So, I booted into Windows7 yesterday to install TF2, and since I have the free Spotify account, I decided to evaluate it.

Holy damn.

This service is awesome.  I set up a playlist of all Classic Hollywood songs (Gene Kelly, Judy Garland, etc) and I love it.

I'm "this close" to buying 3 months of premium so I can evaluate it in Ubuntu.  I'd really prefer an unlimited account since I don't have a mobile phone that plays Spotify.

It's better than Pandora because I can search for what I want and get exactly what I want in the playlist.  For instance, on Pandora, I search for "Gene Kelly" and it plays everything but Gene Kelly.  I'd like some of his music mixed in with the Bing, Dino, and The Voice, please.

We'll see.  I might get myself a gift sub to it.  I'm not keen on having a recurring subscription right now.

But I can't use it.

Unless I'm willing to use Wine (I don't want that cruft on my machine) and I can't use the native Linux application.

I started it up today and got this error: "Use of this device is not enabled for your account".

Exactly what the everloving fuck does that mean?  Well, it means that you have to buy a subscription to the service before you can use it.  It means I have to fork over money before I can figure out if this will have the music I want to listen to.  It means I have to buy something sight unseen (or rather, unheard) so I can test it out.

There are a bunch of Linux users on Get Satisfaction here that are expressing their frustration and downright anger that they can't use something without paying for it.  Yes, yes, you can argue that you need to pay for the program and the service, but they offer a free tier that is supported by ads.  This is fine and I'd use it, but I want something that's native to my desktop.

There are plenty of good programs and services that are worth paying for; I just want to test out Spotify before I pay for it... I want to see if it'll work for my needs.

In the meantime, you can find me on Pandora and Last.fm.

I'd like to have a regular (read: weekly) review of podcasts that I listen to regularly.  Well, at least until I run out of podcasts...

So, I'll start with Rathole Radio.

I started listening to Rathole Radio after it was mentioned on Linux Outlaws (review pending).

Rathole Radio is a podcast hosted by Dan Lynch every two weeks.  It's broadcast out of Liverpool England and is a showcase for eclectic creative commons music.

Dan plays a little bit of everything; from rap and hip-hop to folk, country, electro, rock and roll, and nerdcore.  It's very eclectic and I've found lots of good music through this show.  I don't necessarily like absolutely everything he plays, but I don't necessarily like everything that the regular radio or NPR plays.  As long as you're getting exposed to the new stuff that's out there, it's all good in my book.  You never know what you'll like til you listen to it.

He gets a lot of his music from Jamendo, which is a host for creative commons music.

Every week it's something different.  He's had interviews with both Jono Bacon's metal project Severed Fifth, and MC Frontalot.

Recently, Rathole Radio has been hosting a live show called "Rathole Radio Roadshow".  This year it's going to be held at the Zanzibar in Liverpool.

So, if you're into eclectic music, check this podcast out.  He also broadcasts live every two weeks on Sunday at 4 PM Eastern Time.  You can find the fun at the last link, and also in the IRC room: #ratholeradio on irc.freenode.net.  There's a link on the live page to use a web-based IRC client, so you don't have to know how to set up IRC on your computer if you want to participate.

I've been listening to Partition36's Inside the Beat on and off since I recieved it in the mail several weeks ago. This album is great on many levels.  I'm no musician, but I guess I know good music when I hear it, and this is complex.  I like the way everything is layered.  Anyway, that's the way things sound to me; the sound seems layered, one on top of the other, with a really nice build.  I'll pick out a few of my favorite tracks to highlight... The first track, Crystallis, is a nice introduction to the sound on the whole album.  While listening, if you close your eyes and relax, you're almost taken away to a different place.  The beat can be sort of repetitive, but it is relaxing in a way. The third track, Inside the Beat, is my favorite off of the CD.  I love how the song is about being inside the music and now nothing bad can happen when Partition36 is inside the beat.  The beat is almost like a safe house where the evils of the world can't hurt anyone.  Also, it's about concentration and working on something that you want to.  Great song, great message. After track two and three being upbeat, Hirakatashi (track 4) is kind of relaxing and puts you in a neat trance.  I don't know exactly how to describe it, but I really like it. Cyberpunks (track 8) is my second favorite song.  Kind of political, and very relevant to today's laws regarding the digital world. The whole album is one of those that really flows together.  It's almost like Partition36 created this to be a whole experience.  If you listen to each track on it's own, they're great.  If you listen to the whole album together and take it as a continuous piece of art, then it's incredible. For the record, Partition36 is the artist that got me into electronic music.  I wouldn't think I'd like it, but I've listened to several different albums, and it's a genre I've really gotten into recently. This album can be downloaded via the website, or you can purchase the album.  I really recommend purchasing a physical CD.  The album art is great too.

Wow. Had an amazing day today. Hung out in the morning and relaxed and had a late lunch. Then my mom and I went to the Folk Music Society of Midland's Dulcimer Festival at the Midland fairgrounds. Wow.  We saw lots of different acts.  There were only a couple of duds but you kind of have to take it in stride.  I like listening to different folk music, and I especially love dulcimer music.  The hammered dulcimer is a precursor to the piano and played with little hammers that you hit the strings with, and the mountain dulcimer is strummed. I love Muzyka, the Jolly Hammers and Strings, Doug Berch, and Off the Wall.  Amazing music and fun.  We left about 8:30 pm because we were tired and our posteriors were getting sore from sitting on our lawn chairs.  I can only sit in one spot for so long and we'd been sitting there since about 2:30 pm or so, with a brief break at 5 for dinner at Applebees (within walking distance). I picked up a CD by Mustard's Retreat called The Wind and the Crickets.  It's country, folk, and Celtic music.  Very nice blend of music.  I also picked up a CD for my mom for her birthday.  :)  I'm sure she'll love it. The only bad thing was that it was incredibly hot.  About 86F, but with a decent breeze.  The sun was on my back through the early evening and made me kind of too warm.  It felt nice to come home in the air conditioning though!  :) I had fun today, and if you're in Michigan the last weekend in August, make sure you check out the Dulcimer Festival.  Oh, bring your own lawn chair, even if you stop by Home Depot beforehand and pick up a $10 one.  There are metal folding chairs there, but they are very uncomfortable to sit on for an extended period of time!  My mom and I forgot to bring lawn chairs the first year we went, and every year since, we've remembered our folding lawn chairs.  We can sit for a much longer time.  Oh, another thing you need to remember is an umbrella and a sweatshirt.  Seriously; it's been rainy and cold before.  One year it was just cold  (we had a strange cold snap in late August) and last year it poured with a massive thunderstorm.  It's all inside, but you want to be prepared to go from your car to the building.  Downpours in latesummer in Michigan can be wicked! Edited to include some links to the bands we saw.