Wiki

In your searches for new music have you ever come across with outdated or just plain incorrect information and was upset that there was nothing you can do about? Or have have you found that the information you find is sparse and spread out across many different places? This can down right frustrating, thankfully there is answer to this. That answers is wikis. There are wikis out there solely dedicated to music. These wikis are kept current and accurate by music fans just like yourself. The more people participate the better the site becomes. Your contribution to the site can save another fans time hunting down information on their favorite music band. Over at Wika they have a large following and a section devoted entirely to music which you can find here. There music collection is far from complete and could use all the help it can get to update their information. This blog purpose is to introduce people to new music, but for more in-depth research one place with accurate and detailed information is needed. Since there is not one right now, we the fans can work with each other and create a place for everyone. There is no need to worry about not being an expert on all music, every small piece of information helps. So do not be shy and start helping by writing about topics that your already interested in.

Music Streaming

I decided to post a video of some more information about last.fm and two music streaming services out there. Here is a link to the video.

Book Report

Second Life is exactly that to the people involved with it. It is a not a game as many assume, but a simulations where people can go and experience a life that they do not or cannot have in real life. In Second Life they are not limited to where they are or by what is physically possible. In Second Life you can do anything and be anything you want with only limits are you imagination and money you are willing to put in to your Second Life. Second Life for Dummies by Sarah Robbins, Mark Bell is a great book for helping someone jump into Second Life for the first time or a regular user looking to expand their knowledge of Second life.

The book starts off with a brief explanation of what second life is and some interesting facts about the origins and culture of Second Life. It then goes on to getting Second Life to run smoothly on your computer by making sure all your hardware and software is set up correctly. Then with very detailed instructions accompanied by pictures the book walks the new user step by step from choosing which account type is best to getting through the first login tutorial. Following that it familiarizes the user with the interface and going into enough detail to entertain someone who is already involved with Second Life. The book then goes into great detail about customizing your character to look how you want. It then shows how to change every aspect of your character and how to organize your character’s inventory of items. Following that it shows you techniques to contact and increase your social network by inviting and finding friends and join social groups with similar interests as you. The last half of the book is on something that affects your daily life whether real or in the Second Life universe, money. It goes through everything from describing how the economy works and how you can exchange the in-game currency for real world money. It gives helpful tips and example on how you can secure your Second Life income whether it is selling a product or providing a service.

Second Life for Dummies while being a very detailed and helpful book, it is not for everyone. It is not for people who have no or little interest in Second Life or those who have trouble operating basic computer functions. For people that interested in Second Life, but not sure where to start and those already involved in Second Life and want find out what more they can do. I would recommend this book to them as the valuable resource it is.

The strong points of the book is how well organized it is. Fining information in the book is very easy and logically placed. The clear step by step instructions along with the pictures showing the screen at every step is extremely usefully ensuring that the reader following along keeps up with the book and does not get lost. I did not identify any weak points in the book. It accomplished what the book intended to from the beginning and it did with clarity and focus. It did not make the mistake a lot of other how to books do by over reaching its topic and being too detailed in some areas and not enough in others.

At first I was not particular interested in Second Life. I had heard about it before, but assumed it was just another game and left it at that. When I first choose this book, I did so only with the intention of increasing my general knowledge and had no intention of starting a Second Life. After reading Second Life for Dummies by Sarah Robbins, Mark Bell I am now quite interested and will soon be starting my own Second Life.

Last.fm

In my last posts I have posted links to the bands last.fm pages. In this post I would like to go over some of the features of last.fm that I would hope you use because Last.fm is really a great tool for any music lover. Once signed up with an account last.fm's most notable feature is “scrobbling” a word they made themselves to describe the feature. What it does is the songs you listen to from almost everywhere are tracked and you are given information on your music habits from how many times you listen to a song to which songs you like the most. Using this data they recommend songs, events and even free mp3s for download. Last.fm is an awesome site and I hope you take some time to check it out and explore all of the features. 

Wolf Parade

Wolf Parade is an indie from Montreal Canada. The band has a very unique sound to it, one that I have been hard pressed to find another to compare it too. Spencer Krug (vocalists/song writter) voice is one of my favorite voices to listen too for hours on end. The lyrics he writes are one of the most beautiful and creative ones I have heard in a songs. His song “I'll believe in Anything, You'll believe in Anything” is the perfect example of he work and my personal favorite song. I do not have the words to give them justice so check out their Last.fm 

The Aquabats

If you have heard of the genre Ska-Punk than surely you have heard of The Aquabats who is a staple of the genre. For those you have not hear of The Aquabats they are band with high paced clean beats with varied and quirky lyrics. Their songs cover a wide range of topics form encouraging people to get out of the house and away from the television such as “Idiot Box” to parody songs of other genres of music such as emo music in “I Feel Asleep on my Arm” All there songs are highly energetic and feature more instruments than most standard bands. Personal favorite song is “Tiger Rider vs. Time Sprinkler” Check out their Last.fm

The Rapture

     “The Rapture is a band that has taking aspects from everything for post-punk to electronic music. Their record “Pieces Of The People We Love” is a record you put on when you feel like dancing. The songs on this album are all high energy disco like. If that is not what you are looking for than their early album “Echoes” is almost a complete contrast, the songs are all at a much more slower pace with deeper lyrics that at time really pull at your emotions. Personal favorite song “Pieces Of The People We Love “ on the album “Pieces Of The People We Love “ Check out their Last.fm