Take a Look at Me Now“. As part of the reissue, Collins teamed up with photographer Patrick Balls to reshoot all of his original album covers.

See more: http://twistedsifter.com/2016/04/phil-collins-recreates-original-album-covers-for-reissues/

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Top Ten Best Lyricists of All Time–“All that legendary came from that one man’s head”

22 Apr 2016 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in General Posts Tags: ,

pac

Tupac looms large among the all-time greats

Top Ten lists are a troublesome phenomenon at best. Usually an exercise in quantifying the unquantifiable and codifying the purely subjective, they are often assembled by hypesters and overly opinionated know-nothings rather than those with sufficient credentials to credibly carry off the task. (This, incidentally, is why this blog will be adding Top Ten lists as a regular feature.)

But once in a while the font of ignorance gushes so plentifully one can’t help to splash around in the intellectual muck a bit.

Such was the case when I stumbled on this post, entitled Top 10 Best Lyricists of All Time

I could nitpick the fact that the title itself is redundant–that either “Top 10” or “10 Best” would have gotten the job done–but I won’t mention that.

Rather let’s begin with the fact that no list of Top 10 (nor indeed Top 10 Best) lyricists of All Time should reach back only to 1962. That’s when the career of Bob Dylan, the earliest entry, began.

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Kurt Cobain: a giant among lyricists

People have been making lyrics for quite a long time. The Great American Songbook is something that should be explored in at least some cursory way by those eager to suggest Tupac is among the ten best to ever pen a lyric.

Or perhaps these voters have heard the work of Lorenz Hart, Johnny Mercer and Sammy Cahn and know definitively that Kurt Cobain is superior to them all.

But the following less-than-genius-level quotes would seem to belie that possibility:

Eminem is the best lyricist ever, period. Killing rhymes and the beat is not something that Shakespeare could ever do! Never!

The Irony to all this was Lennon new he was superior to anyone else. His intellect was so far ahead, no one can match him in this department. His vision, leadership, creative ability was to advance and mostly misunderstood.

For those who may not know, Lennon and McCartney were the writers of The Beatles. These men are definitely amazing lyricist. Their amazing song Yesterday, is considered one of today’s saddest songs of all time. I want that song played at my funeral. John Lennon also wrote songs independently. One of John’s most popular songs was Imagine. That song is one of the most lyrical songs ever.

(Roger Waters) should be number one, even no (sic) I’m a Jew how can you not love him.

The best lyricist ever born no one can give meaning to songs the way (Robert Plant) does just by making noises.

Bohemian Rhapsody… So I have to say more. All that legendary came from that one man’s head.

Enough said. Too much, really.

The Rap Report

18 Apr 2016 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in General Posts Tags:

rap 2

Having recently completed a rather exhaustive (and frankly, exhausting) survey of contemporary releases in the rap genre I’ve decided to attempt to relate what’s new and interesting in the rap world by distilling the overarching messages of many songs into a synthesis of sorts.

Here are the main themes currently being explored in the ever-evolving world of rap music:

  1. Rappers want you to know that they have a lot of money. Like, obscene amounts of money. They very much enjoy money and the things that money can buy–most of which you and their lesser rival rappers can’t afford. They are so wealthy that it almost becomes burdensome at times finding ways to dispose of it all. Kind of a double-edged sword.
  2. Rappers have many, many women who are willing to have sex with them. Women of all types, and in many far-flung places. They frequently enjoy having sex with women who are currently involved in relationships with less fortunate, less wealthy, and less charismatic men. Watch out! Your girlfriend probably wants to be with a successful rapper.
  3. Rappers really like to be noticed when they enter a social establishment, and they invariably are. Many unusual and exciting things happen beginning the moment they arrive in places where drinking and dancing occur.
  4. If other rappers or even people who have no aspirations of being rappers (if there are such people) should attempt to acquire any of the sizeable collections of money or women belonging to a rapper, he will certainly make sure you are killed as a result, although the method and exact details of your death are not to be plainly spoken about.
  5. I mentioned they have a lot of money right?

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