One of the things I’ve realized since I started blogging is that I won’t be able to write long posts about music every week. Every now and then I may have time to pull it off, but most weeks I’ll have to be content with a quick review of the week’s highlights.
This week, I’ll look at new releases, new to iTunes releases, explain how iTunes made me miss some good music, and even give some links to free downloads.
Today, June 5, 2007 at 2 seconds after 4:03 AM, the date and time could be written “07/06/05 04:03:02″. Last month, there was a similar number progression, if you invert the sequence: 12:34 on 5/6/07. According to Wikipedia, these date/time “alignments” are called sequential time.
Apple updated its MacBook Pro notebooks today with the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processors (Santa Rosa), more memory, and improved graphics cards. The 15-inch models also get LED-backlit displays, while the 17-inch models get an optional high-resolution display.
I’m almost certainly going to get one of the faster 15-inch models and retire my aging 15-inch PowerBook G4. I’m only waiting for: a) WWDC next week to make sure there’s no other surprises, b) early adopters to post feedback.
The Beatles are perfect to listen to any time. They covered such wide musical terrain that there is something for every mood. And every album has a seemless topology of highs and lows, slow songs and fast songs.
But today is the day to give centerstage to their biggest album, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. It was 40 years ago today… on June 1, 1967, Sgt. Pepper’s was released. It was a #1 hit in the UK for 27 weeks (only their first album Please Please Me stayed longer) and stayed on the charts for 198 weeks (longer than any other Beatles album). In the US it was #1 for 15 weeks and on the charts for 175 weeks (both longer than any other Beatles album). It was the first rock album to win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year (it won 3 others and was nominated for 3 more). In 2007, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame awarded it the “Most Definitive Rock and Roll Album”.
(More on Sgt. Pepper’s and other music released this week after the jump.)
This week was a slow music week with few new releases of note. Since it is also I long weekend, I’ll keep my post short too.
Yep, that’s really it. Because the pickings this week are slim, here’s a list of other somewhat-new releases also worth a listen:
This week’s music post is about Jonathan Coulton. Coulton is a 30-something, Brooklyn-based, singer/songwriter. Add those three labels together and they equal “smart and cheeky hipster musician”. I already had him in mind for a future music post, but when the New York Times profiled him this week, it pushed his name to the top of the pile.
In September 2005, Coulton quit his job as a computer programmer and became a full-time singer and songwriter. To jumpstart his already budding career, he set himself the tough goal of writing one song a week and publishing it to his website. He called it “Thing a Week”, and he succeeded plus earned himself a fanbase in the process. If you don’t know Coulton by name, you may have heard some of the popular results from his “Thing a Week” project: his funny programmer anthem, “Code Monkey” or the surprising, light-accoustic cover of Sir Mix-a-Lot’s “Baby Got Back”. All 52 tracks are now available on four albums.
In case those two examples don’t fully illustrate the particular brand of humor in Coulton’s music, let me also note that he is friends with the Daily Show’s John Hodgman. In fact, he made an appearance on the Daily Show to sing a song about dropping snakes from airplanes to defeat Iraqi insurgents and accompanied Hodgman on his list of “700 Hobo Names”. His subjects and lyrics are wry, wittty, and modern.
(More on Coulton, They Might Be Giants and this week’s notable new releases after the jump.)
I love music—most music, most of the time. But when I sit down to code, not just any music will do. I need music that will help me get the job done, not hinder me. It has to be simple enough not to distract, but complex enough to engage me and to keep me from being distracted by everything else besides my code. Keep me awake but don’t make me hyperactive. The best coding music can be half-tuned out when you’re working through a difficult problem, yet you can sing along when you finally solve it.
I’m going to profile some of my favorite music every Friday. I realize everyone’s taste is different so if you prefer a good polka while you work then go for it (just wear headphones if I’m working next to you). Even for me, it depends on the time of day, my mood, and the particular bit of code in front of me too. So buyer-beware, your-mileage-may-vary, and I’m-not-saying-your-taste-sucks-if-you-don’t-like-my-choices.
For the inaugural music post, I’ve picked Elliott Smith. (Plus other music releases from this week after the jump.)
If you live near the San Francisco area (or like to road trip), then you may want to check out Make Magazine’s Maker Faire on May 19-20 (one week away). It’s not programming but it’s the type of do-it-yourself engineering that programmers can’t resist. In their words: “It’s for creative, resourceful folks who like to tinker and love to make things.” Raise your hand if that’s you. Okay, you can put them down now.
Today is the last day to get tickets at the reduced price of $20. (Even cheaper for kids, students and one-day passes.)
And if you can’t attend, but this is exactly the kind of shindig you would attend, then you can also subscribe to Make Magazine or check out their excellent blog.
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Kevin Skoglund is the lead web developer at Nova Fabrica and an instructor specializing in Ruby on Rails, PHP, SQL, HTML, and CSS.
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